SF's Revolving Door Courts: Violent Felons Diverted, Judges Unchallenged, Murder Follows

SF courts haven’t submitted a single data point on resolved criminal cases to the California Judicial Council since 2020 — five straight years of non-compliance with Article VI, Section 6 of the state constitution. The court’s own biennial report, subtitled “Data-Driven Decision-Making,” confirms the gap. Meanwhile, the public defender’s budget grew from $41M to $52M on a claimed caseload surge — but criminal filings actually fell 35%. The court that won’t show its work just had its judges reelected without opposition.

Drug Court diversions nearly quadrupled from 180 granted in 2023 to 608 in just the first ten months of 2025, with defendants charged with attempted murder and armed robbery qualifying through a 2018 state law loophole. The failure rate is staggering: 259 participants terminated versus 134 graduates. Garry Tan called it ‘an ongoing, constant denial-of-service attack on justice.’

One week before the Feb. 4 filing deadline, most of SF’s worst-performing judges remain unchallenged. Any California attorney with 10 years of practice can file—you don’t even need to live in SF. Garry Tan amplified the urgency, but the structural problem is information: voters surveyed on actual rulings wanted these judges gone, yet most had never heard of them.

About two dozen SF Superior Court judges face reelection in June 2026, but most will win automatically if no challengers file by Feb. 4. Half of those up for reelection have public defender backgrounds. Polling showed voters would reject these judges based on specific rulings—but with no opponent on the ballot, voters never get the chance. The system is built for incumbents to coast unchallenged.

Patrick Potter racked up 18 burglaries in 2023 as a ‘hot prowler'—breaking into homes while people were inside—and Judge Begert gave him diversion. Potter skipped his January 9 court check-in and was arrested within 20 minutes of the warrant going out. Begert, ranked SF’s most 'pro-violent criminal’ judge by Stop Crime Action, doesn’t even live in the city—he commutes from Piedmont.

Drug Court petitions tripled from 516 in 2023 to 1,909 in the first ten months of 2025, with armed robbers and a defendant with a prior murder solicitation conviction getting diverted. More participants failed out than graduated. DA Brooke Jenkins called it ‘an abuse of this statute.’ Judge Begert, who built the program, was finally replaced by a prosecutor with 22 years of homicide experience.

Thea Brenda Hopkins, accused of shoving an Asian elder to death, is angling for diversion instead of trial—the same Drug Court pathway that would explode over the next year. Her case had already been stalled seven times. The defense sought a DSM-5 substance use disorder diagnosis, the go-to ticket into Judge Begert’s program. Two attacks on Asian elders, and the system’s answer is treatment.