The prosecutor in the “Rust” case has asked the judge to reconsider her decision to throw out the manslaughter charge against actor Alec Baldwin, and suggested the government may seek to reinstate the case on appeal.
Kari Morrissey, the special prosecutor appointed to handle the “Rust” cases, argued that the defense had successfully “confused” Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer about the relevance of evidence that had been withheld.
Morrissey urged the judge to reconsider, and to ask the defense further questions about how it learned of the evidence.
Baldwin was on trial in Santa Fe, N.M., for the accidental shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Marlowe Sommer ended the proceeding with blistering ruling on July 12, accusing the prosecutor of withholding bullets that had been turned over to the Sheriff’s Department months earlier.
In a dramatic moment in court, the judge donned latex gloves and cut open an evidence envelope, revealing that the bullets appeared to match the live bullets found on the “Rust” set.
“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.
The judge dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.
In the motion, Morrissey argued that Baldwin’s nine-member defense team had taken advantage of the two appointed prosecutors by springing the motion to dismiss in the middle of trial.
“The fact that the motion was raised during trial was a tactical decision by the defense to take advantage of the State’s limited resources,” she wrote, arguing that the defense had “laid in wait to move to dismiss during trial when it had a tactical advantage.”
She argued that the defense knew of the bullets well before they were dramatically revealed in court, likely from the defense attorney for “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed. Therefore, Morrissey argued that Baldwin’s defense was not truly surprised or hampered by the state’s failure to turn over the evidence.
Morrissey asked that the defense be forced to reveal “all information regarding when and how” it learned of the rounds, “so that a full record can be made for the likely possibility of a review by a higher court.”
Morrissey also reiterated her belief that the bullets were not relevant to Baldwin’s defense and were not exculpatory, and that therefore there was no obligation to disclose them.
From Variety US