Alec Baldwin ‘Rusty’ Deadly Shooting Special Prosecutor Wants Toss Off Case; Pivotal 1st AD added to DA’s witness list in blow to defense

Alec Baldwin has his first court hearing on charges of involuntary manslaughter the rust Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reid’s fatal shooting of photographer Halina Hutchins in late 2021 isn’t for weeks, but already a sharp-elbowed legal battle has begun between the actor and Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwice.

after a day the rust 1^St With Assistant Director David Halls added to the prosecution’s already deep bench witness list, Baldwin’s lawyers are now trying to get the DA to appoint a special prosecutor to throw him off the case — which would clearly be a blow to the DA’s efforts.

“Microsoft. Reb’s continued service as special prosecutor in this case is unconstitutional,” lead defense attorney Luke Nikas said in a motion to disqualify recently elected GOP state legislator Andrea Reid from the high-profile case and subsequent prosecution ( read it here ). “The legal question is not very close. He must be disqualified.”

NYC-based Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan lawyers added, “Under Article III, Section 1 of the New Mexico Constitution, however, a sitting member of the Legislature may not ‘exercise any power properly appertaining’ to the executive or judicial branches,” including exact timing. “As a special prosecutor, Representative Reeb is vested by law with ‘all the powers and duties’ of a district attorney, who is considered a member of the judicial or executive branch of the government of New Mexico.”

The long-awaited investigation by the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office, picked up by Carmack-Altwicz late last year, is nearing the end of what really happened on October 21, 2021. the rust Set in Bonanza Creek Ranch, Reed, a longtime lawyer, was elected as a Republican in the Land of Enchantment’s 64th term last November.^m State House of Representatives District.

Baldwin and Reed were formally charged Jan. 31 by the DA’s office in the Hutchins shooting, which carries up to five years in prison and deep pocket fines if convicted. Baldwin has long denied that he actually pulled the trigger on the 1880 prop gun that killed and wounded DOP Hutchins. the rust Directed by Joel Souza. “We’re trying to make it very clear that everyone is equal under the law, including A-list actors like Alec Baldwin,” Reeb, the former DA of New Mexico’s Ninth Judicial District, said last month after the complaint was unsealed, but not formally filed.

When the charges were initially announced on January 19, Baldwin’s legal team called the move a “horrendous miscarriage of justice” and vowed to “fight these charges and we will win.”

Clearly, the strategy behind these words is increasingly taking shape with filings like today’s disqualification motion.

The DA’s office had a strategy for Tuesday that was their own dismissal.

“Mr. Heather Brewer, spokeswoman for the New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney, told Deadline that Baldwin and his attorneys can use any strategy they want to distract from the fact that Halina Hutchins died due to gross negligence and reckless disregard for safety. “However, The district attorney and special prosecutor will focus on the evidence and the prosecution of this case so that justice is served.”

A first hearing before Judge Mary Marlowe Summers is scheduled for February 24, with Baldwin and Reed ordered to appear. If the state judge feels there is enough evidence to move forward, the case will begin examining more calendar dates. A preliminary hearing and finally a trial. Of course, today’s motion by Baldwin’s crew could throw a spanner in the works if Ribb is tossed out and a new special prosecutor has to be found.

Another chess or checkers move in that, depending on your point of view, Hall’s addition to the DA’s witness list ( read it here ) could prove unpleasant for Baldwin and Reid, to say the least.

At the center of the gruesome incident, industry vet Halls was the one who handed Baldwin the gun and supposedly declared “cold gun” during the hand-off. Although until now no one is publicly saying how live ammunition got its start sadly the rust Set, hall-set was in the chain of responsibility for security.

Perhaps putting pragmatism and financial resources ahead of ego, now retired the rust 1^St AD has reached an as-yet-undisclosed or judicially approved plea deal with prosecutors. Pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon, Halls will be suspended for six months of unsupervised study, some community service, safety training and a $500 fine if the court greenlights the deal.

“Dave Halls came to us and cooperated with our investigation with our investigation,” DA Carmack-Altwice said when Hall’s plea deal was announced last month. “He will testify or cooperate with the prosecution,” he said.

At the time, Hall’s Albuquerque lawyer, Lisa Torraco, was unclear on who her client would take the stand. However, the Halls have already resisted Baldwin et al the rust Crew members in December of last year for “active and primary negligence” as part of script supervisor Maim Mitchell’s sprawling civil suit in LA Superior Court, it wasn’t too hard to tell where she was likely coming down on the criminal side. the case

Now officially announced to join on February 3 are 44 more people, including directors Souza, Mitchell, Armora consultant Seth Kenny; With prop master Sarah Zachary and a ton of Santa Fe cops, DA’s on the list, Hall is clearly told something the defense doesn’t want to hear.

Set to eventually go before a jury under New Mexico law, the first of two involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin and Reed face a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. The second charge, which is formally an involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act charge, is a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. That second charge additionally carries a firearm enhancement. It makes the offense punishable by five years in state prison if high-profile defendants are convicted.

In what will surely become a flashpoint down the line, the DA will allow jurors to choose which charges they want to focus on in their deliberations — the difference between a hell of a lot of prison time.