By In a significant development in the high-profile “Rust” shooting case, the judge presiding over Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial has denied the actor’s motion to dismiss the indictment. The decision, which was made public on Friday, comes after Baldwin’s legal team argued that the grand jury proceedings were prejudiced against him.
According to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, the judge rejected both of Baldwin’s dismissal arguments, concluding that the grand jury process was not biased against the actor. The defense had previously claimed that prosecutors diverted attention away from exculpatory evidence and witnesses during the proceedings, an allegation that prosecutors have vehemently denied.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Baldwin’s lawyers, Alex Spiro and Luke Nikas, expressed their determination to move forward with the case, stating, “We look forward to our day in court.” The actor, who was holding the gun that discharged and tragically killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western film “Rust” on October 21, 2021, was indicted on two counts of involuntary manslaughter on January 19.
Baldwin, who waived all of his pre-trial appearances, did not attend the May 17 hearing, where his legal team appeared virtually to argue that the prosecution failed to follow proper procedures during the grand jury process. Alex Spiro, the lead lawyer on Baldwin’s team, specifically focused on accusations that the prosecution did not alert witnesses ahead of the grand jury, claiming that this was not the proper way to conduct the proceedings.
However, special prosecutor Kari Morrissey strongly refuted Spiro’s argument, calling it a “complete misrepresentation” of the actual events. Morrissey asserted that she had no intention of misrepresenting the state’s witnesses or their testimony, and took offense to being called a liar.
In their original motion to dismiss the indictment, Baldwin’s legal team argued that the prosecution acted unethically and failed to present crucial evidence to the grand jury. The court documents stated, “Enough is enough. This is an abuse of the system, and an abuse of an innocent person whose rights have been trampled to the extreme.”
Since the original motion, Baldwin has filed two additional motions to dismiss, one based on the alleged destruction of evidence (referring to the firearm) and another over the failure to allege a criminal act. The state filed responses to both motions on May 21, but a court hearing has not yet been scheduled.
As the case continues to unfold, the public eagerly awaits further developments in this high-stakes legal battle involving one of Hollywood’s most prominent actors.
