Alec Baldwins Rust Case Dismissed After Surprise Bullets Revealed in Court

Posted by Larita Shotwell on Thursday, September 19, 2024

SANTA FE, N.M. — The manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin has been dismissed, after the judge blasted prosecutors for failing to turn over a batch of bullets to the defense.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer threw out the case, ruling that no other sanction was sufficient.

“The state is highly culpable for its failure to provide discovery to the defendant,” Marlowe Sommer said. “Dismissal with prejudice is warranted.”

Marlowe Sommer ruled that under the principle of double jeopardy, Baldwin cannot be retried. She made clear she was appalled at the prosecution’s failures.

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“If this conduct does not rise to the level of bad faith, it certainly comes so near to bad faith as to show signs of scorching,” the judge said.

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Gasps were heard the courtroom, as Baldwin received hugs and congratulations from his family and supporters. He and his wife, Hilaria, were in tears. They exited the courthouse and entered a black Chevy Suburban. They did not address the throngs of media outside.

“This was a disaster for the New Mexico judicial system,” said John Day, a lawyer and local legal commentator. “They got a huge allocation of public funds to prosecute this case. And this is what happened with that. This was an absolute catastrophe.”

The defense argued that prosecutors deliberately hid bullets that were turned over to investigators in March, and which are relevant to the case. Erlinda Johnson, one of two special prosecutors, resigned from the case on Friday amid turmoil over the evidence.

Kari Morrissey, the lead prosecutor, said outside the courthouse that she disagrees with the judge, but respects the court’s decision.

“I’m disappointed, because I believe that the importance of the evidence was misconstrued by the defense attorneys,” Morrissey said. “We did everything humanly possible to bring justice to Halyna and to her family, and we’re proud of the work that we did.”

Baldwin was on trial for shooting cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” in 2021. The jury was scheduled to hear testimony on Friday from the lead detective. But instead, the judge sent them home on Friday morning so she could delve more deeply into the failure to turn over the bullets.

In an afternoon hearing, Marlowe Sommer pointedly asked Cpl. Alexandria Hancock about why the bullets were logged under a separate case number, putting them out of reach of the defense.

“Why was that determination made?” Marlowe Sommer asked. “Who made it?”

Hancock answered that she had made the decision in consultation with her supervisors and with Morrissey.

In a highly unusual move, Morrissey then called herself to the witness stand to give her account of the events. She said she did not believe the bullets had evidentiary value.

In a further bizarre twist, defense attorney Alex Spiro then cross-examined Morrissey, asking about repeated failures to turn over evidence leading up to the trial. He also asked if Morrissey was acting out of contempt for Baldwin.

“That is absolutely untrue,” Morrissey said. “I actually really appreciate Mr. Baldwin’s movies… I really appreciate his politics.”

The Baldwin trial began on Wednesday. In recent weeks, the defense repeatedly charged that the prosecution had hidden reams of information — including forensic reports, emails and lapel videos — until the eve of trial.

On Friday morning, Marlowe Sommer donned blue rubber gloves and opened an evidence envelope containing the bullets. She had them displayed on a table in front of the judge’s bench. Three of them appeared to match the Starline Brass live bullets found on the set of “Rust.”

During testimony on Thursday, the defense uncovered that investigators had received the batch of live ammunition from Troy Teske toward the end of the trial of Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the film’s armorer. Teske, a retired police officer in Arizona, informed the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office that the bullets would match the fatal round.

The investigators wrote a report and logged the evidence, but did not give it to the defense.

“They buried it,” Spiro said.

Morrissey is a private defense attorney who was appointed by District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies to prosecute the case.

“Our goal from the beginning was to seek justice for Halyna Hutchins, and we fought to get this case tried on its merits,” Carmack-Altwies said in a statement. “We are disappointed that the case did not get to the jury.”

Jennifer Burrill, the president of the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, said Morrissey’s failure to turn over evidence was “egregious.”

“It’s her job to make sure everything was disclosed,” Burrill said. “It’s not her job to decide what’s relevant for the defense or not.”

In court on Friday, Morrissey called the issue a “wild goose chase,” and argued that investigators had decided years earlier that Teske’s rounds were not a match and thus had no evidentiary value. Morrissey argued that even if they were a match, that would only support the prosecution’s theory of the case, and would have no impact on Baldwin’s guilt or innocence.

Brian J. Panish, the attorney who represents Hutchins’ widower, Matthew, said in a statement that Baldwin may yet face a trial in civil court.

“We respect the court’s decision,” he said. “We look forward to presenting all the evidence to a jury and holding Mr. Baldwin accountable for his actions in the senseless death of Halyna Hutchins.” 

Matthew Hutchins settled his civil lawsuit against Baldwin and the “Rust” producers in October 2022. But in March, Variety reported that the production still had not made required payments. At the time, his civil attorneys said they were considering their options, which included restarting the civil proceedings or filing a new lawsuit. 

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, whose agency investigated the case for more than a year, said in a statement that he respects the outcome.

“I respect Judge Marlowe Sommer’s decision,” Mendoza said. “This has been a difficult case from the beginning. Our focus was always to bring justice to Halyna Hutchins and her family.”

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