Alec Baldwin‘s lawyers asked a judge on Thursday to throw out his manslaughter case, accusing prosecutors of “violating nearly every rule in the book” in the course of obtaining the indictment.
The attorneys argued that prosecutors leaked information to the press, failed to present exculpatory evidence to the grand jury, and gave a faulty jury instruction on involuntary manslaughter that “stacked the deck” against Baldwin.
“Enough is enough,” the lawyers wrote. “This is an abuse of the system, and an abuse of an innocent person whose rights have been trampled to the extreme.”
Baldwin was indicted in January and is scheduled to face a trial on July 9 in Santa Fe, N.M.
He is accused of criminal negligence for allegedly pointing a gun at “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and pulling the trigger. Baldwin was unaware that the gun was loaded with a live bullet. Hutchins was killed and the film’s director, Joel Souza, was seriously injured.
In the motion filed Thursday, Baldwin’s lawyers argue that the prosecution failed to make witnesses available to the grand jury who would have testified that it was not the actor’s duty to inspect the gun before the scene.
The defense accuses Kari Morrissey, the special prosecutor appointed to handle the case, of failing to adequately inform grand jurors that they could hear from the defense witnesses if they wanted to.
Baldwin’s lawyers wanted jurors to hear testimony from Souza, as well as first assistant director Dave Halls, producer Ryan Smith, and other witnesses who they believed would be helpful to Baldwin.
The defense alleges that Morrissey relied heavily on the state’s expert witness, Bryan Carpenter, who, according to the motion, stated that the actor was responsible for safe handling of firearms.
The attorneys also accuse Morrissey of engaging in “vindictive and malicious” conduct “from start to finish.”
“The State had one goal — indict Baldwin, no matter the truth, no matter the rules or the Court rulings, and no matter what it took to do so,” Baldwin’s attorneys wrote.
The defense also alleges that Morrissey was quoted as an unnamed “source familiar with the case” by NBC News, stating that the prosecution would “humble” Baldwin and provide a “teachable moment.”
