California Public Defense Workloads and Staffing

Authors

Malia N. Brink, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law, Deason Criminal Justice Reform CenterFollow
Pamela R. Metzger, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of LawFollow
Andrew L.B. Davies, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law, Deason Criminal Justice Reform CenterFollow
Cynthia G. Lee, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law, Deason Criminal Justice Reform CenterFollow

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Description

This report assesses the current workloads and staffing of California public defense providers. The report concludes that California’s public defense attorneys are almost universally burdened by workloads that far exceed nationally recommended standards. Additionally, compared to district attorneys’ offices in the same jurisdictions, public defender offices typically have 20-45% fewer attorneys.

This report also details how public defense providers in California also lack the appropriate support staff – investigators, social workers, paralegals, and administrative assistants – necessary to efficiently and effectively represent their clients. At their current workload and staffing levels, public defense attorneys simply cannot do all that their job requires. As a result, public defense attorneys across California are forced to skip or delay critical work for some clients in order to focus on other clients’ cases. California’s less-populous, more rural counties, often have greater attorney vacancies, which exacerbate these problems.

The obligation to provide constitutionally adequate public defense services lies with the state. California stands almost alone among states in failing both to create public defense standards and to provide sufficient funding to ensure that every accused person receives effective assistance of counsel. This report recommends that the state take immediate action to support county-based public defense systems and ensure that they can deliver the constitutionally-adequate representation that every Californian deserves.

Publication Date

9-2025

Keywords

Public defenders, California, Workload, Legal aid, AB 625, Criminal justice, Criminal procedure

Disciplines

Criminal Law | Criminal Procedure | Criminology and Criminal Justice | Law | State and Local Government Law

Recommended Citation

Malia N Brink, Pamela R Metzger, Andrew L Davies & Cynthia G Lee, California Public Defense Workloads and Staffing (2025), https://doi.org/10.25172/dc.14

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.