Analysis-Alec Baldwin 'Rust' shooting charges could be difficult to
prove
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[January 20, 2023]
By Jack Queen
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prosecutors could face long odds convincing a jury
that Alec Baldwin is criminally liable for the fatal shooting of
cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of the Western
"Rust,” according to several legal experts.
New Mexico District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said on Thursday that
her office will file involuntary manslaughter charges against the "30
Rock" actor and the film's armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed following more
than a year of investigation into the October 2021 shooting.
Baldwin, 64, has said he was told the gun did not contain live rounds
when it was handed to him and that he did not pull the trigger. His
attorney on Thursday called the decision to criminally charge the actor
a "terrible miscarriage of justice."
Legal experts said they were doubtful that a jury would convict Baldwin
over the shooting, which occurred during a rehearsal on the set in
October 2021, if the evidence shows the tragedy was an accident that
occurred despite safety precautions in place to prevent it.
"It’s a very aggressive charging decision, and the defense has a strong
case,” said personal injury attorney and former prosecutor Neama Rahmani,
who is not involved in the "Rust" case.
Carmack-Altwies's office did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
The most serious charge prosecutors are pursuing -- which carries five
years in jail -- would require them to show beyond a reasonable doubt
that Baldwin was more than just negligent.
Legal experts said this would likely require proving his behavior was
reckless, or "an extreme departure from the care a reasonable person
would exercise in similar circumstances."
In announcing the charges Thursday, Carmack-Altwies said during a CNN
interview that "every person that handles a gun has a duty to make
sure... that it is not going to fire a projectile and kill someone.”
But legal experts questioned whether that standard applies if on-set
weapons experts told Baldwin the gun was safe.
They said that criminal charges are rare even in accidental shooting
deaths that take place in non-professional settings without safety
protocols.
'UPHILL BATTLE'
Criminal liability is a "stretch," unless prosecutors "can show it was
absolutely reckless in terms of the level of safety on set," said
defense lawyer and former New Mexico U.S. attorney John Anderson, who is
not involved in the case.
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Host Alec Baldwin arrives at the 2nd
Annual NFL Honors in New Orleans, Louisiana, February 2, 2013. The
San Francisco 49ers will meet the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL Super
Bowl XLVII football game February 3. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File
Photo
"Here it sounds like they had
multiple safety checks built in," Anderson said.
Experts interviewed by Reuters could not cite another instance in
which criminal charges stemmed from an accidental shooting death on
a film set.
When Bruce Lee's son, Brandon Lee, was fatally shot by an improperly
inspected gun on the set of "The Crow" in 1993, prosecutors
concluded it was an accident caused by negligence and declined to
bring charges.
Andrea Reeb, the special prosecutor appointed in the "Rust" case,
said in a statement Thursday that “the evidence clearly shows a
pattern of criminal disregard for safety on the ‘Rust’ film set."
New Mexico's worker safety agency in April fined the film's
production company $137,000 for what they described as "wilful"
safety lapses. And civil suits against Baldwin that are pending have
claimed systemic cost-cutting led to dangerous conditions on set,
allegations Baldwin and the film's production company have denied.
But prosecutors would face a much higher burden in a criminal case
and would likely need to demonstrate extraordinary safety lapses
across the board, legal experts said.
Involuntary manslaughter charges are most common in fatal traffic
accidents involving extreme recklessness, such as intoxication or
excessive speeding, according to experts.
None of the publicly available information indicates Baldwin's state
of mind was reckless enough to meet that standard, said defense
attorney and former prosecutor Joshua Ritter.
“We don’t have all of the evidence, but it still feels like
prosecutors face an uphill battle. It seems obvious that everyone
involved thought they were just rehearsing a scene," Ritter said.
(Reporting by Jack Queen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and
Deepa Babington)
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