This article highlights the struggles that the San Francisco Public Defender's Office is facing as a result of the financial crisis in California.  The public defender's office is facing a $2 million dollar budget cut, which could result in a staff reduction of up to 20 lawyers.  This will also result in higher expenses for the state as defendants will sit in jail longer, increasing incarceration costs, Chief Public Defender Adachi said. Cases would be delayed while private attorneys get up to speed, creating bigger clogs in a legal pipeline that barely trickles now.

See this msnbc article for more information.