Alan Jackson confirmed he’s ready and willing to rejoin Nick Reiner’s defense team five months after abruptly withdrawing from the high-profile case.
The veteran attorney, who has represented the likes of Karen Read, Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, made this very point during a Tuesday appearance on “TMZ Live,” where he addressed Reiner’s recent petition to access a trust fund in order to rehire Jackson.
“As the lawsuit indicates that Anita Wu filed against the trustee, there were guarantees, promises … certain overtures made about our defense and [the] funding our defense,” Jackson said. “[This] includes things like … hiring experts, getting the entire defense sort of populated with the right folks, the right people. It’s not just simply about legal fees.”
Yet, as Reiner’s petition highlighted, he had “no other means” to pay for this defense, which is why Jackson was forced to depart the case in January after “funding did not materialize.”
“An inheritance is subject to the Slayer rule, which means you can’t benefit from conduct that is supposedly attendant to you receiving money behind that conduct. That’s not what the the situation is here,” Jackson continued. “Nick Reiner had a trust. He had a trust well before the passing of his parents. That trust is an irrevocable trust that is his money.”
Jackson then said he felt it was “wildly unfair” that Reiner was unable to access the funds for both his legal fees and basic necessities in prison.
“According to the lawsuit, that money belonged to him well in advance of the circumstances that brought him to court in this instance,” Jackson said. “If he’s entitled to it, then he should get it and be able to do with it what he wants. And what he wants to do with it, according to him, is to hire the legal defense of his choice.”
He added: “That is a sixth amendment right that every single person, every citizen has under the constitution. Nick Reiner is no exception. He’s entitled to it.”
Jackson shared that he “was not happy about having to step away” from Reiner’s case, noting that even Reiner was “entitled to a robust, a zealous defense.”
“I still believe that to this day,” Jackson went on. “So, you’re damn right, if the circumstances, the logistics are such that we can come on board — that there are the resources there that are necessary to be able to build a robust, a full-throated defense — [then] absolutely, me and my entire team are ready, willing and able to step right back in and start securing his defense.”
While Jackson refused to share specifics on his legal strategy for Reiner, he teased that he’s already set in motion a “very thorough” defense for the “Being Charlie” screenwriter’s defense.
“Do we have a strategy? Absolutely, we’ve got a strategy, a very thorough one,” he said. “[We] developed it within the first few weeks of representing Nick. And that strategy hasn’t changed.”
As we previously reported, Rob and Michele Reiner died on Dec. 14 in a double homicide from “multiple sharp force injuries,” according to the L.A. Medical Examiner. 32-year-old Nick — who has battled mental health and addiction issues in the past — was later arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances. He pleaded not guilty to the charges back in February.
Following his arrest, Reiner retained Jackson, who abruptly withdrew from the case on Jan. 7 and turned it over to the Public Defenders’ Office. As Jackson mentioned, he remained vehement after his exit that his former client was not guilty of murdering his parents.
“In fact, we know, we’re not just convinced, we know that the legal process will reveal the true facts of the circumstances surrounding Nick’s case,” he said at the time. “What we’ve learned, and you can take this to the bank, is that, pursuant to the law in California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder.”
Reiner is set to appear in court next on Sept. 15.
