Update: The judge dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin Friday after his lawyers alleged police hid evidence related to the live round that killed “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021.
The jury in Alec Baldwin‘s criminal trial was sent home on Friday as the judge is weighing whether to toss the case. In an unexpected turn of events, Baldwin’s defense team filed a motion to dismiss as they’ve accused the prosecution of withholding evidence. The judge will hear witness testimony before ruling. Should the motion be denied and the trial resume on Monday, one legal expert says the prosecution is facing an “uphill battle.”
The trial started on July 10 and got off to a somewhat lackluster start as the prosecution began presenting its case. After Baldwin’s big win on July 8, in which Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled that his role as a producer on Rust cannot be entered into evidence, the state must now prove that Baldwin the actor was culpable in the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
“They need to show that Baldwin acted negligently in firing the gun while acting on the set. This is problematic for the prosecution because the armorer who loaded the gun has already been convicted of the same crime,” criminal defense lawyer Lauren Johnson-Norris explained to Yahoo Entertainment. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for weapons on set, has already been sentenced to 18 months in prison.
“[The prosecution] brought in evidence to try to show [Baldwin] was indifferent to what has happened. But the question is whether he was negligent at the time of firing, and the evidence does not point in that direction,” Johnson-Norris continued.
Baldwin is charged with involuntary manslaughter, the same charge as Gutierrez-Reed, and faces the same max sentence. He was holding a .45-caliber revolver that discharged a round of live ammunition, which should never have been on set, killing Hutchins and wounding the film’s director, Joel Souza.
In opening statements, Baldwin’s defense attorney Alex Spiro blamed others — like Gutierrez-Reed and first assistant director David Halls, who was in charge of safety on set — for failing to properly check the gun before handing it to the actor.
“The ultimate question for the jury is whether it is reasonable for anyone to accept someone else’s word that a gun is unloaded,” celebrity attorney Chris Melcher told Yahoo.
Melcher seems to agree with one of the defense’s arguments that “as an actor on a movie set, Alec Baldwin was exempt from basic rules of firearm safety.” SAG-AFTRA agreed in a statement issued in January 2024, after Baldwin was indicted. However, special prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson argued in opening statements that it shouldn’t matter as the actor “violated the cardinal rules of firearm safety.”
“[Alec] had no reason to suspect that a live round would be on the set, but he knew that blanks were being used,” Melcher continued. “Nevertheless, he took possession of the gun without anyone showing him that it was unloaded, pointed it, cocked the hammer and shot them.”
The prosecution claims Baldwin failed to routinely do safety checks on the set of Rust with the “inexperienced” on-set armorer. They allege he “mishandled” the gun that went off when he was rehearsing a scene for the western film. Baldwin has publicly maintained he never pulled the trigger. The state is calling experts to testify that it’s not possible for the gun to have gone off without the trigger being pulled.
On Friday, Baldwin’s defense team officially asked the judge to dismiss the case, claiming the prosecution buried evidence. The crux of the issue is over disputed ammunition. Spiro laid the groundwork on Thursday during a lengthy cross-examination of sheriff’s crime scene technician Marissa Poppell.
“The cross-examination of prosecution witnesses is mostly trying to establish that the investigation was bungled,” Melcher said.
If the judge denies the defense’s request for a dismissal, then trial resumes as planned on Monday morning.
“It is undisputed that Alec took possession of a firearm without anyone showing to him that it was unloaded,” Melcher said. “The only question for the jury is whether that was reasonable for him to do so.”
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