City and County of San Francisco / Public Defender

Agency file

Public Defender

Source file: City and County of San Francisco — Employee Compensation / ingested Jun 17, 2026

The Public Defender handles legal functions of government — prosecution, legal advice, and representing the state in court.

In 2025, this agency had 250 employees with median total compensation of $202,487; the highest distinct record was $403,576.

Year: 2025
Total payroll: $54.7M
Employees: 250
Median total: $202,487
Highest record: $403,576

What the records show

Compensation analytics

These summaries compare pay within the agency before listing individual records.

Salary distribution

$3,436$377,856+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 250 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($202,487) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $163,313 (75%)
Overtime — $166 (0%)
Other — $1,352 (1%)
Benefits — $53,842 (25%)

What an average paycheck here is made of — base salary versus overtime, other pay (bonuses, allowances), and benefits. A large overtime or other-pay share means take-home often exceeds base salary.

Pay percentiles

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$119,216

$151,643

$202,487

$282,409

$348,663

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $348,663 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $119,216. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Attorney (Civil/Criminal)

108 · $262,504

Legal Assistant

35 · $153,177

Senior Public Defenders Invstgtor

16 · $198,123

Head Attorney Civil & Criminal

15 · $365,930

Court Alternative Specialist 1

13 · $138,963

The most common job titles in this department by headcount, with the median total compensation for each. Click a title to see everyone who holds it.

Trend

Year over year

How this department's total payroll, headcount, and median pay changed across the 2 published years.

Year	Total payroll	Employees	Median pay
2024	$52M —	252 —	$199,423 —
2025	$54.7M ▲ 5.1%	250 ▼ 0.8%	$202,487 ▲ 1.5%

Compare

Similar departments

Departments elsewhere with the most similar mix of roles — a proxy for the same kind of agency, matched by workforce composition rather than name. Pay is not cost-of-living adjusted.

Office of Public Utility Counsel Texas80% match
Office of Administrative Law California75% match
City Attorney City and County of San Francisco74% match
District Attorney Allegheny County, Pennsylvania66% match
Public Defender Council, Georgia Georgia65% match
Attorney General's Office South Carolina62% match

Record list

Employees

Page 1

Eli Huscher

Attorney (Civil/Criminal)/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$18,267

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $13,636
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $4,631
Total compensation: $18,267
Employment type: Permanent Exempt
Union / bargaining unit: Municipal Attorneys Assoc

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $1,688
Job Code: 8177
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $1,030

At Public Defender, Eli Huscher serves as a Attorney (Civil/Criminal) within Legal & Court. They work permanent exempt. Their 2025 pay totaled $18,267. Union affiliation: Municipal Attorneys Assoc.

Rebecca Shelton

Legal Secretary 1/Public Defender

2024 total comp

$16,031

Sub-department: Clerical, Secretarial & Steno
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $11,112
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $4,920
Total compensation: $16,031
Employment type: Permanent Civil Service
Union / bargaining unit: SEIU, Local 1021, Misc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.13

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $2,325
Job Code: 1458
Job Family Code: 1400
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $852

Rebecca Shelton is a Legal Secretary 1 at Public Defender within Clerical, Secretarial & Steno. They work permanent civil service, 0.13 FTE. 2024 total compensation came to $16,031. Their bargaining unit is SEIU, Local 1021, Misc.

Wynona Winterstein

Legal Process Clerk/Public Defender

2024 total comp

$8,597

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $0
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $256
Benefits: $8,341
Total compensation: $8,597
Employment type: Permanent Civil Service
Union / bargaining unit: SEIU, Local 1021, Misc

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $8,321
Job Code: 8106
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $20

Wynona Winterstein is a Legal Process Clerk at Public Defender within Legal & Court. They work permanent civil service. 2024 total compensation came to $8,597. Their bargaining unit is SEIU, Local 1021, Misc.

Yatziri Torres

Legal Assistant/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$4,128

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $3,840
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $288
Total compensation: $4,128
Employment type: Temporary Exempt
Union / bargaining unit: Prof & Tech Eng, Local 21

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Job Code: 8173
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $288
Total Salary: $3,840

Yatziri Torres holds the role of Legal Assistant at Public Defender within Legal & Court. Their status is temporary exempt. In 2025, their total compensation was $4,128. Union affiliation: Prof & Tech Eng, Local 21.

Marisol Harper

Medical Social Worker/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$3,436

Sub-department: Human Services
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $3,197
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $240
Total compensation: $3,436
Employment type: Temporary Provisional
Union / bargaining unit: SEIU, Local 1021, Misc

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Job Code: 2920
Job Family Code: 2900
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $240
Total Salary: $3,197

At Public Defender, Marisol Harper serves as a Medical Social Worker within Human Services. They work temporary provisional. Their 2025 pay totaled $3,436. Their bargaining unit is SEIU, Local 1021, Misc.