The actor was charged with manslaughter in January following the accidental death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. His lawyers try a first strategy.
New twist in the case Rust. Lawyers for Alec Baldwin, who was charged with manslaughter last month, are trying to disqualify the special prosecutor leading the investigation, reports the New York Times.
Filed Tuesday, the motion argues that the latter’s choice, Andrea Reeb, violates the New Mexico Constitution because she is also an elected member of the United States House of Representatives.
“Representative Reeb is not constitutionally authorized to be a lawmaker and a special prosecutor simultaneously,” said Luke Nikas, one of Alec Baldwin’s lawyers.
“This gives a person two powers from two different branches – to legislate and to prosecute – which contradicts Article III of the Constitution of New Mexico,” he detailed. The motion is Camp Baldwin’s first legal response since the actor was indicted last month.
A maximum of five years imprisonment
On October 21, 2021, the filming of the western Rust on a ranch in New Mexico had turned tragic when Alec Baldwin had activated a weapon supposed to contain only blank bullets, but whose very real projectile had killed the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, and injured the director Joel Souza.
This rare news item had shocked Hollywood and had a strong impact, triggering calls to ban firearms on the sets, where the presence of live ammunition is in theory already prohibited.
If they are convicted of simple manslaughter, Alec Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who had handled the weapon, risk up to 18 months in prison. But this sentence could be increased to a maximum of five years in prison in the event of aggravated negligence.
The tragedy gave rise to a flurry of civil lawsuits from several members of the team. In October, Alec Baldwin announced that he had reached an agreement ending the civil lawsuits brought by the family of Halyna Hutchins. Its amount was not disclosed.
