In this case, both a "taxpayers' suit and an individual action," San Francisco taxpayers Lisa Honig and Nancy L. Davis brought suit against the City and County of San Francisco, as well as its Sheriff and Commander of the Hall of Justice Jail Facility. Those effected by the lawsuit included Benton D. Burt, who was representing himself in court, and Susan Hoffman, his legal assistant. It sought to end the practice at the San Francisco Hall of Justice of "arbitrarily precluding confidential in-person visits between 'pre-trial detainees' (a phrase...used to refer to detainees awaiting trial or sentencing) who are representing themselves in the criminal actions against them and their court appointed 'legal runners and paralegal assistants.'" These assistants are often court appointed. The current practice at the time of this case was to only allow detainees representing themselves in court to meet with their assistants in a room in which they were separated by a glass partitition, which made the exchage of legal documents difficult, and requires that they be reviewed by a Deputy Sheriff. The people meeting may only speak to each other by telephone. The complaint argues: "Confidential communications between a pretrial detainee and his legal representative thus cannot be effectuated in the visiting area."

In response, the court ordered that the Sheriff "shall extend to Ms. Hoffman all rights and privileges regarding confidentiality and access to the defendant, as would be extended to any defense counsel representing an inmate housed in the county jail." They also ordered that Ms. Hoffman should be paid for her services.