Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

First you need to contact the attorney or his office and inquire as to the expected time he will be released from the hospital and will be able to return to work. If his illness interferes with the conduct of your case, the court will remove him as the attorney. If you are able to retain another attorney the court should allow you time to get a new attorney. If you cannot afford to retain another attorney then the court should appoint an attorney to represent you.

There are very few instances in which you do not have the option to change attorneys. Depending on the circumstance will determine if the Court will allow the new attorney time to prepare for the case (they may not if they believe it is simply being done as a stalling tactic. It doesn't sound like this would be an issue in this instance). Good luck.

All he has to do is hire an attorney willing to take the case, and have the attorney show up in court prepared to do so. It is done frequently, without problem, unless the next hearing is a trial and he attempts to continue the trial for this reason. Even then, the court is supposed to allow it. If he is serious about doing so, feel free to contact me. If he replaces the original attorney, he will need to discuss fees and refunds with him. The new attorney can assist in that.