Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of death and murder.
The state suffered a major blow in the Alec Baldwin trials when the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico rejected prosecutors’ request to reconsider the dismissal with prejudice. As reported by TMZ, the ruling said prosecutors’ arguments did not rise to the level that required reconsideration.
Although the state filed its papers before the August 30 deadline, the filing far exceeded the allotted page limit, and no permission was sought from the court to dismiss the ruling. When prosecutors re-filed the report within the allotted page limit, the presentation occurred five days after the allotted deadline. Therefore, reconsideration was refused by the court on those grounds.
The amended motion, filed last month by Kari T. Morrissey, requested the court to reconsider dismissing the case with prejudice and seek another trial against the defendant. In the motion, Morrissey noted that Baldwin’s team was aware of there being ammunition on the set of his upcoming film Rust, and that it was not critical to their defense.
Previously, the live gunpowder evidence had been filed under a different case number, which ultimately hid the evidence from the defense team, as Baldwin’s lawyers argued. The Beetlejuice actor is facing legal charges after he accidentally shot and killed cinematographer Helena Hutchins and seriously injured director Joel Souza on the set of Rust in October 2021.
He was charged with the crime of culpable homicide. However, in July 2024, their case was dismissed when the defendants alleged that prosecutors had withheld crucial evidence related to the case.
Baldwin’s defense reportedly argued that other crew members were responsible for ensuring the safety of the gun. Now that the state’s appeal for rehearing has been rejected, Balvin has won, and the defendants have time to find evidence to strengthen their case. Stay tuned for more updates!
