{"id":71583,"date":"2024-03-15T17:43:05","date_gmt":"2024-03-15T17:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/alec-baldwin-asks-judge-to-dismiss-charges-in-rust-shooting\/"},"modified":"2024-03-15T17:43:05","modified_gmt":"2024-03-15T17:43:05","slug":"alec-baldwin-asks-judge-to-dismiss-charges-in-rust-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/alec-baldwin-asks-judge-to-dismiss-charges-in-rust-shooting\/","title":{"rendered":"Alec Baldwin asks judge to dismiss charges in ‘Rust’ shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Actor Alec Baldwin\u2019s lawyers on Thursday asked a judge to dismiss manslaughter charges against him for the 2021 fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during filming of the Western movie \u2018Rust\u2019<\/em>, alleging prosecutorial misconduct.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Watch ARY News live on\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>live.arynews.tv<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The trial is set for July 10 in New Mexico.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnough is enough. This is an abuse of the system and an abuse of an innocent person whose rights have been trampled to the extreme,\u201d said the motion, filed eight days after a jury found the film\u2019s armourer Hannah Gutierrez guilty of involuntary manslaughter in a separate trial.<\/p>\n

Hutchins died when the reproduction Colt. 45 revolver Baldwin was rehearsing with fired a live round that also wounded director Joel Souza.<\/p>\n

Criminal defendants routinely seek to dismiss charges, which judges rarely do. But charges against Baldwin were dropped once already and the trial of Gutierrez was Hollywood\u2019s first for an on-set fatal shooting in nearly 30 years. She is due to be sentenced on April 15 and faces up to 18 months in state prison.<\/p>\n

Alec Baldwin\u2019s lawyers argued that prosecutors have \u2018publicly dragged Baldwin through the cesspool created by their improprieties\u2019. Apart from those broadsides, defence lawyers offered legal arguments including that the state withheld \u2018substantial exculpatory and favourable evidence\u2019 from the grand jury.<\/p>\n

For example, they said prosecutors failed to call a witness who would have testified that Baldwin\u2019s role as producer was purely for creative purposes and he had no role in enforcing safety protocols or hiring a crew.<\/p>\n

They cited precedents where judges dismissed indictments when prosecutors kept evidence favourable to the defence from being heard by the grand jury.<\/p>\n

Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey said she would respond in court and had 14 days to file a reply.<\/p>\n

In New Mexico, defence lawyers can call witnesses to a grand jury if the defendant testifies. In Baldwin\u2019s case, he did not take the stand at the January grand jury proceeding.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors must alert the grand jury of witnesses and evidence the defence has presented and give jurors the chance to hear those witnesses and see evidence if requested.<\/p>\n

Baldwin faces two counts of manslaughter, one for negligent use of a firearm and another for failure to exercise due caution. The fourth-degree felonies carry a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison.<\/p>\n

Baldwin was first charged with involuntary manslaughter in January of 2023. The charge was dismissed three months later when his lawyers presented evidence the revolver Baldwin was using had been modified and it could fire without the trigger being pulled.<\/p>\n

The \u201930 Rock\u2019<\/em> actor has denied responsibility for Hutchins\u2019 death, saying the gun went off without him pulling the trigger.<\/p>\n

Morrissey in January called a grand jury to indict Baldwin after an independent test of the gun found it would not fire without the trigger being pulled. The test confirmed a previous FBI examination.<\/p>\n

Alec Baldwin pleads not guilty to \u2018Rust\u2019 shooting manslaughter charges<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n