Nick Reiner’s Former Attorney Alan Jackson Speaks Out After Leaving His Defense

Defense attorney Alan Jackson knows there is a “looming question” regarding why he left Nick Reiner’s murder case.

Reiner was arrested after his parents Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead in their Los Angeles home on December 14. He is now facing two first-degree murder charges.

On January 7, Jackson made the shocking announcement he was stepping down from the case.

Jackson appeared as a guest on the Sirius XM podcast “Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa” to address his exit.

The attorney explained, "Yeah. Everybody's got that same looming question, and I am compelled, through — because of legal standards and ethical obligations, there's certain things I simply can't divulge, Kelly. In terms of why there was a change in council, why we stepped away and the Public Defender's Office stepped in.”

He continued, "But I will reiterate what I said in the press conference, which is my team — me personally and my team — remain completely and utterly committed to Nick's best interests. We always will be committed to his best interest. I want nothing but the best for him, and I want him to get the most robust defense that he possibly can get. And I know he will in the hands of the Public Defender's Office.”

While Nick Reiner has not been arraigned, legal experts have weighed in on whether his team will plead not guilty due to insanity. According to TMZ, he was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder around 2020.

Jackson spoke with Kelly in general terms about how mental health factors into a case, clarifying he was not speaking about Reiner.

He said, “If you have a mental illness, such that you cannot form an intent, you don’t understand the character and quality of your conduct, et cetera, then a system is built to accommodate that and to address that, and that is the not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity defense,” he said. 

The attorney, who famously defended Karen Read, continued, “So in that circumstance, a lot of people have talked about it, Kelly. What does that mean? ‘Oh, does that mean you go to a psychiatrist for 10 minutes and then you’re released?’ No, it doesn’t mean that at all. The system is built to treat that.”

Instead, he says the person would go to a “state mental hospital” until their “sickness or that illness is resolved."

The lawyer went on to explain the process in California, sharing, “The procedure is as follows: you enter the plea, you still go through a guilt phase, which is just standard trial on whether or not the defendant is responsible for and liable for, legally liable for, the death of somebody else or the conduct in question. Only if the jury comes back unanimously as guilty, then you go to a penalty phase, which that penalty phase can include an NGI [Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity]. In other words, the jury then decides — separate part in a bifurcated proceeding — the same jury decides whether or not you are sane or insane at the time of the conduct for which you are convicted.”

He said, essentially, the person goes through “two entire trials.”