US judge denies Alec Baldwin bid to dismiss Rust manslaughter charge
- The decision opens the way for the Hollywood actor’s unprecedented trial over the on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins
- Baldwin, who had pointed the gun at Hutchins as she set up a shot, maintains he did not pull the trigger, an assertion that has become central to the case
A New Mexico judge on Friday rejected Alec Baldwin’s bid to dismiss an involuntary manslaughter charge for the 2021 shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, opening the way for an unprecedented trial of a Hollywood actor for an on-set death.
Baldwin’s lawyers argued at a May 17 hearing that a grand jury indictment of the actor was “a sham” as prosecutors failed to tell jurors they could question defence witnesses and stopped them hearing evidence helpful to the actor’s case.
Among her arguments in a court filing, district court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer said she did not find prosecutorial bad faith in the grand jury, nor error in jury instructions and prosecutors adequately advised jurors regarding a letter from Baldwin’s legal team listing defence jurors they could call.
“The court finds no error in the actions taken by the prosecutor vis-à-vis the reading of the evidence letter,” Marlowe Sommer, appointed by Democratic New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson in 2010, said in the filing.
The actor now faces a July 10 trial.
Hutchins was shot with a live round after Baldwin pointed a gun at her as she set up a camera shot on a film set near Santa Fe, New Mexico. The 30 Rock actor maintains he did not pull the trigger, an assertion that has become central to the case.