San Mateo County — Criminal Defense Intelligence
Comprehensive intelligence briefing for San Mateo County — an affluent suburban county with the Bay Area’s lowest FTA rate (12.4%), high judicial workload (644 cases/judge), and a heavily prosecution-tilted bench (44% ex-prosecutors vs 12% ex-defenders).
Criminal Filings
16,100
Cases/Judge
644
Vacancies
2 / 27
PD/DA Parity
0.49
Pretrial Detention
69.8%
FTA Rate
12.4%
San Mateo County Court System
Caseload, disposition, and judicial capacity data — FY 2023-24.
Criminal Filings
16,100
4,600 felonies · 11,500 misdemeanors
Dispositions
15,600
96.9% clearance rate
Pending Cases
5,200
+2.4% YoY growth
Cases per Judge
644
3rd highest in Bay Area
Avg Days to Disposition
138
Fastest in Bay Area
Trial Rate
1.7%
Lowest in Bay Area
Infractions
32,800
Bench Composition
Judicial profiles, vacancies, and demographics — 2024.
Authorized Judgeships
27
25 filled
Vacancies
2
7.4% vacancy rate
Commissioners
5
30 total bench officers
Criminal Assignments
8
7 civil · 6 family · 4 juvenile
Judicial Demographics
Gender
Male: 13 (52%)
Female: 12 (48%)
Race/Ethnicity
White: 12 (48%)
Hispanic: 4
Black: 2
Asian: 5
Other/Declined: 2
Prior Career
Prosecutor: 11 (44%)
Public Defender: 3 (12%)
Private Practice: 7
Government: 3
Heavy prosecutor tilt: 44% prosecutors vs only 12% public defenders
Appointed By
Newsom: 9
Brown: 10
Schwarzenegger: 5
Other: 1
Avg years on bench: 12.1
Retirement Eligible (5yr)
6 judges
24% of bench
Vacancy Rate
7.4%
Near average
Prosecution & Defense Funding
DA vs PD budgets, charging patterns, and resource parity — FY 2023-24.
DA Budget
$62M
70 attorneys
PD Budget
$31M
40 attorneys
PD/DA Ratio
0.49
Below average
Attorney Ratio
0.57
Low
Decline Rate
9.1%
Diversion Rate
8.5%
Felony Filing Rate
562/100K
Case Review
9 days
Charging Patterns
Pretrial Detention & Bail
Jail population, pretrial detention, and release patterns — 2023.
Avg Daily Jail Pop
980
79.5% capacity
Detention Rate
69.8%
Near average
Median Bail
$50K
OR Release Rate
31.5%
Pretrial Detainees
684
Avg Days Detained
22
FTA Rate
12.4%
Lowest in Bay Area
Pretrial Staff
10
Release Types
Risk assessment tool: Public Safety Assessment (PSA)
Specialty Courts
Data Sources
Related Intelligence
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Compare San Mateo with other counties — court, judicial, prosecution, and pretrial data.