Nick Reiner’s name detonated into public consciousness overnight. Police allege he stabbed his parents, Rob Reiner and Michelle Singer Reiner, to death. Investigators say the forensic evidence is heavy and unavoidable, including substantial blood evidence was recovered.
Attention quickly turned to who would defend a young man now facing the full weight of a California murder prosecution. Many were surprised when attorney, Alan Jackson appeared on his behalf.
Jackson is no rookie. He is a longtime criminal defense attorney and a former Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney. His résumé includes prosecuting one of the most notorious homicide cases in modern history: the Phil Spector trials. After an initial mistrial and a retrial, Spector was convicted of murdering actress Lana Clarkson. Despite defense claims involving suicide or negligent handling of Spector’s Colt revolver, Spector was sentenced to prison, where he later died.
Alan Jackson does not come cheap. As of now, there is no public explanation of who funded his retainer. What is known is that Jackson succeeded in postponing Reiner’s initial court appearance while medical clearance issues were addressed.
At present, Nick Reiner is being held on suicide watch at the Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles.
Strip away the noise, the publicity, and the shock, and one reality remains. The only plausible defense path available to Reiner is mental illness. Everything else is a dead end.
Make no mistake, along was two murder charges, we can expect to see one or more special circumstance allegations, making him eligible for the death penalty
What follows is the legal road map. In California, the insanity defense is narrow, unforgiving, and rarely successful. But for Nick Reiner, it may be the only road that does not lead straight to a life sentence behind concrete and steel.
1. California uses the M’Naghten rule. Still alive. Still controlling.
California applies the M’Naghten test, codified in Penal Code § 25(b).
To prevail on insanity, the defendant must prove that at the time of the offense, due to mental disease or defect, he either:
1. Did not understand the nature and quality of the act, or
2. Did not understand that the act was morally or legally wrong.
That is it. No diminished capacity. No loss of impulse control. No “my brain made me do it.” California abolished all that decades ago.
Burden of proof is on the defense by a preponderance of the evidence. Penal Code § 25(b); People v. Hernandez (2000) 22 Cal.4th 512.
Insanity in California is narrow, brutal, and rarely successful.
2. Insanity is decided in a separate phase
California uses bifurcated trials.
Phase One: Guilt.
Phase Two: Sanity.
A defendant can be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and then still be found legally insane. That does not mean he walks.
It means commitment.
3. “Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity” does not mean freedom
If found NGI, the defendant is committed to a state hospital, not released. Penal Code § 3051.2 and § 1370.
Commitment term is the same length as the maximum criminal sentence that could have been imposed.
In many cases, insanity equals more confinement, not less.
State hospitals are locked facilities. Patients are medicated. Movement is controlled. Release is slow and heavily supervised.
Judges do not play games with public safety.
4. There is no shortcut to freedom through insanity
There is no fast track. No early “gotcha” release.
To obtain conditional release or discharge, the defense must prove:
• The mental disease is in remission, and
• The person no longer presents a danger to others.
That requires:
• Hospital evaluations
• Independent experts
• Court hearings
• Prosecutor opposition
• Often years of confinement
See People v. Superior Court (Williams) (1991) 233 Cal.App.3d 477.
Many NGI defendants serve longer than they would have under a straight prison sentence.
5. What about “mental health diversion”?
Different animal.
Penal Code § 1001.36 allows pretrial mental health diversion for qualifying defendants.
Key limits:
• Violent felonies often excluded
• Serious offenses involving harm frequently disqualified
• Court must find defendant poses no unreasonable risk to public safety
Diversion is discretionary. Prosecutors fight it hard. Judges deny it often in high-profile or violent cases.
Diversion is not insanity. It requires competency, cooperation, and treatment compliance.
6. Competency is not insanity
Many people confuse the two.
• Competency: Can the defendant understand the proceedings and assist counsel now? Penal Code § 1367.
• Insanity: Mental state at the time of the offense.
A defendant can be incompetent but still legally sane at the time of the crime.
Restoring competency does not erase criminal liability.
7. Bottom line for a California defendant
Insanity defenses in California:
• Are rare
• Are hard to prove
• Do not equal freedom
• Often result in longer confinement than prison
Unless the facts show true psychosis directly tied to the act, with credible expert support and a clear inability to understand wrongfulness, insanity is a long shot.
Judges and juries are skeptical. Rightly so.
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