Alec Baldwin has asked a New Mexico judge to dismiss manslaughter charges against him in the fatal shooting of “Rust,” alleging misconduct by prosecutors who oversaw the long-running case.
A Santa Fe County grand jury indicted Baldwin in January on two counts of manslaughter for his role in the accidental death of cinematographer Halina Hutchins in October 2021 on the set of Western Films. If convicted, the 65-year-old actor could serve a prison sentence of up to 18 months.
On Wednesday, Baldwin's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the indictment. In the petition, they detailed a series of alleged errors that they said threatened Baldwin's constitutional right to a fair trial. His criminal trial is scheduled to begin July 10 in a Santa Fe courtroom.
In the lawsuit, Baldwin's lead attorney, Luke Nicas, accused special prosecutors Carrie T. Morrissey and Jason J. Lewis of conducting a “sham” grand jury proceeding against Baldwin earlier this year. The closed hearing was held on January 18, just one day before the grand jury was due to serve. Baldwin's lawyers said special prosecutors called only seven witnesses during the hearing, and only one witnessed the shooting. The attorneys also claimed that evidence supporting Baldwin was not presented to the grand jury.
The new allegations come after a series of high-profile errors last year by the previous group of prosecutors, including initially charging Baldwin with a felony charge that was not on the books in New Mexico when the fatal shooting occurred. After the first two prosecutors stepped down, Morrissey and Lewis took over the case for nearly a year.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to these charges.
“Prosecutors engaged in this misconduct — and publicly dragged Baldwin through the cesspool created by their wrongdoing — without any regard for the fact that serious criminal charges had been hanging over his head for two and a half years,” Baldwin's attorneys wrote in the lawsuit. Motion to dismiss. “Enough is enough. This is an abuse of the system, and an abuse of an innocent person whose rights have been trampled upon to the extreme.”
Morrissey was not immediately available for comment.
Earlier this month, Morrissey secured the conviction of the film's gunsmith, Hannah Gutierrez. A Santa Fe jury found the 26-year-old Arizona woman, who carried the gun that day, guilty of manslaughter in Hutchins' death.
During Gutierrez's trial, prosecutors presented evidence suggesting Baldwin was also responsible for the tragedy. In her closing argument, Morrissey told jurors in Gutierrez's case that Baldwin must also answer for his actions.
The tragedy on the set of “Rust” has led to greater scrutiny regarding safety during filming, a major concern among film crews in Hollywood. Just hours before the fatal shooting, members of the “Rust” film crew walked off the set, located on a sprawling set south of Santa Fe, to protest what they saw as safety concerns. Camera crew members noted occasional firearm discharges and no nearby accommodation.
Due to the displacement of the film crew, the rest of the crew was running late that day.
Just after lunch, Baldwin and Hutchins were rehearsing a scene that was supposed to be a close-up of Baldwin—who was playing outlaw Harland Rust—slowly drawing his Colt .45 from his shoulder holster. Baldwin admitted pointing the gun at Hutchins and cocking the hammer. He was told the gun was “cold,” meaning it had no live ammunition inside. But the gun contained five dummy cartridges and an actual bullet.
Baldwin has long maintained that he never pulled the trigger on his gun. Cinematographer Hutchins was standing two or three feet away when Baldwin's gun went off, firing the bullet that fatally struck her in the chest. The bullet also struck the film's director, Joel Souza, who recovered from his wound.
A month after the incident, Baldwin told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos: “I didn't pull the trigger. … I would never point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger on them.”
Ongoing questions about the gun's condition at the time of the shooting are likely to be thorny for prosecutors.
Baldwin's defense team has suggested that the backup gun was defective and may have malfunctioned, causing it to discharge — a theory that is expected to be a focus of the actor's defense. His lawyers pointed to the weapon's failure during testing to support Baldwin's recollection of his role in the tragic shooting.
However, ballistics experts — including one who testified for prosecutors during Baldwin's grand jury proceedings — have questioned Baldwin's claims.
An FBI forensic examiner who testified at Gutierrez's trial said the gun was in working order when he received it a few months after the shooting. That analyst, Bryce Ziegler, said he conducted a rigorous battery of tests, including hitting Baldwin's gun several times with a “rawhide mallet” to determine whether bumping or jostling the weapon would cause it to discharge. He said he was trying to simulate scenarios of firing the gun without the therapist pulling the trigger.
The rifle broke during testing.
