Alec Baldwin judge rejects actor's request to dismiss manslaughter charge

SANTA FE, New Mexico (AP) – A New Mexico judge has denied a request by Alec Baldwin to dismiss the only criminal charge against him in a fatal shooting on the set of the movie “Rust,” keeping the case on track for trial this summer.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer on Friday upheld an indictment charging Baldwin with one count of involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The judge rejected defense arguments that prosecutors flouted the rules of grand jury procedure to distract from the evidence and witnesses for the defense. .

Special prosecutors denied accusations that grand jury proceedings were tainted and said Baldwin “shamelessly” tried to escape guilt, pointing out contradictions in his statements to law enforcement, regulators safety at work and in a television interview.

Friday's ruling clears one of the final hurdles for prosecutors to put Baldwin on trial in July.

“We look forward to our day in court,” defense attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said in an email.

During a rehearsal on the set of the western, Baldwin pointed a gun at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and injuring director Joel Souza. Baldwin maintained that he removed the hammer from the gun but not the trigger.

Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge, which carries a maximum sentence of a year and a half in prison.

Marlowe Sommer rejected arguments that prosecutors acted in “bad faith” after reviewing transcripts of the January grand jury proceedings, noting that prosecutors are not required to present exculpatory evidence.

“New Mexico law does not require a prosecutor to present exculpatory evidence to a grand jury, nor does it require a grand jury to consider exculpatory evidence after being alerted to its existence,” the judge wrote.

She acknowledged that some grand juror questions were assigned to an expert witness hired for the prosecution, but she said that did not stop the jury from making an independent decision in indicting Baldwin.

Court arguments last week over the motion to dismiss lasted more than two hours, with Baldwin's defense attorneys accusing prosecutors of cutting off questions from grand jurors and making little or no effort to communicate with the defense witnesses in case they are called. Detailed records of the grand jury proceedings are not publicly available.

Lead special prosecutor Kari Morrissey said she ensured jurors had their questions answered by witnesses with relevant experience and that the grand jury was shown to have access to the boxes evidence provided by the defense. Baldwin did not appear at the hearing.

Last year, prosecutors dismissed a manslaughter charge against Baldwin after learning that the gun he was holding may have been modified before the shooting and malfunctioned. A new analysis of the weapon last year allowed prosecutors to restart the case.

Prosecutors focused their attention on Baldwin after a judge in April sentenced movie weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed to up to a year and a half in a state penitentiary for involuntary manslaughter for Hutchins' death.

Gutierrez-Reed's two-week trial gave Baldwin's lawyers and the public an unusual window into how the actor's own trial might play out.

Baldwin figured prominently in testimony and closing arguments that underscored his authority as co-producer and lead actor of “Rust.” The prosecution and defense in Gutierrez-Reed's trial dissected video footage of Baldwin before the fatal shooting for clues about flaws in gun safety.

Prosecutors said Gutierrez-Reed unwittingly brought live ammunition to the set of “Rust,” where it was expressly prohibited, and failed to follow basic gun safety protocols. Gutierrez-Reed is appealing his conviction but has not yet filed detailed arguments.