Alec Baldwin Rust case: Judge slams prosecution for deliberately hiding key evidence

The prosecutors in Alec Baldwin’s case suppressed evidence which favoured the actor.

First Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer condemned the prosecutors in the involuntary manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin. He said the prosecution misconducted the evidence and “intentionally and deliberately withheld” the key evidence in the case from the court. The evidence was crucial to the case and the judge explained how it could have absolved Baldwin sooner.

FILE - Judge criticised the prosecution for deliberately hiding key evidence from the court in Alec Baldwin's Rust case. (Ramsay de Give/Pool Photo via AP, File)(AP)

Prosecutors denounce misconduct in Alec Baldwin’s case

An order issued on Wednesday stated that the charges against the actor were dismissed due to "willful and deliberate misconduct." Lead prosecutor Kari Morrissey repeatedly failed to meet discovery requirements and gave inconsistent testimony about the evidence she withheld, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

Troy Teske turned over the live ammunition to the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office, where crime scene technician Marissa Popell received the bullets but did not log them under the Rust case. This oversight potentially allowed the evidence to be concealed from Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez. Baldwin’s lawyers assert that Teske, a retired Arizona police officer, provided bullets with Starline brass casings and nickel primers that were consistent with the live round that fatally shot Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Prosecutor Morrissey, defending her actions, claimed in court that the ammunition from Teske was irrelevant to the case against Gutierrez and didn’t match the round that killed Hutchins. She argued it didn't need to be shared with the defence. However, during court examination, some of the rounds appeared similar to those found on the Rust set after the shooting.

Timely hand-in of evidence could’ve absolved Baldwin

The order stated that Morrissey “made the deliberate, intentional decision to place the Teske-supplied ammunition” under another case to suppress the evidence from the court. This evidence if handed in could have freed Baldwin from the case. Sommers explained, “Evidence regarding the source of the live round that killed Ms Hutchins, and additional information concerning how that live round arrived on the Rust set, likely affects the jury’s calculus of proximate cause and negligence by a third person or persons.”

However, the late admission of the right evidence took a toll on Baldwin’s case as his lawyers were not permitted to test the bullets earlier due to order. The judge further added, “Given the State’s egregious discovery violations constituting misconduct and the false testimony elicited during the trial, dismissal with prejudice is the appropriate remedy.”