OAKLAND, Calif. — Alameda County Public Defender Brendon Woods said this week that the constitutional right to counsel is “effectively dead” if judges can dictate public defender caseloads and punish attorneys who refuse workloads they believe violate ethical and constitutional standards.
Woods, the first Black public defender in Alameda County history and a longtime criminal justice reform advocate, made the remarks while calling on public defenders, community members and allies to participate in a Day of Action for Public Defense on April 23, according to a public post.
The statement comes in direct response to San Francisco Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman’s decision to hold San Francisco Chief Public Defender Mano Raju in contempt and fine him $26,000 — $1,000 for each of the 26 felony cases his office declined to accept — after Raju’s office said it lacked the staff to guarantee effective representation, as reported by KQED.
Raju’s office began declining felony cases one day a week in May 2025, citing crushing workloads driven by increased prosecutions and insufficient staffing, KQED reported.
“Our view is that his order is an illegal order,” Raju told reporters outside the courthouse, according to KQED. “So one day a week, we have declined to take some of the cases.”
Raju added that active misdemeanor cases in his office have grown 78% and felony cases 56% since 2019, and that each case now requires far more work than it once did, as reported by KQED.
Woods, in his statement, framed the San Francisco situation as part of a far larger national emergency.
“What is happening in San Francisco is not unique,” Woods wrote. “Public defender offices across California and the nation are severely underfunded and understaffed.”
“This is a national crisis,” according to Woods’ Facebook post.
Woods himself told reporters outside the San Francisco courthouse on March 24 that he is considering taking the same steps as Raju if conditions in his own office reach a breaking point.
“At some point in time, we have to say no,” Woods said, according to KQED.
The national scope of the crisis is well documented. Raju pointed to a 2023 study by the RAND Corporation finding that excessive public defender workloads violate ethics rules and cause harm to accused people, as reported by The Associated Press.
His attorneys currently average 60 felony cases and 135 misdemeanor cases at a time — well above the up to 40 felony and 80 misdemeanor cases recommended in a 2025 study by the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center at Southern Methodist University, the Associated Press reported.
Felony attorney Tal Klement, a member of Raju’s staff, testified at the contempt hearing that he carries 61 open cases, regularly works 60 hours a week and has developed health problems as a result of the workload, according to the SF Standard.
“It feels like blame and punishment is only being put on the public defender,” Klement said, as quoted by the SF Standard, adding that courts are overwhelmed by systemic issues outside the public defender’s control — including court availability, jail visiting hours and the district attorney’s charging decisions.
On April 10, the First District Court of Appeal issued an order staying enforcement of the $26,000 fine, halting payment on the day it was due, according to the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office.
“We agree with the Court of Appeal that no sanctions should issue before it has an opportunity to evaluate the merits of the novel issues this case raises,” said Kory DeClark, a member of Raju’s legal team, as quoted by the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office.
In response to these developments, Woods is calling for a national show of solidarity on April 23.
“We are asking every public defender, every member of a public defender office, every volunteer, every community member, and anyone who supports this cause, to wear black in court, in the jails, or in any public setting,” Woods wrote in his Facebook post.
“Wearing black marks a constitutional breaking point: when public defenders are punished for refusing unconstitutional workloads, the right to counsel becomes a right in name only,” he stated.
“Thank you for recognizing the need to fund public defense. Thank you for recognizing the importance of the right to counsel,” Woods concluded.
Follow the Vanguard on Social Media – X, Instagram and Facebook. Subscribe the Vanguard News letters. To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit davisvanguard.org/donate or give directly through ActBlue. Your support will ensure that the vital work of the Vanguard continues.
