Why a judge dismissed Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter case

A judge dismissed Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter case after a motion from the actor's defense team Friday. Baldwin faced charges for the 2021 accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while on the set of his film "Rust." Entertainment attorney Tre Lovell joins with analysis.

[allysoncostello]

I work in law... and it is truly UNBELIEVABLE to me that the prosecution could be so negligent and incompetent in a case of this magnitude and publicity. Regardless of your opinion on whether he should have been convicted or not, the Judge in this case did exactly what must be done to in a fair legal system. While ours is not perfect, this Judge should be an example to others.

[peternile]

No matter how you feel about Baldwin, this conduct by the prosecution is absolutely unacceptable

[TheBohemianGranny]

The documentary called the making of rust is going to be so much better than the actual movie.

[Balletcalvero]

Baldwin has darn good lawyers. Not everybody has the resources to investigate a possible withholding of evidence by the state prosecutors.

[luminousmoon]

The thing that just shocked me is that the judge asked why this evidence was placed under another case number, and the police employees answered that basically the prosecuting attorney DIRECTED them to do that. That was a deliberate conspiracy to bury or hide evidence from the defense, and it's criminal. I hope the judge refers this prosecutor to the state bar and she loses her license forever.

[reneeparker]

Sounds like the prosecutor was trying to use Baldwin to make themselves look good. They failed miserably.

[ronarrowsmith]

I worked in the industry for 25 years, The armorer is responsible for the safety or all weapons on set without exception. Unless there is proof that Baldwin loaded the weapon with contraband ammunition, he is absolutely not responsible for ANY mishap on set. He just isn't. If the armorer was unqualified, the producers share responsibility. Alec Baldwin is blameless, but he will have to live with his part in this tragedy

[joeanderson]

The prosecution has the burden of proof. They failed to do their job correctly, and the case got thrown out. This is how our criminal justice system works and why people are presumed innocent until proven guilty. In my opinion, if the prosecution had a strong case they would not have had to withhold discovery evidence from the court and the defense. The investigators have let down the victim's friends and family. Someone is responsible for bringing that live ammunition to the set.
Someone could have purposefully mixed the live rounds with the blanks. Now we will never know who is responsible. And the possibility of this person sabotaging another set remains high. Or either it was an honest accident by a careless stagehand or manager. We will never know because investigators and the prosecution didn't do their jobs right.

[brynneholt]

Why are we talking to an entertainment attorney?

[jmc]

The prosecutor should be disbarred for not providing all the material evidence to the defense. I am happy the Baldwin's case was dismissed with prejudice.

[janicewolk]

It was a disgrace that this was ever charged. Political hubris and misconduct. The prosecutor should never be in public office again.

[BlazingShackles]

Case was a sham to begin with. NM prosecutor going after someone famous to make a name for himself even though all the evidence supported the lack of any guilt. Law enforcement did their part to help him by hiding evidence but that came out in court. The gun specialist on the movie is already serving time for her guilt in the case. This was just a waste of time and money from the start.

[puggirl]

Alex Bardwin's lawyer. Will definitely get more business. This is crazy!

[MariFrierson]

Charges should never have been brought in this case

[carter]

The prosecutors need to be held accountable. Charges should be filed.

[michelenolastname]

They cited case law which supported a dismissal and nothing less.

[ThestuffthatSaralikes]

This ENTIRE case has just been people failing to do their jobs properly. From the armorer to the prosecution and a lot of the other people in between…
I never understood why Baldwin was held criminally responsible for any of this… it’s not his job to care for the weapons. Not as an actor or a producer. It was the armorer’s job. Period. She failed at her job and someone died. It’s horrible, but that’s what it boils down to…

[mr.rhinehart]

In other words the prosecution withheld evidence.

[IsraelJacobson-mtvj]

Seems like the prosecutors in this case were so hard up to getting a guilty verdict that they were willing to morally compromise themselves, probably for political clout, shame, shame, shame

[OfSoulAndSin]

The prosecutor should be investigated for criminal misconduct.