In California, misdemeanor and felony charges referred by law enforcement are reviewed by the District Attorney's (DA) Office before filing. After reviewing and accepting a case, prosecutors decide the number and type of charges to file. This is known as case filing.

This section presents data on all misdemeanor and felony cases for which the DA’s Office has reviewed charges against a defendant and decided to file a case. For more in-depth analyses on race and prosecution, please see our series of Race and Prosecutions reports .

Why is this important? To support community safety, we want to maximize limited resources by focusing on serious crime while minimizing unnecessary punitiveness. Understanding the number and types of cases filed in the Office helps to ensure we use resources efficiently, effectively, and fairly.