Under advisement from February 10, 2026 (Item No. 13): Receive report from Office of the Public Defender relating to the Office of the Public Defender budget.

County of Santa Clara Office of the Public Defender 128015 DATE: April 14, 2026 TO: Board of Supervisors FROM: Damon J. Silver, Public Defender SUBJECT: Public Defender Office Budget Study Session RECOMMENDED ACTION Under advisement from February 10, 2026 (Item No. 13): Receive report from Office of the Public Defender relating to the Office of the Public Defender budget. FISCAL IMPLICATIONS There are no fiscal implications associated with receiving this report. REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATION At the Board of Supervisors meeting on February 10, 2026 (Item No. 13), the Board of Supervisors approved a referral from Supervisor Arenas relating to providing a study session on the Office of the Public Defender budget. Legal Representation Overview The Office of the Public Defender (PDO) predominantly provides legal representation to indigent clients facing criminal charges, pursuant to Government Code Section 27706. The County does not charge individuals a fee to receive public defender services. As a result of current fiscal constraints, public defender workload consists almost exclusively of constitutionally and statutorily mandated services. The PDO is committed to three major values:...

Attachment A Santa Clara County Office of the Public Defender Annual Workload Report 2025 Received: 04/14/2026 1 Santa Clara County Office of the Public Defender Annual Workload Report 2025 Executive Summary The public defender movement was launched in the early 1890’s by California’s first female lawyer, Clara Shortridge Foltz. Ms. Foltz worked to implement the public defender concept through legislation in 30 states, long before the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Gideon v Wainwright. In pursuit of justice, Foltz said, “Let the criminal courts be reorganized upon a basis of exact, equal and free justice: let our country be broad and generous enough to make the law a shield as well as a sword.” Public defense is the one of the few County services mandated by the United States Constitution. All services provided by the Office of the Public Defender (PDO) help historically underserved communities, making the PDO a reflection of the County’s values and priorities. The PDO invests resources to compassionately protect and uplift the most vulnerable, marginalized, and often abandoned members of our county. This report assesses both longstanding structural challenges faced by public...

BoardOperations From: Sent: To: Subject: Attachments: Raul Colunga Thursday, April 9, 2026 10:45 AM BoardOperations; CEO Admin [EXTERNAL] April 14,2026, Agenda Item #9 Ltr of Support.pdf To whom it may concern, Would you please distribute the attached letter to the Board of Supervisors and the County Executive? The letter is in reference to agenda item #9 of the April 14th Board meeting. Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to the request. Raúl A Colunga, Co-Chair La Raza Roundtable de California 1 April 9, 2026 Honorable Members of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and Office of the County Executive County of Santa Clara 70 W. Hedding Street San Jose, CA 95110 Dear Honorable Members of the Board of Supervisors and County Executive: On behalf of La Raza Roundtable de California, we write to express our strong support for the County of Santa Clara and its departments, their missions, and the vulnerable communities they serve. La Raza Roundtable de California is committed to advancing equity, fairness, and dignity for the Latino community and other historically marginalized populations across our state. Central to that mission is ensuring that our systems of...

PUBLIC DEFENDER STUDY SESSION Delivering Equity, Fairness & Justice The Public Defender Way Values guide all decisions Foundation built on Mission Vision Values Holistic 2 Clientcentered Sustainabl e Innovative Agenda 1. Legal Representation Overview 4. Evolving Budget Landscape • Constitutional And Professional Standards • Budget overview • Client Demographics: Clients PDO Serves • Budget trends • The Court Process: A Client’s Journey • FY25-26 Midyear and FY26-27 Approach • Operational And Service Structure 2. Challenges, Opportunities, & Strengths 5. Qualitative Data - Client Service Experience & Reduction Mitigation Strategies 3. Workload Assessment • Equitable Pre-arraignment Service (PARR) and the Jail Population • Critical Considerations • Racial Injustice: The Racial Justice Act (RJA) • Rand’s National Public Defense Workload Study (NPDWS) • Crimes of Mental Illness: Compassion or Incarceration • Workload Complexity • Breaking the School-to-Prison Pipeline • Operational Volume And Outcomes 6. Board Discussion 3 1. Legal Representation Overview Constitutional and Professional Standards A Client’s Journey: The Court Process 4 Who We Serve: Client Demographics Operational...

BoardOperations From: Sent: To: Subject: Attachments: Raj Jayadev Monday, April 13, 2026 9:48 AM BoardOperations; Arenas, Sylvia; Duong, Betty; District2; Supervisor.Lee; Ellenberg, Supervisor; District5; Rahdar, Elica; Jimenez, Yvonne [EXTERNAL] Written public comment for PDO Budget Study Session (4.14.26) debugletterforPDO2026.pdf Hi! Please see our attached letter, and please do let me know if received. Thanks! -Raj Jayadev Silicon Valley De-Bug // National Participatory Defense Network www.siliconvalleydebug.com // www.participatorydefense.org 1 April 10th, 2026 To: Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors From: Silicon Valley De-Bug Re: Special PDO Budget Session (4.14.26) Dear Board of Supervisors, We are sharing this letter to impress upon you the community need for the public defender’s office to have adequate funding to protect the rights of our people. We submit this message from the perspective of an organization that is comprised of, and advocates for, who the defender office represents in court. The most meaningful comment we can make about the importance of the public defender is that we have loves ones’ home, with their family and our community, rather than...

REQUEST TO SPEAK FORM This document is a public record, subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act. This document may also be added to the meeting materials posted on the County website. lf you wish to address the Board, Committee, or Commission, please fill out this form and place it in the container provided AGENDA ITEM For lssue "e NAME (OPTIONAL) Neutral n g - D I -\ (l'.. ) L-' r\ ;t- ( ::t Againstjqsue E .*.1 NO. G I ,- * Written comments for the record only 'L''.. : Decline to State PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY n ORGANTZATTON (OPTIONAL) PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY ADDRESS (OPTTONAL): PLEASE PRINT *lf you want to provide written comments for the record only, and you do NOT wish to address the Board, Committee, or Commission orally, please write comments below: ffiss+z REv rr/rs n lr/ REQUEST TO SPEAK FORM This document is a public record, subject to disclosure under the California P ublic Records Act. This document may also be added to the meeting materials posted on the County website. lf you wish to address the Board, Committee, or Commission, please fill out this form and place it in the container provided. DArE: q t\q 126 For lssue E NAME (oPTloNAL): AGENDA ITEM...