Nick Reiner’s Legal Counsel Withdraws From Case; Public Defender Steps In

The only thing more shocking than the news that Rob and Michele Reiner had been killed by their son was the news that the 32-year-old Nick Reiner, who had been in and out of more than a dozen rehabs, had hired a celebrity lawyer to defend him. Alan Jackson, who has successfully defended several high-profile cases, was Nick Reiner’s attorney until today. The attorney to the stars has stepped down, and a public defender has taken his place.

Alan Jackson will no longer represent Nick Reiner

Alan Jackson was quick to sign on to defend Nick Reiner. The lawyer, who most recently successfully defended Karen Read, didn’t stay on the case long. Just three weeks after Nick Reiner was apprehended and charged with killing both of his parents, Jackson withdrew from the case.

According to TMZ, Jackson walked into a Los Angeles area courthouse to withdraw himself as Nick Riener’s legal counsel moving forward. Going forward, the younger Reiner will work with a seasoned public defender. He has yet to enter a plea, but is expected to do so at his next court hearing. A judge signed off on the change. Legal experts theorize that Reiner may attempt to use his recent mental health diagnosis as a defense. The younger had been dealing with mental health concerns in the weeks leading up to the attack.

According to TMZ, Jackson addressed the media after leaving the courthouse. The longtime lawyer said he had to withdraw from the case for reasons beyond Nick Reiner’s control. He went on to say that the 32-year-old is not guilty of murdering his parents. Jackson did not elaborate on either statement, though online sleuths have quickly theorized that money, or lack thereof, may have played a role in Jackson’s quick departure. When Jackson first announced he was taking the case, online sleuths theorized a defense mounted by a lawyer of Jackson’s caliber could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

What was Nick Reiner diagnosed with?

Nick Reiner was apprehended by LAPD officers on December 14, just hours after he allegedly killed his parents. Since then, he’s been detained at a local detention center. Since he was apprehended, it has been revealed that the younger Reiner, who has been open about his struggle with drugs, had been diagnosed with a serious mental health disoder in the weeks before the murders.

Initially, Page Six reported that the younger Reiner had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. More recent reports suggest he had been diagnosed with schizoeffective disorder. According to the Cleveland Clinic, schizophrenia presents most commonly with hallucinations without mood disturbances. Schizoeffective disorder includes mood disturbances and often requires a cocktail of medications to treat. The younger Reiner was allegedly under the care of a psychiatrist at the time of the slayings. It’s unclear if he had ever been in an inpatient facility specifically for his mental health concerns.