Judge denies Alec Baldwin request to drop indictment for 'Rust' shooting

25/5/2024 11:29

        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 defense 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 defense jurors they could call.
        
        "The court finds no error in the actions taken by the prosecutor vis-a-vi 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.