All eyes will be on Nick Reiner as he enters an LA courtroom Monday for the third time since he was accused of slashing his famous parents to death in their $20 million dollar Brentwood mansion.
The arraignment is expected to last a few minutes as he enters a plea, but his public defender Kimberly Greene could use it to start building an insanity defense, a legal expert told the Post.
“One reason to roll out a mental defense now is that, by waiting, it can undermine the credibility of an argument later, causing people to ask, “If he’s so bad off mentally, why didn’t you raise the issue earlier?” lawyer Royal Oakes said.
One way the defense could raise the issue is to argue Reiner is unable to understand the proceedings. “They can play the competency card. That can stop the case cold and trigger psychiatric evaluations.”, Oakes continued.
He added that A-List celebrities at Conan O’Brien’s holiday party, who saw Reiner’s behavior just hours before the killings, could have a huge impact on the viability of an insanity defense.
Witnesses at the party described a blow-up argument between Reiner and his parents, and said he was interrupting party goer conversations at the bash.
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“Did Reiner, hours before the murders, seem obnoxious but cogent, or did he seem disconnected from reality? That’s the essence of the insanity test in California.” says Oakes.
But Greene has no obligation to raise the issue at the arraignment, which is mostly procedural and not where evidence is argued.
“The defense is absolutely free to plead not guilty now and keep its mental-health strategy under wraps. There’s no requirement that they tip their hand at this early stage,” the attorney said.
So far, Reiner’s plea has been postponed twice. The first was when hot shot lawyer Alan Jackson entered the case and wanted more time to talk with his client.
Jackson dropped out of the case in court seven days later, that move further derailed a plea and put Greene in the driver’s seat as head attorney on the case.
The December murders of Rob and Michelle Reiner shocked Hollywood to its core. Reiner was arrested the day after the bloody bodies were discovered.
He’s been locked up in LA’s county jail with no bail ever since.
