The high-profile lawyer set to defend Nick Reiner during his trial for the murder of his parents, Rob and Michele, has removed himself from the case amid further delays to the defendant’s arraignment.
Attorney Alan Jackson’s departure was announced on Wednesday during a hearing at the Los Angeles Superior Court, where the 32-year-old Reiner was set to be arraigned on first-degree murder charges in connection with the deaths of the Hollywood director and his wife at their LA home last month.
Reiner, who has been held at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles without bail since his first court appearance on 17 December, was expected to enter a plea on Wednesday after a three-week delay to his arraignment.
Instead, his now-former attorney Jackson told reporters that "circumstances beyond our control, but more importantly beyond Nick's control, have dictated that it's impossible for us to continue our representation with Nick".
Jackson, who previously represented Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein, added that he is "legally and ethically prohibited from explaining all the reasons" behind the decision.
According to The New York Times, the move suggests that the Reiner family, whose lawyers arranged for Jackson to take the case on immediately after Nick’s arrest in December, has financially distanced itself from his defence.
The reasons for delays to formal legal proceedings surrounding Reiner’s plea have been unclear, though some reports indicated that Jackson’s defence team were seeking additional time to allow Reiner to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, which would determine whether an insanity plea might be possible.
Reiner, who wore a suicide prevention smock to his first court appearance, was reportedly removed from suicide watch ahead of his arraignment.
Nathan Hochman, district attorney for Los Angeles County, told reporters on Wednesday that Reiner would be assigned a public defence lawyer.
He added: "I'm fully confident that a jury will convict Nick Reiner beyond reasonable doubt of the brutal murder of his parents... and do so unanimously.”
Reiner’s ongoing struggle with drug addiction and mental health issues was made public more than a decade ago, when he and his father made the movie Being Charlie, which was loosely based on their lives.
Per The Los Angeles Times, Reiner had been prescribed medication used to treat schizophrenia for an unknown period of time before his parents’ deaths.
Rob Reiner was one of Hollywood’s most celebrated directors, known for films including This Is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally and The Princess Bride.
With his wife, who was a producer and photographer, the couple were well-known for championing liberal political causes and engaging with advocacy for social issues.
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