"Rust" prosecutor Kari T. Morrissey wants another shot at trying Alec Baldwin ... and has asked the judge to reconsider the decision to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter charge against the actor.
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00:00Alec Baldwin is not in the clear completely yet in that Rust case, at least the way prosecutors see it.
00:06Remember, this was very abruptly dismissed when the judge said that prosecutors had engaged in prosecutorial misconduct.
00:14It was one of the more dramatic moments I can remember in a courtroom.
00:17Right, because the trial was really just getting started, but the judge threw the whole case out,
00:23said that the prosecutors had been guilty of covering up evidence.
00:28Well, now the prosecutors have filed new documents, basically asking the judge to reconsider this,
00:34and they make the case that there was absolutely no cover-up despite the way it came out in court.
00:41What they're alleging is that the evidence that they were accused of covering up was never really covered up,
00:48and that Alec Baldwin's defense team knew about that evidence.
00:52The evidence, by the way, was that there were other live rounds of ammunition on the set.
00:58Yeah, this is really a bombshell motion that they're filing, and they're saying,
01:01look, we did not disclose this evidence. It was under another case file, so there was some suppression.
01:07They've fallen on that sword a little bit, but they're saying, look, this wouldn't have helped his defense at all.
01:12They were actually aware of the evidence, even though it wasn't turned over under the same case file name,
01:16and they're saying there's just no reason to dismiss a serious charge like involuntary manslaughter,
01:21which should have gone to the jury of his peers to see whether or not Alec Baldwin is guilty of this offense.
01:25I really want to break down those two things about the cover-up and about whether it would help Alec's case just a second,
01:32but this is what they say partially in the documents they filed.
01:36They say there was no cover-up because there was nothing to cover up.
01:42It was still Alec Baldwin's responsibility to handle his real prop gun safely and not point the gun at anyone,
01:49let alone two people at the same time, cock the gun when the scene did not call for it,
01:54and pull the trigger of the gun when the scene did not call for him to pull the trigger.
02:00Okay, so the part about cocking the gun, pulling the trigger when it shouldn't have been pulled, I see their point there.
02:10However, Derek, let's face it, the defense would come back and say there's no problem with him pulling that trigger
02:17if there isn't live ammunition on the set, and that seems very relevant to the evidence that was,
02:23by the way, they say there was no cover-up, but why was it placed in a different case file other than the Rust shooting?
02:30Why not hand it over if it was irrelevant?
02:32Yeah, you look, and this is a really difficult position for the prosecutors to be in
02:35because you're supposed to turn over anything that is exculpatory or could be exculpatory,
02:39meaning helping with his defense, and that's not really the prosecutor's job to determine.
02:43It's for the defense team to look through the evidence and say,
02:45hey, I think this could be useful in some way.
02:47So to say it's not a cover-up and there's nothing to cover up, it's really not their job to say.
02:51But more to the point, what the prosecutors are saying here is that-
02:53But the biggest part of it, the reason it was dismissed, Derek, was the fact that there was a cover-up.
02:57That's what the judge said, that they had intentionally covered up this evidence
03:03that was related to Alec Baldwin's accidental shooting of Helena Hutchins.
03:08So I just don't understand where the prosecutors are going with it,
03:12and it feels like, I know we've said this, it feels like they just want to-
03:16It's like a dog with a bone. I've never seen anything like this.
03:19Derek, this feels like a long- I haven't been a second in law school.
03:23This feels like an incredible long shot here for them to win this.
03:27This is a Hail Mary of all Hail Marys.
03:28Filing a motion for reconsideration to the same judge who said-
03:31who excoriated the prosecutors and said, like,
03:33listen, the only remedy I have, you've tied my hands with your misconduct,
03:37is I have to dismiss this with prejudice to not bring it against them again.
03:40They're now asking her to reconsider that decision.
03:42I don't think they've raised anything particularly new other than saying
03:44it wouldn't help his defense anyway and we want to be able to put on our case.
03:47It seems like a long shot that it'll win, but they do lay out that
03:50Alec Baldwin should have looked at that gun, and that's what we've always maintained.
03:55And that was the issue that would have come up in the trial
03:58had they not covered up the evidence.
04:01And remember that the day that this came out and the judge dismissed this,
04:06a member of the prosecution, one of their attorneys resigned because-
04:10out of embarrassment.
04:11Right.
04:12Because she didn't realize that that's what had happened,
04:15that there had been evidence put under a different case file.
04:19So that also is a bad look.
04:20And Charles, I mean, I haven't seen a sloppier case in all the years of doing this
04:24and in practicing law before this.
04:25Remember how they opened the case, they brought a gun charge
04:27that wasn't even a statute that was in effect at the time of the shooting?
04:30That's how this whole thing started off.
04:32It's been sloppy after sloppy after sloppy.
04:34The prosecutor is now trying to say, look, it wasn't a cover-up.
04:37We didn't intentionally try to conceal evidence,
04:39but it's just a bad look at this at this point where it does look like
04:42they're just a dog with a bone and really want their pound of flesh.
04:44I think you're right, Babcock. Seems like a long shot,
04:47but we will see what the judge decides on that motion.
04:51So my name is Jacqueline Constance. I'm from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
04:55And honestly, in my opinion, I think it was a good call for the prosecutors
04:59to ask for requesting this dismissal because there was a lot of factors
05:04that went into that in the first place.
05:05But all in all, someone needs to be held accountable.
05:07Someone died on a movie set.
05:10So absolutely, I think the prosecutors should ask for this request
05:16because anyone that needs to be held accountable,
05:19whether that's Baldwin, his team, or anyone watching this,
05:22should be held accountable, especially if they're trying to skirt
05:25or relax their safety protocols.
05:27At the end of the day, if you're at work, you should be able to go home safely.
05:30That's true, you should, but someone that was held accountable.
05:33Nina Gutierrez-Reed is doing a year and a half in prison.
05:36The armorer, the person who was responsible for the live ammunition being on the set,
05:40and she was found responsible and is in prison for that.