Alec Baldwin 'Rust' Prosecutor Slams Judge For 'Improperly' Dismissing His Trial
By Kristin Myers on August 6, 2024 at 8:35 AM EDT
"Rust" prosecutor Kari Morrissey is calling out Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer for dismissing Alec Baldwin's trial last month.
The 66-year-old actor was being charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was also charged and convicted in March. She is currently facing 18 months behind bars.
On the third day of the trial, Morrissey was accused of burying evidence and the judge found that the only remedy was to fully drop charges against Baldwin with prejudice, meaning that he could no longer face criminal charges for Hutchins' death.
'Rust' Prosecutor Accused Of Misconduct Slams Judge In Alec Baldwin Trial
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey is speaking out against Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer in a filing submitted on July 31, but only made public on August 5. The court documents see Morrissey taking aim at Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, Alec Baldwin, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, and her attorney, Jason Bowles.
Most of the 42-page document focused on rehashing the two previous trials and shedding more information on the new evidence that was submitted after Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's trial. After the armorer was found guilty, retired police officer Troy Teske submitted Colt .45 rounds to the police, thinking it might have been evidence in the "Rust" case.
Teske Had Been A Friend Of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's Father
Although the bullets had not been to the "Rust" set, Teske was a close friend of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's father, veteran Hollywood armorer Thell Reed. Baldwin's attorney Alex Spiro said that the bullets Teske submitted looked a lot like the live round found in the gun during the fatal shooting; however, Kari Morrissey disagreed and actually was part of the conversation with law enforcement to file the Teske ammunition under a case number.
Baldwin's legal team did not learn about the new evidence until a crime scene technician testified about it on the third day of the trial. Judge Sommer, in her summary judgment, said that since Baldwin's legal team would not have time to do their own forensic analysis on these bullets and therefore felt that dismissing the case with prejudice was the only appropriate remedy to what she dubbed "misconduct" on the part of the prosecution.
'Rust' Prosecutor Publishes Private Text Messages About The Teske Bullets
In the lengthy legal filing, Kari Morrissey published a text message exchange between Troy Teske and props supplier Seth Kenney, who some believe may have accidentally mixed up the live ammunition and dummy rounds when providing ammunition to the “Rust” set. During the November 2021 conversation, which took place only weeks after Halyna Hutchins was killed, Teske says that he “checked a bunch of the rounds” and could only find four different types.
“Yep, it’s evidence in the accidental death,” Kenney replies. “Ugh, this sucks but she’s seriously trying to blame everyone else for her mistake.” After Kenney clarifies that he is talking about Hannah, Teske doesn’t respond until Kenney asks him, “Did you see any rounds in either box with nickel primers?” To this message, Teske simply replies, “No.”
Kari Morrissey Claims The Judge Was 'Intending' To Dismiss Alec Baldwin's Trial
Elsewhere in the lengthy filing, Kari Morrissey wrote, “Based on the Court’s off-record statement, it was apparent that the Court was intending to dismiss the case." She went on to say, “Although the Court’s final order has not yet been filed, undersigned counsel contends that the Court misunderstood the testimony on July 12, 2024, and improperly dismissed the case against Mr. Baldwin."
It is not clear if she is referring to special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson with this message, as the newcomer to the Alec Baldwin trial resigned on the third day of the trial when the new evidence came to light. Johnson spoke with Chris Cuomo on NewsNation about why she resigned from the case only a few short hours after the trial was dismissed.
"We have an obligation as prosecutors, we have an obligation not only to the people, but to the defendant and our obligation is to make sure that all the evidence is turned over," she explained. "We don't get to decide what the defense is going to be. Our job is to ensure transparency and to ensure that the defendant has everything that the prosecution has gathered. What they do with it, that's up to them.”
Kari Morrissey Does Not Think That Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Deserves Another Trial
Shortly after Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty in March, her attorney Jason Bowles filed an appeal. However, considering that the judge dismissed Alec Baldwin's "Rust" trial due to a violation of the Brady Rule, Bowles speculated that similar misconduct might have happened in the armorer's trial and felt that the only appropriate remedy was to give her another trial. However, Kari Morrissey is firmly against the idea.
“If the Court were to decide that the dismissal of the case against Mr. Baldwin was proper there is one HUGE difference – in the Gutierrez case the State was not in possession of the Teske ammunition prior to trial (although arguably Mr. Bowles was), in the Baldwin case the State was in possession of the Teske ammunition,” Morrissey wrote in her filing.
