What are the procedures under CA criminal procedure for continuing a court hearing

The fact that your son's attorney died is "good cause" to continue your son's matter until you can hire a new lawyer. Your son will need to file a "Penal Code section 1050" motion with the Court and notify the District Attorney and any other attorneys involved in the case if it is a multi-defendant case. This motion needs to be filed a minimum of two court days before the next hearing. As for getting a refund, did the second lawyer work for a firm or was he a sole practitioner? If he worked for a firm, go to the firm and demand a refund. If he worked alone, you will need to make a claim against his estate. Of course, finding out who is administering his estate and getting the money back could very well take longer than the Court is willing to continue your son's case. You may have to bite the bullet and hire a new lawyer before you are able to get a refund. Of course, if you are able to hire a new lawyer who is willing to do payment arrangements, such as myself, the new lawyer may be able to help you get a refund.

As others have suggested your first move should be secure a refund if possible. However, this may be time consuming depending on the deceased lawyers estate. You may in fact find an attorney that is willing to assist your son in the defense of his case and try to secure the unearned legal fees of the deceased lawyers estate. You may wish to file a continuance with the court hearing your sons case so you can handle these issues.

Good Luck!

You or your son's next attorney may be able to recover some of the fees back; recovery may depend on the agreement between the deceased attorney and his client (your son). Do you have a copy of the agreement? His estate may argue that his fees have been earned because he did "x, y, and z." You will have a tough time recovering if your main complaint is that he was ineffective; criminal defense malpractice claims now require that the defendant prove "factual innocence and exoneration as to all transactionally related offenses comprising the basis for the underlying criminal proceeding" Wilkinson v. Zelen (Sept. 25, 2008, B2000 74)_Cal. App. 4th_.
Good Luck