{"id":424738,"date":"2026-01-20T04:44:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T04:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/424738\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T04:44:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T04:44:21","slug":"nick-reiners-mental-health-conservatorship-could-complicate-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/424738\/","title":{"rendered":"Nick Reiner’s Mental Health Conservatorship Could Complicate Case"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tNick Reiner<\/a> was put under a yearlong mental health conservatorship in 2020, reported<\/a> The New York Times, an arrangement that will likely take center stage in his defense against charges for the murder of his parents, Rob Reiner<\/a> and Michele Singer Reiner.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe placement \u2014 designed for people with serious mental illnesses who are found to be \u201cgravely disabled\u201d and typically originate after noncompliance with treatment \u2014 is known for allowing involuntary psychiatric care. The conservatorship, designed to last for a limited time, ended in 2021, according to the report.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe issue complicates Los Angeles prosecutors\u2019 case against Reiner, whose mental health disorders could undermine charges of first-degree murder. If Reiner\u2019s mental state was such that it made him incapable of having that intent, he may be guilty of another crime, including manslaughter. He could also pursue a not guilty by reason of insanity defense, though he\u2019d likely face an uphill climb. <\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s been widely reported that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia several years ago. Some have said that Reiner\u2019s medication was adjusted or changed in the weeks leading up to the attack, leading to increasingly erratic behavior. In the hours leading up to the slayings, he was seen arguing with his parents at a Saturday holiday party at Conan O\u2019Brien\u2019s home<\/a>, sources told The Hollywood Reporter. He later checked into the Pierside Santa Monica hotel and was arrested in South Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlan Jackson, Reiner\u2019s former lawyer<\/a>, appears to have hinted at the preparation of a defense involving the extensive mental health disorders at play.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPursuant to the law of California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder,\u201d he said, shortly after withdrawing from the case. \u201cPrint that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s unknown whether Kimberly Greene, the public defender now representing Reiner, will do the same. He\u2019s likely undergoing medical examinations to examine his competence and whether he understands the charges against him. If a not guilty by reason of insanity defense is advanced, a jury must find that he couldn\u2019t appreciate the difference between right and wrong.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThat\u2019s not really what we have here in my opinion,\u201d says Halim Dhanidina, a former state and court of appeals judge and prosecutor. \u201cBut you could have a situation where illness can reduce the crime from murder to manslaughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFirst-degree murder requires premeditation. Dhanidina adds, \u201cIf the mental illness was such that it didn\u2019t manifest in the intent to kill, he could be guilty of a lesser degree of murder.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIf convicted as charged, Reiner could face a death sentence or life in prison without the possibility of parole, though a decision hasn\u2019t been made on whether to seek capital punishment. Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who restored the death penalty in Los Angeles, has said he would only seek it in \u201crare cases,\u201d like the killing of a law enforcement officer or school shooting. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe\u2019re fully confident that a jury will convict Nick Reiner beyond a reasonable doubt of the brutal murder of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, and do so unanimously,\u201d Hochman said last week. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nick Reiner was put under a yearlong mental health conservatorship in 2020, reported The New York Times, an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":424739,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[64,63,137,514,515,193145,192369],"class_list":{"0":"post-424738","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-mental-health","12":"tag-mentalhealth","13":"tag-nick-reiner","14":"tag-rob-reiner"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=424738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/424739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=424738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=424738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=424738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}