‘Rust’ Judge Denies Prosecutor’s Move to Reopen Alec Baldwin Case on Procedural Grounds

As someone who has spent years in the legal field and witnessed countless court battles, I must admit that this case of Alec Baldwin‘s manslaughter charge is one that intrigues me. The back-and-forth between the defense and prosecution, the rulings, and the appeals have kept me on my toes.


In the “Rust” trials, the judge has refused the request made by the prosecutor to re-introduce the manslaughter accusation against Alec Baldwin.

In a quick decision handed down on Thursday afternoon, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer declined to review the state’s request as it surpassed the 10-page restriction.

Kari Morrissey, who served as the special prosecutor for this particular case, contended that the judge made a mistake by dismissing the case permanently during Baldwin’s trial held in July.

During preparations for a scene, the actor allegedly carelessly aimed a firearm at Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer on “Rust,” and then pulled the trigger.

Marlowe Sommer dropped the case following the discovery that the state intentionally kept a stash of ammunition hidden from the defense, which they could have employed to question the completeness of the sheriff’s probe.

In a 52-page motion filed Aug. 30, Morrissey argued that the bullets had no relevance to the case and that they did not undermine Baldwin’s guilt. Morrissey also indicated that the state may appeal the judge’s dismissal to a higher court.

In this case, the judge didn’t address the main points in Morrissey’s motion. Instead, she determined that the motion went against the court’s guidelines regarding page limits. Additionally, it was mentioned that the motion included a massive stack of 387 exhibit pages.

In this situation where the case follows a specific procedure, the court needs to apply the local rule to manage its schedule effectively and increase judicial productivity,” the judge stated.

It is possible that Morrissey could resubmit a 10-page version of the motion.

Before the trial began, Baldwin’s legal team submitted a 32-page objection against the state for not providing required evidence. However, this motion was dismissed as being too long. Later, the defense divided this objection into two separate motions, each containing 10 pages. Both of these were also denied.

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2024-09-06 22:18