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Attorney Matt Murphy is shedding light on the man representing Nick Reiner, who faces double homicide charges for allegedly killing his parents — Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele.
In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, Murphy called Nick’s defense lawyer, Alan Jackson, “an immensely talented trial lawyer” who is “in his prime right now.”
“He’s famous, of course, for the Karen Read case, which, in my opinion, evidence against her was overwhelming, and Alan put his talents on full display for the whole country to see,” Murphy said.
Jackson famously defended Karen Read, who was accused of hitting her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, with her car and leaving him to die during a snowstorm. She maintained her innocence throughout two criminal trials, the first ending in a hung jury, before ultimately being found not guilty of murder and manslaughter in the second.
NICK REINER WILL BE CHARGED IN ROB REINER, MICHELE REINER’S DEATHS
Attorney Mark Murphy says he isn’t surprised Alan Jackson was brought on as Nick Reiner’s defense lawyer. (Laura Cavanaugh/FilmMagic; Caroline BREHMAN / AFP via Getty Images)
Murphy explained that given Jackson’s “skill and his talent, he, as they say, ain’t cheap,” but said Nick likely has “access to money somewhere,” whether from a relative or a trust. He added that he isn’t “surprised at all” that Jackson was hired.
“There’s a lot of people I know. Alan would be on my short list,” he said. “He might not be my number one, to represent me if I was in trouble in L.A., where I grew up, but he’d be close to the top. So yeah, look, he is a superb attorney.”
WATCH: NEW DETAILS SURROUNDING NICK REINER’S MENTAL HEALTH HISTORY EMERGE
Just a few days after the murders, Jackson made headlines when he was seen visiting the Reiner home. According to Murphy, most trial lawyers who are familiar with murder cases learn that “the sooner you can get into the crime scene, the better,” sometimes without even knowing what they are looking for.
WATCH: MATT MURPHY EXPLAINED HE ‘WASN’T SURPRISED’ TO SEE ALAN JACKSON REPRESENTING NICK REINER
Seeing the crime scene in person gives lawyers “a visceral sense of what happened” there, which can be “critical” when presenting the facts to a jury, Murphy said. When practicing law in Orange County, Murphy explained he would “go to the scene before the body was moved” with an investigator.
Alan Jackson visited the Reiner home shortly after the murders, which Murphy said gives lawyers “a visceral sense of what happened” there. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
WATCH: MATT MURPHY CALLS NICK REINER’S LAWYER ‘IMMENSELY TALENTED’
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“You want to go so you can see it and so you sort of take it all in, because that will make you far more effective in communicating to the jury,” Murphy said. “And this is definitely going to a jury trial. I don’t anticipate any plea here, so that’s why he’s there. He’s there to see it, to feel it, to smell it, to perceive everything that happened so that he can most effectively represent his client.”
As a lawyer, Murphy predicts that, due to the nature of the case, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman will likely not seek the death penalty.
WATCH: ATTORNEY MATT MURPHY SHARES WHY HE DOESN’T THINK NICK REINER’S CASE WILL END WITH THE DEATH PENALTY
He explained that when he used to sit on a committee in Orange County that decided whether a case should be viewed as a death penalty case, they “recommended death in less than 4% of all of the cases that came before us with special circumstances,” adding that “they’re even stingier traditionally” in Los Angeles.
“This is intra-family. This is what’s known as a parricide, where somebody kills their parents. And these inter-family things, especially when there’s sort of the stubborn, tragic use of drugs or mental illness, my prediction is Hachman’s not gonna see this as a death case,” he said.
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Nick pictured here with his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner. Murphy predicts Nick’s case won’t be a death penalty case. (Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Teen Vogue)
He continued: “I think we’re gonna all expect that this will be what’s known as LWOP, or life without possibility of parole, which is the mandatory minimum if he’s convicted of a special circumstance homicide in the state of California. But I think the real match here is gonna be experts and lawyers in a sanity phase, that’s my guess.”
WATCH: ATTORNEY MATT MURPHY EXPLAINED WHY ALAN JACKSON VISITED THE REINER FAMILY HOME
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