Lawyers for actor Alec Baldwin on Thursday asked a judge to dismiss manslaughter charges against him in the 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halina Hutchins while filming the Western movie “The Last,” citing prosecutorial misconduct. I asked for it.
A trial is scheduled for July 10 in New Mexico.
“Get over it. This is an abuse of the system, an abuse of innocent people whose rights have been trampled to the extreme.” In a separate trial, a jury found movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez guilty of manslaughter. The motion, filed eight days after the ruling, said.
Hutchins died during Colt’s reissue. 45 revolver, Baldwin was rehearsing while firing live ammunition, and director Joel Souza was also injured.
Criminal defendants routinely ask for charges to be dismissed, but judges rarely do so.
However, the charges against Baldwin have already been dropped, and Gutierrez’s trial will be Hollywood’s first on-set shooting in nearly 30 years.
She is scheduled to be sentenced April 15 and could serve up to 18 months in state prison.
Baldwin’s lawyers argued that prosecutors had “publicly dragged Baldwin into a cesspool of misconduct.”
Separate from these broadsides, the defense advanced legal arguments, including that the state withheld “substantial exculpatory and favorable evidence” from the grand jury.
For example, prosecutors could not call witnesses who would testify that Baldwin’s role as producer was purely for creative purposes and that he had no role in enforcing safety protocols or hiring crew members. said.
They cited precedent in which judges have dismissed indictments when prosecutors have kept evidence favorable to the defense from being heard by a grand jury.
Special Counsel Kari Morrissey said she intends to respond in court and has 14 days to file a response.
Halina Hutchins movie set updates
In New Mexico, defense attorneys can call witnesses to a grand jury if the defendant testifies. In Baldwin’s case, he did not take the stand during grand jury proceedings in January.
The prosecutor must alert the grand jury to any witnesses or evidence presented by the defense and, if requested, give the jury an opportunity to hear those witnesses and see the evidence.
Baldwin is charged with two counts of manslaughter, one for negligent use of a firearm and one for failure to use due care.
A fourth-degree felony carries a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison.
Baldwin was first charged with manslaughter in January 2023.
Three months later, the charges were dismissed after his lawyer presented evidence that the revolver Baldwin was using had been modified so it could fire without pulling the trigger.
The “30 Rock” actor denied responsibility for Hutchins’ death, claiming the gun went off without Hutchins pulling the trigger.
Morrissey asked a grand jury to indict Baldwin in January after an independent test of the gun found that the gun would not fire unless the trigger was pulled.
This test confirmed previous FBI testing.
