Alec Baldwin's legal future uncertain as prosecutors appeal manslaughter charge dismissal

 

Alec Baldwin's legal woes aren't over.

Prosecutors are pushing back on New Mexico District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer's dismissal of Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter charge in the death of "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

In court documents filed Nov. 21 and made public Tuesday, the state of New Mexico and special prosecutor Kari Morrissey are appealing Sommer's July decision and a separate October ruling that upheld her decision to dismiss the charge against Baldwin in a blow to state prosecutors.

The brief, one-page filing does not directly cite the reasoning for Morrissey's appeal.

The involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin, 66, in the 2021 shooting death of Hutchins, which occurred while filming the Western movie, was abruptly dismissed in July by the judge on the grounds that prosecutors and law enforcement withheld evidence that might be favorable to the actor's defense.

Alec Baldwin says wife was 'traumatized;by 'Rust' shooting, reveals he won't watch final film

"Because the state's amended motion raises arguments previously made, and arguments that the state elected not to raise earlier, the court does not find the amended motion well taken," the judge wrote in her decision.

The judge cited prosecutors' "untimeliness" in her ruling because they filed an amended motion outside the time limit for an appeal.

Last week, "Rust" held its world premiere more than three years after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed on set, but star Baldwin said he isn't planning to watch it.

The actor said in an interview with Variety, published Monday, that he has seen a rough cut of "Rust" but not the final version. When asked if he wanted to watch the completed film, he said, "Right now, no," as the shooting was the "most difficult thing I've ever dealt with in my life.

He added he wants "all things 'Rust' to just leave my windshield," and he and his wife Hilaria are "trying to get the wind in our sails, to get away from this stuff," adding that his wife was "traumatized."

"My wife has been very, very traumatized from this," he continued with Variety. "There has been a lot of pain. When you are married to somebody and everything was going fairly well and we had seven kids … and the floor falls out. It’s very frightening and very disturbing. And we are trying to get the wind in our sails, to get away from this stuff. Because the film doesn’t stand by itself. It’s always going to be overshadowed by this."