Alec Baldwin Accuses Rust Prosecutors of Withholding Evidence, Asks for Dismissal of Involuntary Manslaughter Charge

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer previously denied a motion to dismiss Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter charge on May 24

Alec Baldwin is once again asking the court to drop his involuntary manslaughter charge in his Rust case.

In the latest motion filed on Monday, June 17, the actor’s attorneys argued that his indictment should be dismissed due to New Mexico prosecutors’ failure to “disclose” evidence to Baldwin’s defense in a timely manner and the state’s pattern of “withholding information.”

His attorneys claimed that the state had been in possession of “thousands of files,” over “150,000 pages of documents” and “dozens of gigabytes worth of data” for months, and in some cases “over a year,” that contained “critical evidence favorable to Baldwin’s defense” that could have “reshaped” the way Baldwin prepared for trial if they had been disclosed earlier.

Due to this, his attorneys argued in the motion that the state violated Baldwin’s constitutional rights under New Mexico law and Brady v. Maryland, a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision which determined that the prosecution must turn over to the defendant any evidence in its possession that suggests the defendant is not guilty.

“Whether the State’s misconduct was intentional or purported to be just careless, severe remedies are warranted,” Baldwin’s attorneys wrote in the motion.

Baldwin’s attorneys asked the judge in this case, Mary Marlowe Summer, to dismiss Baldwin’s indictment or “reduce the prejudice that the state’s misconduct has caused” by precluding all of the “testimony, evidence and argument related to the contention that Baldwin must have pulled the trigger.”

His attorneys are also asking the judge to require the state to disclose its final witness list and to disclose “outstanding document productions,” which include answers to Baldwin’s questions relating to the state’s investigation, among other requests.

Baldwin’s attorneys and New Mexico’s First Judicial District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest motion.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer previously denied the motion to dismiss his involuntary manslaughter charge on May 24.

Sommer wrote that the court did not find, among others, that the jury was instructed improperly, nor did the prosecution violate instruction of the grand jury judge. Baldwin’s lawyers previously argued for the case to be dismissed due to “destruction of evidence,” and prosecutors’ “failure to allege a criminal offense.”

In January, 2024, a New Mexico grand jury filed an indictment against the actor, who had been holding a gun on the New Mexico set of the Western movie Rust when it discharged, resulting in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuries of director Joel Souza. However, Baldwin has insisted he never pulled the trigger and did not know the gun accidentally contained live ammunition.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer is scheduled to hear the defense’s other two motions on getting the indictment dismissed and the motion from the state to compel Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed to testify in this case. That hearing is scheduled for Friday, June 21.