What you need to know
Will Nick Reiner plead insanity after being charged with murder in connection with the deaths of his parents Rob Reiner and Michelle Reiner? It’s not clear yet, but legal experts say it’s a defense that has historically had a low success rate in court.
“Being found not guilty by reason of insanity is a very difficult legal hurdle to overcome in California,” Neema Rahmani, a California West Coast trial attorney who is not connected to the Reiner family’s case, tells PEOPLE. “You have to prove that the defendant does not know the nature and consequences of his actions, whether due to illness or defect. Essentially, you have to show that the defendant does not know right from wrong.”
The 78-year-old film director and his wife Michelle, 70, were found dead in their Los Angeles home on December 14th. Her son Nick, 32, was later arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He is being held without bail at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, and law enforcement sources tell PEOPLE he is on suicide watch in his cell. His charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole or the death penalty if convicted.
Rahmani said it is “very difficult” for most defendants to plead insanity in court and win a more lenient sentence. “Juries almost always reject this defense; it only works a small percentage of the time.”
Mona Edwards / Backgrid
Never miss a news. Sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to human interest stories.
Part of that is due to where insanity pleas fall in the legal process, he continued, noting that prosecutors must first prove guilt and defendants will “make some sort of claim” such as self-defense.
In the “second stage,” he continued, “the burden is on the defense.” Lawyers typically seek to argue that the defendant is legally insane, thus reversing their previous story. “Then they have to look back and say, ‘Oh, you know what? He actually did it, but he wasn’t in his right mind.’ So juries don’t like that, and it’s rarely, if ever, effective.”
Dennis Trasello/Getty
In Nick’s case, he faces two counts of first-degree murder with a special charge of using a knife in his parents’ deaths, but the circumstances could make it “difficult” to pull off a successful insanity defense, New York state criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Randy Zelin tells PEOPLE.
Mr. Zelin, who is not involved in the Reiner case, said in court that a “history of bad blood” could be a possible motive, mitigating that he “did not know he was involved in criminal activity.”
Sources say Nick and Rob got into an argument the night before his death, at Conan O’Brien’s holiday party on December 13th. Zerin said the manner of Rob and Michelle’s deaths “suggests a conscious purpose to kill them,” and that their subsequent actions, including reportedly checking into the Pierside Hotel in Santa Monica, Calif., “indicate a level of awareness and reality.”
“If you are rational and able to reason with your parents, then you are not legally insane,” Rahmani similarly argues.
Caroline Breman/AFP via Getty
However, following reports from the Los Angeles Times and KNBC that Nick was being treated for schizophrenia at the time of his death, Rahmani added that Nick’s mental state and alleged drug use “could have an impact on the case.”
“First-degree murder requires premeditation, which means it’s a conspiracy, a premeditation, something done intentionally. The defense could use schizophrenia to argue there was no premeditation. That would downgrade first-degree murder to second-degree murder.”
Zerin argues that if Nick is convicted, his defense team could certainly use Nick’s “history of mental illness and addiction” to reduce the manslaughter sentence and “take the death penalty off the table…The mental health experts here play an equally important role, if not more so than the lawyers.”
Nick appeared in court for the first time on December 17, wearing a suicide smock and shackles. His attorney, Alan Jackson, declined to present his client’s defense at the time. The “Being Charlie” screenwriter’s arraignment is scheduled to continue on January 7th.
