Judge Tosses Alec Baldwin’s Lawsuit Over ‘Rust’ Shooting Prosecution

Actor Alec Baldwin just had his civil misconduct lawsuit against a "Rust" prosecutor dismissed by a New Mexico judge, who claimed that his legal team has failed to take any action on the case since it was filed in January.

The "Saturday Night Live" alum had accused special prosecutor Kari Morrissey and others of violating his rights during the “Rust” shooting investigation. However, the filing states that his attorneys did not even serve the defendants.

On Wednesday, July 30, a New Mexico judge tossed a misconduct suit filed by the “30 Rock” actor in January. The 73-page filing alleged that Kari Morrissey and district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, as well as several other investigators on the case, had failed to uphold his constitutional rights.

He accused the New Mexican officials of several abuses, including eliciting false testimony and withholding exculpatory evidence. “Defendants, while acting under the color of law, conspired to procure a groundless indictment against Baldwin and to maliciously bring about or advance Baldwin’s trial and conviction, thus violating Baldwin’s constitutional rights by their improper use of the criminal process,” the lawsuit stated.

However, it appears that the complaint is going nowhere, as the filing states that Baldwin’s legal team has not made any steps to prosecute the civil case. Their failure to file a notice that the defendants had been served led Judge Casey Fitch to dismiss the case; however, it has been dismissed without prejudice, which means that it can be refiled if Baldwin’s lawyers choose to do so.

“We have been in good faith discussions with the parties to the lawsuit and will be refiling promptly if those discussions are not promptly and favorably resolved,” said Baldwin’s lawyer, Luke Nikas, in a statement obtained by Variety. Under New Mexico law, a case may be dismissed if no steps are taken to pursue it within six months.

At this time, it is unclear if Baldwin plans to refile his lawsuit. The actor had previously used his TLC reality show, "The Baldwins," to talk about the aftermath of the shooting and the impact that it had on his family.

The civil lawsuit came months after Baldwin stood trial in July 2024 for the death of “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in October 2021. The actor had been initially charged with involuntary manslaughter in 2023; however, the charges were dropped a few months later pending an investigation into the firearm used in the shooting.

The charges were filed again in January 2024, with Baldwin facing a single count of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors claimed that he engaged in criminal negligence by pointing a gun at the camera and pulling the trigger, although Baldwin has maintained that he never pulled the trigger in several interviews leading up to the trial.

The defense team argued that there was no way for Baldwin to know that the gun was loaded with live ammunition, although how real bullets ended up on a movie set is still under much debate.

The trial came to a swift end on the third day of witness testimony after Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled that special prosecutor Kari Morrissey had worked with law enforcement officials in New Mexico to withhold evidence from the defense: bullets that had been presented to officers after the trial of armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of Halyna Hutchins. She was released from prison in May after serving 14 months behind bars.

She is also facing 18 months' probation in connection with a separate case, in which she was accused of unlawfully carrying a firearm into a licensed liquor establishment. That incident took place mere weeks before Hutchins’ sudden death.

Gutierres-Reed was only required to serve 85% of her sentence at the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants, New Mexico, due to the fact that she was convicted of a “serious violent offense.” She also received 60 days of credit for completing two phases of a residential addiction program while behind bars.