Robert Weisberg, co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, said that while the situation is unusual, it is not unheard of, and that public defender offices in other states have pursued similar legal standoffs when caseloads became unmanageable.

“It’s not unusual for public defenders to seek some kind of legal relief when they claim that their caseloads are too high,” Weisberg told KQED. “This is really, in a sense, a threat to go on strike.”