Judge Condemns Prosecution for Withholding Evidence in Alec Baldwin 'Rust' Case

Photo : AFP

In a significant development in the Alec Baldwin case, First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer has sharply criticized the prosecutors for their handling of key evidence. The judge condemned the prosecutors in the involuntary manslaughter case against Baldwin, stating that they had "intentionally and deliberately withheld" crucial evidence from the court. This evidence was potentially exculpatory and could have absolved Baldwin much earlier in the process.

The order, issued on Wednesday, noted that the charges against Baldwin were dismissed due to "willful and deliberate misconduct" by the prosecution. Lead prosecutor Kari Morrissey was particularly singled out for failing to meet discovery requirements and for providing inconsistent testimony regarding the evidence she withheld. This misconduct was reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

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One of the central points of contention involved live ammunition that Troy Teske turned over to the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office. Crime scene technician Marissa Popell received these bullets but failed to log them under the Rust case. This oversight may have concealed crucial evidence from Baldwin and the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez. According to Baldwin’s lawyers, Teske, a retired Arizona police officer, supplied bullets with Starline brass casings and nickel primers, matching the live round that fatally shot Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Prosecutor Morrissey defended her actions in court, arguing that the ammunition from Teske was irrelevant to the case against Gutierrez and did not match the fatal round. She claimed there was no need to share this information with the defense. However, during court examination, some of the rounds appeared similar to those found on the Rust set post-shooting.

Judge Sommer’s order highlighted that Morrissey “made the deliberate, intentional decision to place the Teske-supplied ammunition” under another case, effectively suppressing the evidence from the court. The judge emphasized that if this evidence had been handed in timely, it could have potentially exonerated Baldwin. Sommer stated, “Evidence regarding the source of the live round that killed Ms. Hutchins, and additional information concerning how that live round arrived on the Rust set, likely affects the jury’s calculus of proximate cause and negligence by a third person or persons.”

Due to the late admission of the correct evidence, Baldwin’s defense team was not permitted to test the bullets earlier in the process. Judge Sommer concluded that “Given the State’s egregious discovery violations constituting misconduct and the false testimony elicited during the trial, dismissal with prejudice is the appropriate remedy.”

This ruling underscores the critical importance of proper evidence handling and disclosure in the judicial process, particularly in high-profile cases such as this one.