Alec Baldwin's team files new plea in court to dismiss involuntary manslaughter charge

Alec Baldwin filed a motion in court on Monday to dismiss charges of involuntary manslaughter. The actor filed his fifth bid to have the charges dropped while his legal team continued arguments from Friday's virtual hearing where Baldwin was denied one of two requests to end the Ruststar's involuntary manslaughter case.

According to a report in Fox News, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer refused to issue a ruling until at least Friday, June 28, regarding Baldwin's request that charges should be dismissed due to the destruction of evidence.

Baldwin did not appear in the virtual hearings, instead, he was spotted in the Hamptons over the weekend.

The 30 Rock actor previously filed court paperwork waiving all his future pre-trial appearances.

Baldwin's legal team requested an order dismissing the indictment with prejudice in an expedited motion for relief. They argued that the state violated discovery obligations by not immediately disclosing "critical evidence" deemed favourable to Baldwin's defense which could "fundamentally reshape the way Baldwin would have prepared for trial."

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"The State’s strategy — trial by ambush — is grossly prejudicial and abhorred by courts," documents stated. "The reason for that is obvious: Baldwin has had to divert substantial time and resources just to pursue the growing list of undisclosed discovery that continues to emerge from hiding — not to mention the time it takes to review more than 150,000 pages of documents and countless hours of audio recordings and videos that have been dumped on Baldwin just weeks before trial. Moreover, most of the State’s late disclosures were made after the dispositive motion and witness deadline. This alone demonstrates how seriously Baldwin has been prejudiced by the State’s misconduct."

His team continued, "Baldwin deserves to be treated just like any other criminal defendant, and both federal and state law point in one direction: dismissal."

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Baldwin's request for dismissal was denied during a hearing Friday. Baldwin's legal team argued the prosecution failed to show that the actor even committed a crime. His lawyers pointed out that the prosecution admitted the "prospect of live ammunition" being present on the Rustset was "incomprehensible."

The armourer on Rust set, Hannah Gutierrez Reed was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March after a jury found her responsible for the gun that discharged a live bullet on the Western film set that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Gutierrez Reed was also found not guilty of evidence tampering, a charge she received in 2023 after investigators accused her of passing off a bag of cocaine on the day of the fatal set shooting.

Baldwin was indicted on two counts — involuntary manslaughter, negligent use of a firearm, or, in the alternative, involuntary manslaughter without due caution or circumspection — on Jan19. Hutchins died on Oct21, 2021, after a gun Baldwin was holding discharged on the set of the film.

He's expected in court next month to begin a nearly two-week trial and could face up to 18 months in prison if convicted.