San Francisco’s Swollen Trial Backlogs Are Trapping People Behind Bars
The number of people incarcerated in the county past their original trial deadlines has grown from 68 people in 2020 to nearly 250 as of January 2022, while hundreds more are waiting out of custody.
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Nearly a quarter of incarcerated people awaiting their day in court in San Francisco county are being held beyond their original trial deadlines, with some individuals waiting for years for their cases to be heard, reports The Guardian. According to the latest data available, the number of people incarcerated in the county past their original trial deadlines has grown from 68 people in 2020 to nearly 250 as of January 2022, and hundreds more are awaiting trial out of custody.
Backlogs in the court system, made worse by the pandemic, have obliterated state deadlines stipulating a maximum 30 to 60-day wait time following arraignment, often at significant cost to the mental health and wellbeing of those imprisoned and their loved ones. The problem disproportionately affects communities of color as Black residents, who comprise 6 percent of San Francisco’s total population, make up about 45 percent of the county jail population. Meanwhile, inmate complaints, including those in a September 2021 lawsuit alleging that the city’s superior court is violating people’s constitutional right to a speedy trial, claim they were allowed out of their cells for less than an hour a day during outbreaks of the virus.
