An ACT defence lawyer has accused the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of wasting time and money running "merit-less cases" with "no reasonable prospect of success".

The comments come after DPP Victoria Engel warned her office would have to choose not to prosecute some cases unless funding increased .

Ms Engel said her office's workload had increased to processing 23,000 charges annually.

While ACT defence lawyer Peter Woodhouse acknowledged the increased workload, he said the DPP needed sharper decision-making.

"There needs to be some accountability on [Ms Engel's] part for running merit-less cases," he told ABC radio.

" Sometimes it's patently obvious that there is no reasonable prospect of success. "

Before a trial begins in the courts, defence lawyers meet with prosecuto

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