Alec Baldwin requested a dismissal of the charges against him on Friday, arguing that the five-year firearm sentencing enhancement is unconstitutional because it was enacted as a result of the shooting on the “Rust” set.
In a court document, Baldwin’s attorneys claimed that the prosecution made a basic legal mistake by accusing Mr. Baldwin of violating a firearm-enhancement statute that was not in effect when the accident occurred.
The shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins resulted in Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the weapons supervisor on the Western set, being charged last month with felony involuntary manslaughter.
On October 21, 2021, Hutchins was hurt while performing at a ranch outside of Santa Fe, and he passed away shortly after. Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was injured when Baldwin’s gun went off as he was aiming it at Hutchins. After her husband and son’s lawsuit was settled, Hutchins’ parents and sister filed a lawsuit over the shooting on Thursday.
On Tuesday, Baldwin’s legal team also submitted a motion to remove the special prosecutor from the case, arguing that her status as a state legislator constitutionally bars her from exercising any authority in a judicial capacity.
Before Baldwin even appears in court for the first time, which is scheduled for later this month via videoconference, his legal team is waging a ferocious legal defense against the charges. Baldwin is not currently in custody.
The district attorney’s spokeswoman, Heather Brewer, said in an email that “another day, another motion from Alec Baldwin and his attorneys in an attempt to distract from the egregious carelessness and complete disregard for safety on the ‘Rust’ film set that led to Halyna Hutchins’ death.”
Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, asserted that this violated the constitution’s ex post facto clause. “A law cannot be passed by the government and then applied retroactively to punish someone. Baldwin is only likely to receive a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison because the judge is probably going to throw out that enhancement.
When the charges were made public, Luke Nikas, Baldwin’s attorney, referred to them as “a terrible miscarriage of justice.” Baldwin “had no reason to believe there was a live bullet in the gun,” the man claimed, adding that Baldwin relied on the experts with whom he worked.
