Actor Alec Baldwin departs his home, as he will probably be charged with involuntary manslaughter for the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie “Rust”, in Latest York, January 31, 2023.
David Dee Delgado | Reuters
It has been just over a month since Latest Mexico authorities charged Alec Baldwin with manslaughter for the fatal shooting of a crew member on the set of the film “Rust,” and already the prosecution has come under harsh criticism and scrutiny.
First, there’s the query of whether the case’s major prosecutor is even eligible to try the case. The state’s structure prohibits a member of 1 branch of presidency from exercising the facility of one other branch. Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor, also serves as a Republican state legislator. Baldwin’s attorneys filed a motion on Feb. 7 to disqualify Reeb from the case.
Reeb and Latest Mexico’s First Judicial District Attorney’s office rejected that disqualification motion, calling the defense’s argument a “misconception” and saying it’s “based on a novel theory that has no support in Latest Mexico statutes or case law,” in keeping with court documents filed Monday.
“Accepting Defendant’s theory would require the Court to create recent law, which might have state-wide implications, based on nothing greater than creative, legally unsupported argument,” prosecutors wrote within the court filing.
Legal experts have also criticized Reeb’s overcharging of Baldwin based on a law that didn’t apply on the time of the fatal shooting. She backed down and downgraded the costs, which could lead to a shorter jail sentence for Baldwin, if he’s convicted.
Lawyers also found incendiary press statements and media appearances by the district attorney’s office odd since prosecutors are typically advised to order their comments for the courtroom.
“From the outset, there have been some unusual facts surrounding the DA’s prosecution,” said John Day, a Santa Fe-based attorney who has practiced law in Latest Mexico since 1996.
The costs stem from the October 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in the course of the filming of independent film “Rust.” Baldwin, who also starred in “The Departed” and “Beetlejuice,” held the gun, which was loaded with live ammunition.
Baldwin, who can be a producer of “Rust,” and the movie’s armorer on the time, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, were each charged in January with two various kinds of involuntary manslaughter by Latest Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies. A jury, by law, can only convict them of certainly one of those counts, each of which has a maximum possible sentence of 18 months in prison.
David Halls, the film’s first assistant director, signed an agreement to plead to the misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon and receive a suspended sentence and 6 months of probation.
Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are set to seem virtually for a standing hearing on Thursday.
The special prosecutor
Carmack-Altwies appointed Reeb to be special prosecutor in August. Reeb previously was the Ninth Judicial District Attorney, but retired a 12 months ago, shortly after launching her legislative campaign. She won the race in November but stayed on the “Rust” case.
Reeb’s dual role as legislator and prosecutor raised eyebrows within the local legal community. George Heidke, a former attorney within the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office, told CNBC this was the primary time in his 25 years of practicing law in Latest Mexico he has seen a sitting legislator concurrently function a prosecutor.
Baldwin’s lawyers argue Reeb ought to be faraway from the case. “A prosecutor who also serves as a legislator could face pressure to make prosecutorial decisions that serve her legislative interests,” Baldwin’s lawyers wrote in a motion. Baldwin is an outspoken supporter of Democratic and progressive issues, making him a goal of Reeb’s fellow Republicans.
The DA’s office responded to this argument Monday, saying that such claims are “purely hypothetical and reveal the limb Defendant must climb out on with a view to allege some form of ‘encroachment or interference.'”
There are other complications, as well.
An aerial view of the film set on Bonanza Creek Ranch where Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin fatally shot cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded a director when he discharged a prop gun on the movie set of the film “Rust” in Santa Fe, Latest Mexico, U.S., on this frame grab taken from October 21, 2021 television footage. Footage taken October 21, 2021.
KOB TV NEWS | Reuters
“I feel everyone agrees that she’s inappropriately placed in two different branches of presidency at the identical time,” Lisa Torraco, the Latest Mexico attorney representing Halls, told CNBC. “That is a great reason why: I donate to her campaign as a legislator and now she’s the special prosecutor on my case.”
In September, Torraco donated $250 to Reeb’s campaign, assuming that if Reeb won the legislative race, she would robotically recuse herself from the “Rust” case. That did not occur.
“If I knew, I probably would not have given her money,” Torraco said.
Together with Torraco, Carmack-Altwies, a registered Democrat, and Dennis Maez, the private investigator for Halls, also contributed to Reeb’s campaign.
Torraco said there isn’t a connection between her small campaign donation and Halls’ plea deal. But, in keeping with Santa Fe lawyer Day, “It’s the looks that is essential.”
“When you’re donating money to legislators, you have to grasp that individuals are going to have access to that and going to be wondering, ‘What is going on on here?'” he said. “This is precisely why you do not need to …have a legislator who’s also acting as a prosecutor.”
Heather Brewer, the DA’s spokesperson hired specifically for the “Rust” case, confirmed Torraco’s donation. She added that Reeb’s “integrity could never be compromised by a $250 contribution – or a contribution of any amount. Her only focus is serving the general public honorably, and she is going to proceed to accomplish that in pursuing justice for Halyna Hutchins.”
Gutierrez-Reed’s lawyers co-signed Baldwin’s motion to disqualify Reeb. The DA’s office declined to comment on the motion before filing its response.
‘A primary-year law student mistake’
Reeb’s role within the legislature aside, local lawyers found it strange that Carmack-Altwies appointed a special prosecutor in the primary place. Historically, if the DA’s office doesn’t have the resources to handle a case, it has called on the state attorney general for help.
As a substitute, Carmack-Altwies requested $635,000 from Latest Mexico’s Board of Finance, claiming that her office needed an extra attorney, media contact person and other personnel specifically dedicated to the “Rust” case, in keeping with a letter she sent to the finance board on Aug. 30.
When a member of the finance board asked Carmack-Altwies whether she had approached the attorney general for assistance, she said that she had not “specifically reached out about this case particularly,” in keeping with minutes of a hearing on her funding request. Reeb was the higher option, said Carmack-Altwies, because she has “25+ years of experience, and this will probably be her only case for the subsequent 12 to 18 months, which is by design.”
The state granted the DA’s office $317,750, about half of the unique request.
Torraco said the costs that Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed face are among the many lowest-level felonies in Latest Mexico.
“They usually’re asking for a whole lot of 1000’s of dollars from the legislature to prosecute it? It’s just absurd,” said Torraco. “They prosecute fourth-degree felonies each day … why all of the hype?”
The legal risk that Baldwin faced was much higher until last month, when his lawyers challenged one other decision by the prosecution.
When Reeb first filed criminal charges, she included a so-called firearm enhancement charge, which carries a possible five-year prison sentence. Baldwin’s lawyers filed a motion on Feb. 10 to eliminate that enhancement because it became a law seven months after the fatal shooting occurred, violating the legal concept referred to as “ex post facto,” or after the very fact.
It was a “first-year law student mistake,” said Day. “When you’re a prosecutor, it is your obligation to be certain that you are charging the proper law. And it’s embarrassing for that to occur since it shows they are not being attentive to detail.”
Reeb, in a Feb. 12 email to Baldwin’s lawyers, pointed to her legislative duties after they raised their objection to the enhancement. She wrote that she had been “busy in session all week,” and that she now was only able to check out the specifics of the firearm enhancement more closely.
Reeb soon after admitted she had incorrectly applied the enhancement and dropped it from the case.
Media circus
The case has received significant media attention, which has continued on account of Baldwin and the prosecutors’ press communication. Baldwin gave an interview to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in December 2021. Carmack-Altwies and Reeb have in turn made their very own appearances on CNN and Fox News.
Beyond that, Brewer, the spokesperson specifically hired for the “Rust” case, has made several heated statements about Baldwin and his attorneys on behalf of the DA’s office.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins is seen on this undated handout photo received by Reuters on October 23, 2021.
Swen Studios | via Reuters
After the Feb. 10 motion to cut back the firearm enhancement, Brewer told CNBC that the DA’s office is devoted to holding everyone, “even celebrities with fancy attorneys,” accountable under the law. Nearly two weeks later, when Reeb dropped the enhancement, Brewer said in an announcement that the withdrawal of the charge was “with a view to avoid further litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys.”
“The prosecution’s priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys,” Brewer added.
Brewer also has suggested that Baldwin’s attempts to remove Reeb from the case are designed to take the main target off Baldwin’s alleged criminal conduct. “Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys can use whatever tactics they need to distract from the proven fact that Halyna Hutchins died due to gross negligence and a reckless disregard for safety on the ‘Rust’ film set,” Brewer said in a public statement.
The American Bar Association advises against attorneys making public statements that would prejudice a jury in a criminal case, particularly because it pertains to the “character” or “fame” of defendants.
“Prosecutors must walk a really positive line between what you possibly can say publicly,” said Day, the local lawyer. “You do not need to be accused of poisoning the jury pool ahead of time. And that definitely could possibly be a problem here.”