In a stunning move, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charge against actor Alec Baldwin in the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western film "Rust."
Baldwin's attorney had filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing misconduct by state investigators in not properly disclosing evidence in the case.
The judge agreed the state improperly disclosed evidence to the defence and dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought again.
"There is no way for the court to right this wrong," she said.
Baldwin could be seen crying as the decision was announced, and he immediately hugged his wife Hilaria as court was excused for the day.
The decision came after a chaotic hearing Friday just a few days into Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial related to the fatal shooting of Hutchins on October 21, 2021, on the New Mexico set of the film "Rust." Baldwin had pleaded not guilty and could have faced up to 18 months in prison.
Baldwin was practising a "cross draw" – pulling a gun from a holster on the opposite side of his body from his draw hand – with a prop gun when it fired a live round, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
Testimony was halted by the judge on Friday, who sent the jury home for the day as she considered a motion by the actor's legal team to have the case thrown out based on allegations prosecutors did not properly turn over evidence.
In court a day earlier, a crime scene technician testified that a man had delivered some ammunition to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office in March after the conviction of "Rust" armourer Hannah Gutierrez Reed. The man, Troy Teske, a retired police officer and friend of the armourer's father, told investigators he believed the ammunition could be associated with the "Rust" incident, crime scene technician Marissa Poppell testified.
However, the technician testified the items were catalogued separately from Baldwin's case and were not included in the "Rust" case inventory or tested to see if they matched the lethal round.
Baldwin's team argued prosecutors did not properly disclose this evidence to the defence and asked for the case to be dismissed.
In response, prosecutor Kari Morrissey said investigators determined the ammunition was not a match to those found on the "Rust" set and had no evidentiary value to the case. "This is a wild goose chase," Morrissey argued.
In a "very unusual" development, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer asked for Poppell to be called back to the stand to discuss the rounds outside the presence of the jury.
The witness, judge, and attorneys all donned blue gloves and gathered around a table in the centre of the courtroom, where the envelope holding the rounds was unsealed and examined by the judge to determine whether it matches the rounds recovered from the film set. The courtroom was silent and thick with tension as the judge compared the rounds.
The judge ordered additional witnesses to testify before she renders a ruling on Baldwin's motion to dismiss the case.
The case has been marked by years-long fits and starts with turnovers in prosecutors, a prosecution stalled by questions surrounding the integrity of evidence and a steady spate of motions from Baldwin's team attempting to get the charge thrown out.
At opening statements Wednesday, prosecutors alleged Baldwin was reckless with firearms on set and violated the "cardinal rules of firearm safety" with his actions.
"He pointed the gun at another human being, cocked the hammer and pulled that trigger, in reckless disregard for Ms. Hutchins' safety," prosecutor Erlinda Johnson said.
However, the defence blamed the film's armourer and the first assistant director – jointly in charge of firearm safety on set – for allowing a real bullet to be loaded into the prop gun and failing to make it safe before it reached Baldwin.
"This was an unspeakable tragedy, but Alec Baldwin committed no crime. He was an actor, acting, playing the role of Harlan Rust," attorney Alex Spiro said. "These 'cardinal rules' are not cardinal rules on a movie set."
