Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Your cousin's situation is very complicated. Drivers of getaway cars can indeed be guilty of the crimes committed by their associates. That is true even if the driver did not know ahead of time what the associates were going to do. It is even true if the associates committed crimes they did not intend to commit, if those crimes were reasonably foreseeable. That can happen when, for example, robbers end up killing one of their victims -- or a victim kills one of the robbers.

What your cousin needs is the advice of an experienced attorney who knows the details of her case. If she can't afford to continue with the lawyer she has, she may need to get a public defender. She also has the option of getting second opinions before she decides whether to replace her current attorney.

It's too bad that money is a factor in decisions like this. Unfortunately, that is often how it must be. Your cousin should not underestimate the public defenders, though. Most are very good attorneys who really know what they're doing. The problem is that they are badly overworked and generally can't give each case as much time as a private attorney could.

First - to clear up some terminology...

A person is an "accessory" (also sometimes called an "accessory after the fact") if AFTER a felony is committed, they do something to help a person escape, destroy evidence, avoid capture or prosecution, etc. Accessory in the law is its own crime - Penal Code 32. That carries a maximum of 3 years in custody.

I think your cousin is instead charged not as an accessory, but under an "aiding and abetting" theory. The difference there is if they prove that she did something to help facilitate the commission of the crime (not AFTER the crime like an accessory), then she can be charged with and convicted of the main crime (in this case, murder) and punished just the same as if she was the person who actually did the crime.

There are some excellent attorneys in the public defender's office - and there are some that are less than excellent. Same can be said about private attorneys. The family should review the retainer agreement and make sure the attorney isn't trying to charge for trial when the retainer was already to include trial. Or - if they are unsatisfied with the present attorney, there may be a portion of the unused retainer agreement that they're entitled to get back so they can hire a new attorney.

If your cousin cannot get the current attorney to continue or they cannot afford to hire another attorney, she will need to apply for the public defender.

The decision to take a plea deal or go to trial is absolutely one that cannot and should not be answered by anyone online. The ONLY person in the position to advise your cousin should be an attorney who has actually reviewed the evidence, reports, transcripts and statements, then discussed the pros and cons of trial with your cousin.