My colleague Becca Lower wrote the breaking story earlier about how the involuntary manslaughter charge was dismissed against actor Alec Baldwin in the shooting death of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
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Read More: BREAKING: Judge Grants Motion to Dismiss in Alec Baldwin ‘Rust’ Case
I wanted you to see the video of the judge explaining her decision to understand the nature of the dismissal. The judge dismissed the case after ruling that the prosecution had withheld evidence from the defense. She walks through the various elements to meet the requirements for withholding the evidence. The judge held the withholding of the evidence was “intentional and deliberate.”
The judge continued:
“The late discovery of this evidence during trial has impeded the effective use of evidence in such a way that it has impacted the fundamental fairness of the proceedings,” Marlowe Sommer said. “If this conduct does not rise to the level of bad faith it certainly comes so near to bad faith to show signs of scorching.”
She said there was no other way to right the wrong apart from dismissal. She noted the sanction was warranted because the state had repeatedly assured the Court and the defense it was compliant with discovery requirements, but they have repeatedly failed to disclose evidence. “Your motion to dismiss with prejudice is granted,” she declared.
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If you want to cut ahead to the dismissal it’s around 4:55 in the video. But the judge walks through the elements before that, if you want to understand why she ruled as she did. Baldwin’s reaction starts around that point (4:55):
The evidence in question was a batch of bullets that the prosecution said was unrelated and the defense said was “buried.”
Baldwin broke into tears after he heard the words “dismissal” and his attorney clapped him on his back. His family that was there, including his wife and his brother Stephen, all look stunned. Baldwin hugged his attorneys after the decision, then he hugged his wife and his brother.
Another barnburner reaction was this one from one of the special prosecutors in the case. That was another point of drama in the case. Special Prosecutor Erlinda Ocampo Johnson withdrew from the case on Friday, after she said she had just found out about the evidence in question on Thursday. She told host Chris Cuomo that she wanted the prosecution to dismiss this case after the evidence came to light. She claimed they didn’t want to, and that’s why she quit and withdrew from the case:
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Jason Bowles, the attorney for Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the armorer on the movie set, said he would be filing a motion to dismiss his client’s case as well. Gutierrez Reed was convicted and given an 18-month sentence. She was appealing the conviction.
READ MORE:
Big Decision on Motion in Alec Baldwin Case Just As Trial Is Set to Begin