San Francisco County — Criminal Defense Intelligence
Comprehensive intelligence briefing for San Francisco County’s criminal justice system — the Bay Area’s most progressive prosecution environment with the highest OR release rates, best defense funding parity, and a unique collaborative court ecosystem.
Criminal Filings
18,900
Cases/Judge
386
Vacancies
3 / 52
PD/DA Parity
0.65
Pretrial Detention
62.5%
OR Rate
42.8%
San Francisco County Court System
Caseload, disposition, and judicial capacity data — FY 2023-24.
Criminal Filings
18,900
5,200 felonies · 13,700 misdemeanors
Dispositions
18,400
97.4% clearance rate
Pending Cases
6,800
+1.8% YoY growth
Cases per Judge
386
Lowest in Bay Area
Avg Days to Disposition
142
2nd fastest in Bay Area
Trial Rate
2.4%
Highest in Bay Area
Infractions
42,100
Positive Signal
San Francisco has the best clearance rate (97.4%), lowest judicial workload (386 cases/judge), and smallest backlog growth (1.8%) in the Bay Area. The court system is operating efficiently.
Bench Composition
Judicial profiles, vacancies, and demographics — 2024.
Authorized Judgeships
52
49 filled
Vacancies
3
5.8% vacancy rate
Commissioners
10
59 total bench officers
Criminal Assignments
15
14 civil · 12 family · 8 juvenile
Judicial Demographics
Gender
Male: 22 (45%)
Female: 26 (53%)
Nonbinary: 1
More female judges (26) than male (22) — most gender-diverse bench
Race/Ethnicity
White: 18 (37%)
Hispanic: 8
Black: 8
Asian: 10
Other/Declined: 5
Prior Career
Prosecutor: 15 (31%)
Public Defender: 12 (24%)
Private Practice: 14
Government: 5
Best PD/Prosecutor ratio: 12 defenders (24%) vs 15 prosecutors (31%)
Appointed By
Newsom: 20
Brown: 18
Schwarzenegger: 8
Other: 3
Avg years on bench: 10.3
Retirement Eligible (5yr)
12 judges
24.5% of bench
Vacancy Rate
5.8%
Below Bay Area average
Prosecution & Defense Funding
DA vs PD budgets, charging patterns, and resource parity — FY 2023-24.
DA Budget
$85M
140 attorneys
PD Budget
$55M
100 attorneys
PD/DA Ratio
0.65
Best in Bay Area
Attorney Ratio
0.71
Highest in Bay Area
Decline Rate
17.5%
Highest in Bay Area
Diversion Rate
15.2%
Highest in Bay Area
Felony Filing Rate
518/100K
Lowest of large counties
Case Review
5 days
Fastest in Bay Area
Charging Patterns
Note: SF has the highest wobbler rate (14.8%) — more prosecutorial discretion in charge classification.
Pretrial Detention & Bail
Jail population, pretrial detention, and release patterns — 2023.
Avg Daily Jail Pop
1,180
63.8% capacity
Detention Rate
62.5%
Lowest in Bay Area
Median Bail
$30K
Lowest in Bay Area
OR Release Rate
42.8%
Highest in Bay Area
Pretrial Detainees
738
Avg Days Detained
16
Shortest in Bay Area
FTA Rate
16.8%
Highest in Bay Area
Pretrial Staff
20
Trade-Off to Watch
San Francisco’s FTA rate (16.8%) is the highest in the Bay Area — likely a consequence of its liberal release policies. Critics point to this as evidence against bail reform. Defense attorneys should be prepared for this argument.
Release Types
Risk assessment tool: PSA with SF Pretrial Diversion Project modifications
Specialty Courts
Data Sources
Related Intelligence
Explore All 9 Bay Area Counties
Compare San Francisco with other counties — court, judicial, prosecution, and pretrial data.