Criminal
Apr. 22, 2026
Alameda public defender weighs refusing new cases amid funding crisis
Alameda County's public defender may soon refuse new indigent cases one day a week, citing funding gaps and surging caseloads, as tensions grow with prosecutors and fallout from Proposition 36 mounts.
Alameda County Public Defender Brendon Woods' office is discussing whether to mirror the San Francisco Public Defender's office and refuse to take on indigent clients one day a week, he said Tuesday.
Inadequate funding and rising caseloads will force his office to reject new clients "imminently," Woods said in an interview.
Woods said the Alameda County Board of Supervisors last week was "receptive" and would "look for solutions to addre...
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