Judge Upholds Dismissal of Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ Charges

The judge who dismissed the involuntary manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin upheld her own decision in a ruling Thursday.

In July, New Mexico Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the single felony count against the actor “with prejudice” after the defense discovered that prosecutors and investigators withheld ammunition evidence related to the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021 on the set of the Western film Rust.

Following the dismissal, lead special prosecutor Kari Morrissey asked the judge to review her decision as well as examine whether the defense was actually aware of the allegedly withheld evidence. On Thursday, Sommer stood by her decision to dismiss the charges, writing in a ruling that prosecutors failed to present any arguments that would reverse her decision, the Associated Press reports.

“Because the state’s amended motion raises arguments previously made, and arguments that the state elected not to raise earlier, the court does not find the amended motion well taken,” the judge wrote.

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Morrissey said the prosecution plans to appeal Sommer’s ruling; because Baldwin’s case was dismissed “with prejudice,” prosecutors can not file charges against the actor again.

Next month, three years after Hutchins’ death, Rust will finally hold its world premiere at Poland’s Camerimage, an annual cinematography festival. The premiere will also feature a panel discussion with the film’s director, Joel Souza (who was also shot and injured in the incident), cinematographer Bianca Cline, and Stephen Lighthill, Hutchins’ mentor from her film school AFI. The festival takes place Nov. 16-23 in Toruń, Poland.