private attorney as public defender

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?I am in California and am curious about a possible option for a friend of mine who's husband's case (he's in prison still awaiting trial) is outlasting her bank account.I was told long ago that a private lawyer who has been on a case for a long time and has all the info and records and whatnot, can, if the defendant runs out of resources,be appointed the public defender,maybe by the judge, even though he's a private attorney, and continue to defend his client without interruption.Does anything like this exist or did I listen to nonsense? If anyone knows of anything like this, please share the info, my friend is getting desperate.Thanks

This is a matter of such great importance that your friend needs to be consulting with an attorney in person about this to find out the actual answer to that question. It sounds plausible because at least the attorney would still continue to be paid from public funds, although probably at a lesser rate than what he would have gotten from a private client.