Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Okay... you haven't really asked a question.

How do you know they're not giving proper advice? There may be things about the case you don't know and that they can't discuss with you.

If your brother is unhappy with the public defender, he and the family are free to retain private counsel to represent him.

He is free to hire new counsel if not satisfied with his current one, whether it is the Public Defender or a private attorney. The PD's have numerous cases to handle, and are not there to 'hold his hand' like highly paid private attorneys [like me] who may be handling fewer cases at a time. The PD attorneys are highly qualified and competent, and do at least as good job as most private attorneys, or they would be fired by their boss. They have more experience and handle more cases than most private attorneys ever see.

He may not 'like' the advice and opinions he is getting, but that is not the same as it being poor, wrong or deficient. No defendant 'likes' being confronted with the natural and serious consequences of misbehavior. In 35 years of practice, I have encountered few defendants that didn't bitch and moan about their attorney doing a 'poor job' if they got convicted, which more than 90% are if they go to trial. That is a statistic he needs to consider when discussing 'plea bargains'.