Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ case dismissed in New Mexico
Jul 12, 2024, 4:17 PM | Updated: 6:46 pm
Alec Baldwin sits in court during his trial in Santa Fe, N.M., Thursday, July 11, 2024. (Ramsay de Give/Pool Photo via AP)
(Ramsay de Give/Pool Photo via AP)
SANTA FE, N.M — A judge in New Mexico dismissed the involuntary manslaughter case against actor Alec Baldwin on Friday. The judge said the case could not be filed again, the Associated Press reported.
Baldwin was facing involuntary manslaughter charges related to the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” in 2021.
What was the case against Alec Baldwin dismissed?
KSL legal analyst Greg Skordas joined Jeff Caplan’s Afternoon News to explain Baldwin’s case.
A transcribed portion of the interview is below. This transcript has been edited for clarity.
For the full interview, listen to the podcast.
Jeff Caplan’s Afternoon News Host Jeff Caplan: Alec Baldwin broke down in tears in court this afternoon learning that his involuntary manslaughter case had been dismissed. A judge ruled today the prosecutor didn’t properly turn over evidence to the defense.
Joining me, KSL legal analyst Greg Skordas.
What happened here? It sounds like somebody messed up big time.
KSL legal analyst Greg Skordas: Yeah, in this case, the prosecution really did. In a criminal case in America, the prosecution has an absolute affirmative obligation, even if they’re not even asked, to present all of the evidence that could potentially help the defense and even evidence that hurts the defense.
And in this case, they had some shells some live rounds of ammunition that a retired police officer had given them that he believed were related to this incident that he believed had something to do with the gun that was ultimately used to cause the death here that Alec Baldwin is accused of committing.
They didn’t turn that over.
The prosecution claimed “We didn’t think it was relevant. We didn’t think it had anything to do with the case.”
And the judge said you don’t get to make that determination. You turn it over to the defense and then we’ll all decide if it’s relevant.
And because the state had done that, and breached their obligations to disclose material evidence, she dismissed the case with prejudice. Meaning, the case is over and absolutely cannot be refiled.
