Nick Reiner’s arraignment delayed after high-profile attorney withdraws as counsel

By Nick Watt, Alli Rosenbloom, Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN

Los Angeles (CNN) — Nick Reiner made no plea Wednesday in a Los Angeles courtroom, where he was expected to be arraigned on murder charges in connection with the fatal stabbing of his parents, Hollywood director Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Singer Reiner. Instead, Reiner’s high-profile attorney, Alan Jackson, asked the judge’s permission to withdraw as counsel and a public defender took over, asking for a later arraignment date.

Asked whether he agreed, Reiner said, “Yeah, I agree with your honor on that.” Jackson was seen earlier introducing the public defender to Reiner in the courtroom.

The 32-year-old’s arraignment is now set for February 23.

Reiner is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of his parents last month after he was arrested December 14. He also faces a special allegation that he used a knife, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

The charges carry a penalty of life in prison without parole or the death penalty, though prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty in the case.

In court, Reiner was wearing brown prison overalls over a white T-shirt, his hair closely cropped. He chatted calmly with his lawyers before proceedings began, from the window-lined box reserved for defendants in the courtroom. He cracked a slight smile while talking with a court employee.

Judge Theresa McGonigle allowed a camera in court, but with orders not to film Reiner at the request of Reiner’s legal team.

Outside the courthouse Wednesday, Jackson said circumstances beyond his or Reiner’s control “made it impossible for us to continue our representation of Nick.” He added he is legally and ethically prohibited from explaining the decision further.

Jackson said his team is still committed to Reiner and his best interests.

“We’ve investigated this matter top to bottom, back to front. What we’ve learned, and you can take this to the bank, is that, pursuant to the laws of this state, pursuant to the law in California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder,” he said.

The Los Angeles County Public Defender’s team said they learned Tuesday the case would be turned over to them. Kimberly Greene, the deputy public defender assigned to the case, said she spoke to Reiner for about 30 seconds Wednesday morning.

“We’ve had no contact with the family. I don’t think they were aware that this was going on,” Greene said, adding it’s not uncommon for private counsel to turn cases over to her office.

The Reiner family has “the utmost trust in the legal process and will not comment further on matters related to the legal proceedings,” a family spokesperson told CNN Wednesday.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman also spoke outside the courthouse, saying, “We are fully confident that a jury will convict Nick Reiner beyond a reasonable doubt of the brutal murders of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michelle Singer Reiner, and do so unanimously.”

Prosecutors say Reiner stabbed his parents to death in the early hours of Sunday, December 14, in the master bedroom area of the family home in Brentwood, California. He was arrested without a struggle near Downtown Los Angeles that night, about 15 miles from the scene.

A family member had told detectives about Nick’s history of addiction, that he’d been living in the guest house at the Reiner home, and that he had argued with his father at Conan O’Brien’s holiday party the night before.

Reiner has struggled with addiction since his teens; he spent multiple stints in rehab, explaining to a podcaster he would sometimes stay clean long enough to get out so he could go back to using drugs. He bounced between rehab, some sustained recovery, and relapse for years. Reiner co-wrote a 2015 film about a family struggling with a child’s addiction, which his father directed.

He first appeared in court after his arrest during a brief hearing, where he was ordered to be held in custody without bail and did not enter a plea.

Rob and Michele Reiner had three children together – Jake, Romy and Nick. Rob Reiner was also the father of daughter Tracy, 61, whom he adopted during a previous marriage to the celebrated director Penny Marshall.

Jake and Romy Reiner last month wrote in a statement that “words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day.”

“The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience. They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends,” the statement read. “We now ask for respect and privacy, for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity, and for our parents to be remembered for the incredible lives they lived and the love they gave.”

Rob Reiner was a beloved figure in Hollywood who was an actor and director throughout his esteemed, decades-long career. His body of work included everything from cult comedies such as “The Princess Bride” to classic rom-coms like “When Harry Met Sally” and the Oscar-nominated legal drama “A Few Good Men.”

His breakout role as an actor came in 1971 when he starred as Mike Stivic, the son-in-law of Archie and Edith Bunker on TV’s “All in the Family,” a role for which he earned two Emmy Awards.

CNN’s Nick Watt and Alli Rosenbloom reported and wrote from Los Angeles, and Lauren Mascarenhas wrote from New York.

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