On March 10, 2026, S.F. Superior Court Judge Harry Dorfman made a finding of contempt against San Francisco’s elected Public Defender Mano Raju after the judge ordered the Public Defender’s Office to take on more cases than would be ethically sound. The judge threatened monetary sanctions to be determined at a hearing on March 24. Here is a statement from Public Defender Raju:
“The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office remains unwavering in our constitutional duty to provide effective representation, a duty Judge Dorfman’s predetermined conclusion cannot displace. Despite repeatedly praising our office’s professionalism and our highly skilled staff, Judge Dorfman is now substituting his own judgment for ours without a proper understanding of the modern demands on our staff.
We have acted in good faith throughout this inquiry and continue to take on the vast majority of new felony cases while carefully assessing our capacity. The threat of sanctions cannot change the reality that more cases are being filed, they are taking longer to resolve, and that public defender offices nationwide remain chronically underfunded and carry workloads far beyond above the standards set by the National Public Defense Workload Study.
Courts across the country, including in Washington and Oregon, have recognized that excessive caseloads make effective representation impossible. In San Francisco, active cases have risen 65 percent since 2019. Declaring unavailable in a limited number of cases is necessary to meet our constitutional obligations. We are continuously reassessing our staff’s capacity as we still take on the overwhelming majority of the cases.
Judge Dorfman’s pursuit of contempt and monetary sanctions risks undermining due process for our clients and pushing already overextended staff beyond ethical limits. We look forward to appealing his ruling to protect our staff and our clients’ constitutional rights. Our office will continue working toward a lawful and lasting solution, including securing the funding needed from the City to hire additional attorneys and staff, while serving our clients and all San Franciscans with excellence.”