‘Rust’ Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Claims Judge Made Several Errors Amid Appeal

"Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is still trying to appeal her involuntary manslaughter conviction after a jury spent less than three hours finding her guilty earlier this year.

Her trial is separate from the one that Alec Baldwin will be facing in early July. Both Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and Alec Baldwin were charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who passed away during an on-set accident on October 21, 2021.

As her appeal continues, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is arguing that the judge made several errors when handling her "Rust" case.

Ever since Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer sentenced her to 18 months behind bars - the state maximum - former "Rust" armorer's lawyer Jason Bowles had been working on her appeal. On Wednesday, Bowles claimed that the Judge made six crucial errors in the case that warranted an appeal.

The 27-year-old rookie armorer is currently incarcerated at the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants, New Mexico, but her legal team is trying to get her out of jail while her appeal is pending.

In a filing to the state’s Court of Appeals on Wednesday, Jason Bowles cited issues with the jury instructions and the judge’s decision to allow “lay opinions” on Gutierrez Reed’s conduct as an armorer. According to court documents obtained by Variety, these concerns should be enough to warrant an appeal for Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

On Tuesday, an amended motion was released, denying the Bowles law firm's motion to quash the Subpoena Dues Tectum, according to court documents obtained by The Blast.

On April 24, 2024, the State sent the Bowles law firm a Subpoena Dues Tectum requesting "All documentation regarding communications between any employee or contract employee or agent of the Bowles Law Firm and Alexander Rae Baldwin, any attorneys or other employees of the Quinn, Emanuel, Urquhart, & Sullivan Law Firm, any attorneys acting on behalf of Mr Baldwin, and any representatives of Mr. Baldwin or Mr. Baldwin's counsel."

"This documentation includes but is not limited to any notes, messages, e-mail, text messages, recordings, and any other forms of correspondence," the filing added.

During her trial, lead prosecutor Kari Morrissey argued that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed had mistakenly put live ammunition into the "Rust" gun, which was later fired by Alec Baldwin on set when the crew was rehearsing a scene inside of a church in New Mexico.

During her appeal, her attorneys argued that an involuntary manslaughter charge requires “conscious disregard of a known risk” under appellate precedents. They argue that the jury instructions did not clarify this fact.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer used standard jury instructions for a manslaughter case, which state that the defendant “should have known” the risk of their actions, not that they did know.

In court documents obtained by The Blast, lawyers representing Alec Baldwin are attempting a similar strategy to get the case dismissed entirely so the "30 Rock" actor never has to stand trial. Both Alec Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed have argued that they could not be aware of the risk because they did not know that the "Rust" gun contained live ammunition.

During Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's trial, which ran from February to March, "Rust" crew members testified that she seemed unprofessional on set. Bowles objected to the witnesses testifying about her professional competence, noting that the crew members were not experts in gun handling. However, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer allowed the jury to hear their testimony.

In his appeal, Bowles argued that the opinions of "Rust crew members should never have been presented to the jury, because the job of a film armorer requires information outside the “common knowledge and experience of an average person.”

Her attorneys also noted that the prosecution accidentally turned over attorney-client text messages to weapons supplier Seth Kenney, who served as a witness during the trial. They argue that this is also grounds for an appeal, even though the Judge denied a pre-trial motion to throw out the case based on that incident.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, Bowles plans to ask for an appeal based on the "and/or" conjunction, which he argues may have confused a jury and encouraged them to convict based on unclear instructions.

In late March, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer did not find the "and/or" conjunction issue to be significant and denied a motion for a new trial based on those grounds. Jason Bowles also says that the Judge excluded testimony from OSHA witnesses and their own gun expert, which they say was vital to their case.

They also found fault with the Judge for classifying involuntary manslaughter as a “serious violent offense,” which requires the former "Rust" armorer to serve at least 85% of her sentence before she is eligible for release.

Although it is possible that Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will be called as a witness in Alec Baldwin's criminal trial, she has invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination while her appeal pends.

Although prosecutors filed a motion to grant her immunity, so anything she says does not hurt her chance of appeal, Baldwin's legal team has requested that their motion for immunity be denied.

Alec Baldwin's "Rust" trial is scheduled to begin on July 9. He faces up to 18 months behind bars if convicted.