In the latest development of Alec Baldwin’s legal case regarding the Rust shooting incident, a New Mexico judge has dismissed a motion to reopen the manslaughter charge against Baldwin. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer determined that the state’s prosecutors did not present sufficient “factual or legal arguments” to justify reconsidering the case and also failed to file the motion within the necessary timeframe.
According to court documents, state prosecutors submitted an amended motion on September 5, 2024, after their permitted window to file ended on August 30. Consequently, Judge Sommer ruled the motion untimely and found it lacking in substantial new arguments for reopening the case.
Special Prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey, in statements to The Los Angeles Times, disagreed with the judge’s analysis and announced plans to appeal. Morrissey has contended that the dismissal of the case in July lacked sufficient evidence to support the decision and that Baldwin’s due process rights remained intact during the proceedings.
This case initially saw Baldwin’s manslaughter charge dismissed with prejudice, preventing it from being refiled, due to alleged withholding of evidence by the police and prosecutors. Additionally, Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s request for a new trial was denied, with the court ruling that any withheld evidence would not have altered her guilty verdict.
Despite the legal and public controversy surrounding Rust, the film is set to premiere in November at the EnergaCamerimage International Cinematography Film Festival in Toruń, Poland.