SANTA FE, NM — A nearly three-year legal saga for Alec Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cameraman ended Friday with no verdict but with tears of relief for the actor and a small group of family members who had settled into a grim daily routine on wooden benches inside. of a windowless environment. New Mexico court on trial.
In the morning, 16 jurors appeared in court for a third day of scribbling notes and listening with fist-pumped testimony in the manslaughter trial against Baldwin in the 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, only to be released that day as the trail took an unscheduled detour.
“Have a great weekend,” said Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer.
Outside the jury’s view, the criminal case against Baldwin was wavering, as Baldwin’s defense attorney accused local investigators and prosecutors of withholding evidence that could shed light on the unconfirmed origin of live ammunition on the set of “Rust.”
It was Baldwin’s fifth day in court. He arrives every morning in a black SUV with his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, to a phalanx of outdoor media cameras. Inside the courtroom early Monday, an energetic Baldwin whispered to a lawyer, scribbled on a notepad and passed Post-its to his legal team.
The defense won an early victory, as the judge ruled that Baldwin could not be held criminally responsible for his role as co-producer of “Rust.” The case would focus on Baldwin’s handling of a gun as the lead actor.
On Tuesday, the defendant’s younger brother, Stephen Baldwin, arrived at the back of the courtroom for jury selection. He would come back every day, all day. Among a pool of 70 potential jurors, all but three were familiar with the “Rust” shooting case. At the end of the day, a jury of five men and 11 women was seated for trial.
For opening statements on Wednesday, the courtroom was packed, with half the gallery reserved for news media, from the local TV network to the Times of London, and a few designated photographers. Lawyers and the public filled the other half, some of Baldwin’s friends and relatives, along with curious locals and traveling aficionados of amateur trials.
Sitting in the courtroom, Baldwin stared at a notepad, away from the jury, as prosecutors gave opening statements and video monitors showed the aftermath of the fatal shooting at a film ranch.
Prosecutors said Baldwin violated fundamental firearms safety rules by pointing a real gun at Hutchins while playing pretend. Defense attorneys argued that Baldwin was merely doing his job as an actor, reasonably trusting other professionals to ensure gun safety, albeit with tragic consequences.
Baldwin’s older sister, Elizabeth Keuchler, cried in court as the statements unfolded. She greeted her brother with a hug on the court railing and then sat right behind him.
A prominent Baldwin critic also took her place at the front of the court gallery: victims’ rights attorney Gloria Allred, who represents Hutchins’ sister and parents in a civil trial seeking damages.
Baldwin’s every expression at the trial was recorded in a video of the trial broadcast by CourtTV and the Associated Press. There was a restrained, watchful eye during the first full day of witness testimony Wednesday from the A-list actor with a decades-long career in film and television, from “The Hunt for Red October” to “30 Rock” and how accessory on “Saturday Night Live.”
Baldwin ran out of the courtroom once, but otherwise walked slowly and deliberately through the courtroom and courtroom, where impromptu interviews and photography were prohibited.
By Friday afternoon, Baldwin’s outward demeanor had changed little, but tension was rising in the courtroom, where Marlowe Sommer weighed a motion to dismiss the case and investigated revelations that investigators failed to disclose the receipt of ammunition in March by a man who said it could be linked to Hutchins’ death.
Prosecutors said they considered the ammunition unrelated and unimportant, while Baldwin’s lawyers claimed they “buried” it.
During the afternoon break, Baldwin took deep, measured breaths as he meticulously exited the courtroom. The air whistled slightly as he breathed with pursed lips. Hilaria Baldwin took his arm and rubbed his back as they walked down the hallway.
Back inside, the audience laughed as defense attorney Alex Spiro sparred with “Rust” ammunition supplier Seth Kenney, who established a cooperative relationship with investigators after the shooting.
But the courtroom fell silent amid the clatter of laptop keyboards as the judge questioned the sheriff’s detective about the decision to place the ammunition in an evidence file, separate from the “Rust” shooting case, and whether the prosecutor Kari Morrissey knew this.
“When you say there were discussions and that you all made the decision to put that ammunition in a separate file, was Ms. Morrissey part of that discussion?” Marlowe Sommer said.
“Yes,” replied the detective.
The case was falling apart. The courtroom gasped as Morrissey acknowledged that his co-prosecutor had just resigned.
Tears welled up in Baldwin’s eyes, followed by sobs, as the judge outlined her decision: “The sanction of dismissal is warranted in this case.”
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
