The high-profile attorney said his priority is to defend the Constitution and determine “whether or not the government got their job right”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(778x311:780x313):format(webp)/Alan-Jackson-011326-81efb5e598ed40d2888883048b879e57.jpg)
Alan Jackson on December 17, 2025 in Los Angeles.Credit : Jae C. Hong / POOL / AFP via Getty
NEED TO KNOW
On Tuesday, Jan. 13, Alan Jackson, Nick Reiner’s former attorney, appeared on Kelly Ripa’s Let’s Talk Off Camera podcast and opened up about his high-profile legal career
Ripa asked Jackson about his decision to work on cases that could be deemed “indefensible,” but he said, “There’s very little in the law that’s indefensible”
Ripa also asked Jackson about his former client, Nick Reiner, who is charged with murder in the deaths of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner
Nick Reiner’s former attorney, Alan Jackson, is sharing how he approaches his clients and their high-profile cases.
Jackson, 61, appeared on Kelly Ripa’s Let’s Talk Off Camera on Tuesday, Jan. 13, and spoke about how a lawyer would create a defense for a potentially guilty client.
Ripa, 55, asked Jackson about his decision to withdraw from Reiner’s case on Jan. 7, moments into Reiner’s arraignment. Reiner is charged with murder in the stabbing deaths of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner. Nick will now be represented by a public defender.
Jackson explained to Ripa that there are “certain things” that he “simply can’t divulge,” regarding the change in counsel. However, his team will “always be committed to [Nick’s] best interests.” Jackson added, “I want him to get the most robust defense that he possibly can get. I know he will, in the hands of the public defender’s office.”
Ripa then asked Jackson how he argues cases that could be deemed “indefensible.”
“There’s very little in the law that’s indefensible,” Jackson said. “There’s a reason for that. I never approach a case like I’m just defending an individual.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(839x308:841x310):format(webp)/alan-jackson-nick-reiner-arraignment2-1726-c543a8302c174f11949ac7a1d9ec7199.jpg)
Alan Jackson on January 7, 2026, in Los Angeles, California.Eric Thayer / POOL / AFP via Getty
“We’re defending the Constitution,” the high-profile attorney explained. “We’re defending an idea. We’re defending the foundation on which this country was built in terms of its justice system.”
Related Stories
Rob Reiner’s Death: A Timeline of the Investigation and Nick Reiner’s Arrest
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/rob-michele-nick-renier-121625-b9f2c60a9f3a4260be70e122780306f7.jpg)
Nick Reiner’s Defense Attorney Suddenly Withdrew from the Case: Legal Expert Weighs in on Why
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/Nick-Reiner-Alan-Jackson-543-010726-0fcc25c095114e3394d43b777140b2a1.jpg)
Jackson noted that the U.S. justice system grants people their “God-given right” of liberty that is “built into the fabric of our country.” But, he said, the justice system can remove someone’s liberty, calling it an “almost unthinkable” action.
“There are certain circumstances in which it’s absolutely appropriate,” he clarified. “I don’t have a problem with that, if it’s done perfectly.”
He continued by noting that with that approach, “I don’t worry about who the person is,” because “the word indefensible never comes up.”
“It’s completely defensible, no matter who the person is, if the government doesn’t get it right,” he said.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/nick-reiner-court-sketche-1726-e33c147b894b45ef9c22bc6527d5c1f7.jpg)
Courtroom sketches of Alan Jackson and Nick Reiner.Mona Shafer Edwards / BACKGRID
Jackson acknowledged that in certain circumstances, mental health is a factor (he clarifies that he’s speaking generally, and not about Nick’s case).
He then proposed the idea that people who are sick are not punished for being sick. “If someone has an epileptic seizure, and they go unconscious and God forbid they’re in a traffic accident and something happens, and people lose their lives, we don’t punish that as a crime.”
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
“We don’t punish in this country. We’re very civilized. We try to be civilized,” he said, before adding that the justice system will punish criminal conduct “where there’s an intent element.”
“The system is built to accommodate that, to address that,” Jackson explained, referencing the idea of the not guilty by reason of insanity defense. He said it’s for a defendant who has a mental illness, “cannot form an intent,” and doesn’t “understand the character and quality of [their] conduct.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2):format(webp)/alan-jackson-nick-reiner-court3-121725-fecf7b54758c41968c8c592e05bb36fb.jpg)
Alan Jackson on December 17, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.Caroline BREHMAN / AFP via Getty
But as Jackson continued, Ripa bluntly asked him, “Have you ever taken a case where you’re like, ‘Hmm, I think this one’s probably guilty, but I’m gonna razzle-dazzle it?’ ”
“I don’t like to think of it as razzle-dazzle,” he said before, confirming, “the answer is no.”
“I normally don’t make pronouncements one way or the other, about the guilt or innocence of my client, because it doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “I don’t really care.”
“I care about the Constitution,” he reiterated. “I care about whether or not the government got their job right.”
News
“THIS IS NOT A CONFESSION.” LATEST: The FaceTime call to his son was a “suicidal goodbye,” not a murder admission! Otake claims the doctor felt “horrible” because he’s human, not guilty 👇
THE DEFENSE STRIKES BACK! ‘She Lied, The DNA Proves It!’ — Dr. Konig’s Lawyer Rips Apart ‘Plan A, B, and C,’ Claiming Arielle Held the Rock and the ‘Murder Bag’ Was a Set-Up HONOLULU, HI — “A theory in search of facts.” With those biting words, defense attorney Thomas Otake launched a scorched-earth counter-attack on […]
THE BIRTHDAY CARD CRY. LATEST: The only time she got emotional! Defense claims Arielle’s tears over a birthday card prove the marriage—and the hike—were genuine, not a trap 👇
THE DEFENSE STRIKES BACK! ‘She Lied, The DNA Proves It!’ — Dr. Konig’s Lawyer Rips Apart ‘Plan A, B, and C,’ Claiming Arielle Held the Rock and the ‘Murder Bag’ Was a Set-Up HONOLULU, HI — “A theory in search of facts.” With those biting words, defense attorney Thomas Otake launched a scorched-earth counter-attack on […]
“LUDICROUS” PLAN B EXPOSED. SHOCK NEWS: Why would a surgeon bring an empty syringe to a cliff? Otake rips apart the “Lethal Injection” plot, calling it a “spin-doctor’s fantasy!” 👇
THE DEFENSE STRIKES BACK! ‘She Lied, The DNA Proves It!’ — Dr. Konig’s Lawyer Rips Apart ‘Plan A, B, and C,’ Claiming Arielle Held the Rock and the ‘Murder Bag’ Was a Set-Up HONOLULU, HI — “A theory in search of facts.” With those biting words, defense attorney Thomas Otake launched a scorched-earth counter-attack on […]
TELL US THE TRUTH: Families Of Zoe And Arianna Demand The UNEDITED Tape After ‘Shadow Frames’ Go Viral.
EXCLUSIVE: THE ‘GHOST’ FRAMES – Was The Kenwood Bus Crash Footage SCRUBBED? Online Sleuths Reveal Chilling 10-Second ‘Anomaly’ That Mainstream Media Ignored While the nation mourns Zoe Davis and Arianna Pearson, a new storm is erupting over the “clean” version of the tragedy. From redacted sensor data to the sudden disappearance of high-res feeds, Daily […]
BEYOND PHYSICS: Why The Bus’s Final Path Is A ‘Mechanical Impossibility’ That The Official Report Refuses To Explain…
EXCLUSIVE: THE ‘GHOST’ FRAMES – Was The Kenwood Bus Crash Footage SCRUBBED? Online Sleuths Reveal Chilling 10-Second ‘Anomaly’ That Mainstream Media Ignored While the nation mourns Zoe Davis and Arianna Pearson, a new storm is erupting over the “clean” version of the tragedy. From redacted sensor data to the sudden disappearance of high-res feeds, Daily […]
THE 46-MINUTE TEARDOWN. UPDATE: Did Joel Garner just seal the doctor’s fate? Watch the entire “Plan A, B, and C” argument that has the…
THE 3 PLANS OF DEATH: Maui ‘Monster Doctor’s’ Clifftop Hit-List Exposed as Prosecutor Reveals the Terrifying ‘Plan A, B, and C’ to Kill His Wife on Her Birthday HONOLULU, HI — “A motive. A beating. A confession.” With those four chilling words, Deputy Prosecutor Joel Garner began a scorched-earth closing argument that has left the […]
End of content
No more pages to load














