This is the deep dive into the conservatorship—and what it tells us about Nick Reiner's level of sophistication. Steven Baer, a licensed fiduciary, was appointed as Nick's conservator under an LPS arrangement in 2020. Baer had the authority to force medication, to make treatment decisions, to place Nick in a locked facility if necessary. He's a professional who does this for a living—someone who's presumably seen every manipulation tactic in the book. That conservatorship wasn't renewed after one year.

Former FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke—who spent 21 years with the Bureau including serving as Chief of the FBI's Counterintelligence Behavioral Analysis Program—joins us to analyze every angle. Robin spent his career recruiting spies, getting people to trust him who were trained to trust no one. He walks us through what it takes to manipulate a professional gatekeeper: how you build credibility with someone whose default is skepticism, how you exploit accountability structures that require documented justification, how you perform recovery convincingly in the months before a renewal hearing. Nick had been through 18 rehab programs.

He knew what clinicians want to hear, what progress looks like on paper, what boxes get checked. Is there a point where someone becomes too institutionally fluent to be accurately assessed anymore? Baer told the New York Times that mental illness "is an epidemic that is widely misunderstood and this is a horrible tragedy"—and nothing more. Robin reads that statement for subtext. He also explains what both prosecution and defense will want Baer to say when he's called as a witness. Bottom line: Is it actually possible to con your way out of an LPS conservatorship?

#NickReiner #StevenBaer #ReinerCase #Conservatorship #RobinDreeke #FBI #LPSConservatorship #MentalHealthSystem #DeepDive #TrueCrime

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This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

The state of California declared Nick Reiner gravely disabled in 2020. A judge signed off. A professional conservator was appointed. For one year, Nick could be forced into treatment, forced to take medication, placed in a locked psychiatric facility if doctors deemed it necessary. This was the system working.

Then it stopped working. The conservatorship expired in 2021 and was never renewed. For four years, Nick Reiner was a free adult making his own medical decisions—including, according to sources, a medication change approximately one month before his parents were found dead.

This episode is a deep dive into exactly how California's LPS conservatorship system failed the Reiner family at every stage. The legal threshold that may have disqualified Nick from renewal because his parents were providing for his basic needs. The appellate court precedent that prevents conservatorships based on predicted future harm. The automatic one-year termination with no mandatory follow-up. The 2020 state audit revealing that fewer than 9% of discharged patients get connected to ongoing care.

We examine the statistic that should terrify every family in California: 83% of conserved patients remain stable during their conservatorship, but only 43% remain stable after it ends. More than half deteriorate. And the state considers this acceptable.

Steven Baer, the licensed fiduciary who served as Nick's conservator, will almost certainly testify at trial. What he observed, why the conservatorship wasn't renewed, what the system knew and when—these questions will be central to both the prosecution and defense.

If the charges are accurate, the conservatorship didn't protect Nick from his illness or his parents from their son. It just bought one year of stability, then walked away.

Nick Reiner is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

#NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #ReinerCase #ConservatorshipFailed #StevenBaer #MentalHealthDefense #CaliforniaLaw #LPSConservatorship #ReinerMurders

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The state of California knew Nick Reiner was severely mentally ill. They didn't just suspect it. They proved it in court. In 2020, a judge found beyond a reasonable doubt that Nick met the legal definition of "gravely disabled"—unable to provide for his own basic needs due to a mental disorder. He was placed under an LPS conservatorship, the most restrictive mental health intervention California allows.

For one year, conservator Steven Baer had the legal authority to force psychiatric treatment, consent to medication over Nick's objection, and place him in a locked facility if necessary. Then in 2021, the conservatorship expired. It was not renewed. And four years later, Rob and Michele Reiner are dead.

This episode examines the single most important piece of evidence that will shape Nick Reiner's defense: the conservatorship itself. Because when Alan Jackson told reporters that Nick is "not guilty of murder" under California law, he wasn't just speculating about mental illness. He was pointing to a legal finding of fact. The state already determined Nick Reiner could not care for himself due to mental illness. That's on the record.

We investigate why the conservatorship wasn't renewed, the legal catch-22 that may have prevented it, and the medication change approximately one month before the killings that sources say triggered a psychiatric crisis. Steven Baer will almost certainly be called to testify. What he knows could determine whether Nick Reiner spends the rest of his life in prison or a psychiatric facility.

The conservatorship worked exactly as California law intended. And that might be the most damning indictment of all.

#NickReiner #RobReiner #MicheleReiner #ReinerCase #Conservatorship #MentalHealthDefense #TrueCrime #CaliforniaLaw #LPSAct #ReinerMurders

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This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.