The first trial of involuntary manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin and rust Gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who emerged after the fatal shooting of cameraman Halyna Hutchins in October 2021, is only weeks away, but the legal battle between the actor and Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies has already begun.
A day after rust 1St Deputy Director David Halls has been added to the prosecution’s already extensive list of witnesses, and Baldwin’s lawyers are now trying to recruit the prosecution’s appointed special prosecutor to the case.
“Ms. Reeb’s continued service as a special prosecutor in this case is unconstitutional,” Attorney General Lubke Nikas said Tuesday in a motion to recuse newly elected GOP Rep. Andrea Reeb from the high-profile case and subsequent trial. “The legal question is not closed. She should be disqualified.”
“However, under Section 1 of Article III of the New Mexico Constitution, a sitting member of the Legislature may not ‘exercise’ any powers relating to the executive or judicial branches,” added New York City Attorney Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. in motion (read it here). “As a special prosecutor, Representative Reeb is vested by law with ‘all the powers and duties’ of a prosecutor who is a member of the judiciary or executive branch of the New Mexico government.”
Chosen last year by Carmack-Altwies toward the end of the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office’s long overdue investigation into what really happened on that horrible day of October 21, 2021 rust Former attorney Reeb, who plays at Bonanza Creek Ranch, was elected as a Republican last November to serve the 64.e district in the state house of representatives.
Baldwin and Reed were formally charged by prosecutors in the shooting of Hutchins on Jan. 31. Baldwin has long denied pulling the trigger of the 1880s wad pistol that killed and wounded Hutchins rust Director Joel Souza.
“We’re trying to make it clear that everyone is equal before the law, including A-list actors like Alec Baldwin,” Reeb, a former district attorney for New Mexico’s Ninth Judicial District, said after the charges came to light last month is.
When those charges were first announced on Jan. 19, Baldwin’s legal team called the move a “gruesome miscarriage of justice” and vowed to “fight these charges and we will win.”
Clearly, the strategy behind those words is beginning to take shape with claims like today’s disqualification request. Prosecutors had very strong words for strategy in their own release today.
“Mr. Baldwin and his lawyers can use any tactic to distract from the fact that Halyna Hutchins died on the Rust film set as a result of gross negligence and a reckless disregard for safety,” said Heather Brewer, spokeswoman for New Mexico, First the District Attorney and said. Special Prosecutor continues to focus on the evidence and bring this case to court for justice to be served.”
Judge Mary Marlowe Summer’s first hearing is scheduled for February 24, with Baldwin and Reed appearing virtually. If the state judge feels there is enough evidence to move forward, the case will mark additional calendar dates for a preliminary hearing and eventually a trial. Of course, today’s motion from Baldwin’s team could throw a wrench in the works if Reeb is fired and a new special prosecutor has to be found.
On another chess or checkers move, Halls’ inclusion on the district attorney’s witness list (read it here) could be a cold windfall for Baldwin and Reed, depending on your perspective.
Industrial veteran Halls, long the focus of the gruesome incident, was the one who handed Baldwin the gun and is said to have announced “cold gun” at the handover. While no one seems to publicly comment on how tragic live ammunition is rust Halls was in the chain of responsibility for security on the set.
Probably the now-retired pragmatism and finance represent ego rust 1St The AD entered into an unpublished or court-approved plea agreement with prosecutors. He pleaded no contest to negligent use of a deadly weapon and faces six months of unsupervised probation, community service, safety training and a $500 fine if the court clears the deal.
“Dave Halls approached us and cooperated with our investigation, our investigation,” prosecutor Carmack-Altwies said when Halls’ deal was revealed last month. “He will testify or cooperate with the prosecution.”
At the time, Lisa Torraco, Hall’s attorney in Albuquerque, wasn’t sure who her client would take the stand for. But, because Halls has already contradicted Baldwin and others rust Crew members last December for “active and primary negligence” in screenwriter Maime Mitchell’s wide-ranging civil suit in Los Angeles Superior Court, it wasn’t too hard to tell which side he was likely to be on in the criminal case.
Halls now officially joins the previously announced 44 people — including director Souza, Mitchell, armor mentor Seth Kenney, props master Sarah Zachary and a pair of Santa Fe agents — on the prosecution’s list, and clearly has something to say that the defense has didn’t tell me I didn’t want to hear it.
Under New Mexico law, the first of two involuntary manslaughter charges that will eventually go before a jury will be a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine. The second charge, which is formally a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act, is also a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. This second charge also contains a firearms upgrade. It makes the offense punishable by five years in prison if the high-profile defendants are convicted.
What will certainly become a focus over time, the prosecutor will allow the jury to choose which charges to focus on in their deliberations.
Source: Deadline
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
