'Nick Reiner Is Not Guilty Of Murder' Attorney Insists While Dropping The Case

LOS ANGELES, CA — Nick Reiner's high-profile attorney on Wednesday removed himself from the case while insisting that his client is not guilty of the murder of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.

Reiner, 32, remains jailed without bond on two counts of murder stemming from the stabbing deaths of his parents, who were found dead on Dec. 14 in their Brentwood home.

Reiner was set to be arraigned on the charges Wednesday morning in downtown Los Angeles. But the arraignment was postponed to Feb. 23 after his attorney, Alan Jackson, said he was no longer working for Reiner.

Jackson said in the courtroom that "we feel we have no choice" but to withdraw from the case. He did not elaborate, the New York Times reported.

Reiner is now being represented by the county Public Defender's Office. His new lawyer requested that arraignment be delayed due to the change in representation.

Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Greene said Reiner was "understanding that there was going to be a change in counsel," but said she spoke with him for about 30 seconds and hasn't had any in-depth conversations with him or had any contact with his family.

"Circumstances beyond our control, but more importantly circumstances beyond Nick's control, have dictated that sadly, it's made it impossible to continue our representation of Nick," Jackson told reporters outside the courthouse Wednesday.

He said that he's "legally and ethically prohibited" from explaining why. But he said he's convinced of the innocence of his former client.

"What we've learned — and you can take this to the bank — is that pursuant to the laws of this state ... Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder," Jackson said.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman told reporters on Wednesday that his office is convinced a jury will convict Reiner.

TMZ on Wednesday reported that Jackson's decision to step away from the case is connected to Reiner having been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and issues with his medication "that could lead to a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity."

The outlet previously reported that Reiner had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, which is a separate disorder.

The Los Angeles Times was among the outlets that reported last month Reiner was prescribed medication for schizophrenia at some point before he was accused of killing his parents.

Reiner and his parents had been open about his struggles with mental heath and substance abuse issues.

The LA Times reported that police had made at least two visits to the Reiner home in 2019 after responding to mental health-related 911 calls.

Jackson is a high-profile defense attorney and former LA County prosecutor who represented Harvey Weinstein at his Los Angeles trial. He secured a murder acquittal for Karen Read in her closely followed retrial in Massachusetts. He was a central figure in the HBO documentary on the Read case.

Jackson has also represented the man accused of murder in the 2023 deaths of four Pepperdine University students killed in a crash on Pacific Coast Highway.

• Read Patch's full coverage of the Reiner case
  

City News Service contributed to this report.