Alec Baldwin’s attorneys call for Rust special prosecutor to be disqualified as she is too busy to work case
In a scathing motion, Baldwin’s attorney Luke Nikas accused prosecutors of being distracted and amplifying basic legal errors in the media
Alec Baldwin’s attorneys have called for the special prosecutor on the Rust shooting investigation to be disqualified from the case as she is too distracted as a state legislator.
Luke Nikas filed a scathing motion on Monday after New Mexico district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies dropped gun enhancement charges against Baldwin over the fatal shooting of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Baldwin had been facing a mandatory five year prison term if convicted of involuntary manslaughter with the enhancement charge. He now faces a maximum of 18 months, and could get probation.
In the motion, Mr Nikas wrote that Andrea Reeb, a special prosecutor appointed to the case by the district attorney, had admitted to being too “busy in session all week, to look at your firearm enhancement issue” in a 12 February email to him.
Mr Nikas also accused prosecutors of amplifying legal errors by “repeatedly giving interviews on national television in which they erroneously claimed that the enhancement was not only applicable to Mr Baldwin, but mandatory”.
Mr Nikas went on to say that when he previously argued that the enhancement charge was not applicable as the law was passed eight months after the Rust shooting, Ms Reeb threatened him with sanctions for failing to follow proper procedure.
A spokesperson for the district attorney did not immediately respond to a request from The Independent for comment.
After the enhancement charge was dropped this week, the spokesperson issued a combative statement saying it had been done to “avoid further litigious distractions by Mr Baldwin and his attorneys.”
“The prosecution’s priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys,” the spokesperson said at the time.
Mr Nikas has previously called for Ms Reeb to be dismissed from the case on the grounds it is unconstitutional for her to work as a special prosecutor and state legislator.
Hutchins, 42, was shot dead on the New Mexico set of the low-budget western film in October 2021.
In January, prosecutors in New Mexico filed two felony charges of involuntary manslaughter against Mr Baldwin, who allegedly pointed a gun at Ms Hutchins that went off and fatally shot her and wounded director Joel Souza.
Rust armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was also charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. First assistant director David Halls has agreed to plead guilty to the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.
Under New Mexico law, a gun enhancement charge could only apply to Ms Hutchins’ fatal shooting if the gun was “brandished” with intent to intimidate or injure a person.