SF Superior Court could dismiss cases after Public Defender’s Office caps its caseload

SAN FRANCISCO SUPERIOR COURT is facing another backlog of criminal cases that could be dismissed, just over a year after dozens of cases had to be dismissed because they had gone past their constitutional limit for trials to start. 

The court issued new guidance in late October in reaction to a decision in May by the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office to limit the number of cases it accepts, citing an increase in misdemeanor cases brought by District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’ office as the reason.