Judge dismisses charges against Alec Baldwin

[+ augustus]

24 minutes ago, EZEtoGRU said:

When the prosecutor agrees with the dismissal there really isn't much else to say.

Thank you Perry Mason.  Because prosecutors are all knowing and always in agreement. 🤨  

Edited July 13 by augustus

[BSR]

22 minutes ago, EZEtoGRU said:

Interesting read from NBC article.  Former prosecutor on the case agrees with dismissal.  When the prosecutor agrees with the dismissal there really isn't much else to say.    Justice was served in this case.  Onto the next.

Prosecutor who resigned from Alec Baldwin 'Rust' case says she wanted dismissal

WWW.YAHOO.COM

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A special prosecutor who resigned from the manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin on Friday said she did so because she felt it should have been voluntarily dismissed by the...

 

The judge dismissed the charges with prejudice, which means that Baldwin cannot be retried.  Nonetheless, I hope Baldwin gets destroyed in civil court.  His knowing and willful irresponsibility is horrifying.

[+ augustus]

8 minutes ago, BSR said:

The judge dismissed the charges with prejudice, which means that Baldwin cannot be retried.  Nonetheless, I hope Baldwin gets destroyed in civil court.  His knowing and willful irresponsibility is horrifying.

An appellate court can reverse if there is an appeal.

[BSR]

4 hours ago, Just Chuck said:

As I understand, the makers of "Rust" moved production to New Mexico specifically to avoid the SAG rules and union pay scales.  They didn't hire a certified armorer. They hired a young woman in her early twenties whose qualification was that she had run a youth summer camp marksmanship program.

My friend said that it sounded like the whole production of "Rust" was unsafe and she wondered if the production was even insured because a lot of the insurance companies make film-makers comply with SAG rules to qualify to be insured.

I normally ignore emoticon reactions, but I really need to know @EZEtoGRU's motivation for laughing at my previous post.  Did you read Just Chuck's post detailing Baldwin's decisions that created an unsafe set?  Instead of hiring a certified armorer, Baldwin hired a grossly unqualified and inexperienced woman just to save a few bucks.  Baldwin is guilty of shocking irresponsibility.  What about that is so funny?

[+ augustus]

On 7/13/2024 at 2:43 AM, mike carey said:

The judge had discretion but I heard a former federal prosecutor this morning say that despite what he called the appalling result for the victim's family the decision was a perfectly reasonable one, such was the likely effect of the withheld evidence on the safety of any conviction.

A man hand-delivered ammunition to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office in March, following Gutierrez-Reed’s trial, which he believed could be connected to the live ammunition found on the movie set. The ammunition was cataloged into evidence as separate from Baldwin’s case, witnesses said in testimony. Kari Morrissey of the prosecution said that investigators determined that the ammunition wasn’t a match to the live rounds found on the “Rust” set based on some of its characteristics and determined that it didn’t have evidentiary value."  How convenient for Baldwin!!  AND FROM THAT you draw the conclusion that this nonsense would jeopardize "the safety of any conviction".   

You say you're in Law in Australia.    Don't know how things work down there but tell me how a bunch of bullets that have no known connection to the homicide scene would be exculpatory????

[+ augustus]

I remember when Baldwin smugly tweeted "I wonder how it feels to wrongfully kill someone" after a CA cop shot someone trying to take his gun.  Well Alec, now you know - and I must say it couldn't have happened to a more deserving jerk.  

[+ augustus]

No explanation from anyone about why other ammunition had anything to do with a criminal decision to not check a real live working gun, point it in the direction of another person, and pull the trigger.

[mike carey]

10 minutes ago, augustus said:

A man hand-delivered ammunition to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office in March, following Gutierrez-Reed’s trial, which he believed could be connected to the live ammunition found on the movie set. The ammunition was cataloged into evidence as separate from Baldwin’s case, witnesses said in testimony. Kari Morrissey of the prosecution said that investigators determined that the ammunition wasn’t a match to the live rounds found on the “Rust” set based on some of its characteristics and determined that it didn’t have evidentiary value."  How convenient for Baldwin!!  AND FROM THAT you draw the conclusion that this nonsense would jeopardize "the safety of any conviction".   

You say you're in Law in Australia.    Don't know how things work down there but tell me how a bunch of bullets that have no known connection to the homicide scene would be exculpatory????

I drew no conclusions whatsoever in what you quoted, I was citing what had been said in an interview of someone who appeared to have relevant knowledge and expertise, but don't let that stop you. And remind me where I said I was in the law in Australia.

[+ augustus]

30 minutes ago, mike carey said:

I drew no conclusions whatsoever in what you quoted,

In fact, you did draw a conclusion when you wrote.........."It's a fairly major technicality" as your first sentence and then cite an interview to back that up.  FACT: It was a single action revolver, and they are easy to check.  Open the loading gate and rotate the cylinder.  If you see a cartridge, push the ejector to remove it.  Takes a few seconds.  Not in dispute.

There is nothing exculpatory about the evidence as to Baldwin. Maybe it was as to the armorer, but not him. Yet you called it a "major technicality" as to him.

Edited July 14 by augustus

[pubic_assistance]

45 minutes ago, augustus said:

couldn't have happened to a more deserving jerk.  

I am starting to wonder whether @augustus planted that live ammunition. He's SO hell-bent on a conviction and angry at the judge for interfering.

[+ augustus]

8 minutes ago, pubic_assistance said:

I am starting to wonder whether @augustus planted that live ammunition. He's SO hell-bent on a conviction and angry at the judge for interfering.

You seem to think there is some statute that states..."When a person is killed on a movie set, the armorer is always responsible.  The End."   Well, there isn't.  Baldwin's behavior on Rust was so irresponsible for weeks that many people quit their jobs because they were afraid of getting killed and how prescient they were.  He pointed a gun at that woman and fired, and they weren't even filming a scene!  

[+ augustus]

Not checking if a gun is loaded or clearing the chamber before handling it is incredibly reckless. It's essential to always verify the status of the gun yourself. Pointing a gun at someone and pulling the trigger without ensuring it's unloaded is sheer idiocy.  And pointing a gun at anyone whether it's loaded or not is idiocy.  Baldwin had been firing live shots for target practice for weeks and for some reason decides to point a gun at a worker and kill her.  If they aren't filming a scene, why even point that gun at anyone???

[pubic_assistance]

6 minutes ago, augustus said:

Pointing a gun at someone and pulling the trigger without ensuring it's unloaded is sheer idiocy.

[+ augustus]

15 minutes ago, pubic_assistance said:

No, you do ......"It's always the armorer's fault".

[pubic_assistance]

Just now, augustus said:

No, you do ......"It's always the armorer's fault".

No. I think there was some additional information shared by others here who made a more reasonable argument as to why Baldwin should be held accountable for poor choices that may or may not have lead to the incident.

As far as your excessive vitriol toward Baldwin...were you two dating long or was it just a weekend fling  that broke your heart ?

 

[+ augustus]

5 minutes ago, pubic_assistance said:

No. I think there was some additional information shared by others here who made a more reasonable argument as to why Baldwin should be held accountable for poor choices that may or may not have lead to the incident.

Please point that "additional information" out.  It's all just the same....."It's the armorer's fault".  

[+ MysticMenace]

The co-special prosecutor on this case resigned earlier in the day before the judge granted the motion. I think the judge gave the right call granting the motion as a sanction for the special prosecutor Morrissey suppressing the evidence, which frankly, was not a smoking gun on this case. The armorer was already convicted because she had culpability in the victim's death, and I think the prosecution had a good case against Baldwin as he was not supposed to point a gun (even if he was sure that there were just dummy rounds) directly at anybody but the recklessness, and several witnesses admitting to these wanton actions, on the set and Baldwin intimating that he was "the most experty-expert on firearm safety" during his interviews were probably enough for the involuntary manslaughter charge. The dismissal with prejudice was the right call but in no way, I think exonerated Baldwin of what he did on the set.

 

[Just Chuck]

There are legal terms for high-hazard activities:

1) Joint and several liability - if you ever had any involvement in the activity, you share in liabilty

2) Absolute Liability - No matter how much you tried to meet the reasonable standards of safety, you are still liable.  

 

Commercial firearms, from any level of involvement triggers both.

Everyone is wrong in this case . . . 

Edited July 14 by Just Chuck
expanding on the argument

[+ APPLE1]

On 7/13/2024 at 5:16 PM, EZEtoGRU said:

Interesting read from NBC article.  Former prosecutor on the case agrees with dismissal.  When the prosecutor agrees with the dismissal there really isn't much else to say.    Justice was served in this case.  Onto the next.

Prosecutor who resigned from Alec Baldwin 'Rust' case says she wanted dismissal

WWW.YAHOO.COM

---

A special prosecutor who resigned from the manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin on Friday said she did so because she felt it should have been voluntarily dismissed by the...

 

I would term the above article a "fluff" piece. It's devoid of pertinent information and any skepticism that you would hope for when controversial topics are reported on by a real news source.

Specifically, even the headline fails to say "special" prosecutor. It's very significant when you consider that Erlinda Ocampo Johnson is normally a successful criminal defense and personal injury attorney in NM.

I doubt it would serve her career well to say publicly 'that if the prosecutor withholds evidence, it's a minor matter.' What defendant would want to hire her after that???

[+ APPLE1]

I think almost everyone finds dismassals of cases and evidence based on technicalities a point of anger. But, I think the caution exercised with technicalities is an inherent part of preserving the Blackstone Ratio (better that 10 guilty men go free than 1 innocent man be found guilty).

That philosophy wasn't just an epiphany of the American Justice System,  or Brittish Common Law. It's a principal that has guided much of society for several thousand years. It was evidenced in Genesis and the destruction of Sodom.

[+ APPLE1]

Brady violations are very intricate issues. One thing worth noting though, is that they also require judges to make decisions about other evidence that is related.

So, if evidence D was hidden, the judge then has to decide if A, B, and C are so closely related to D, they now have to be thrown out as well. If the judge here say found A and B so interrelated to D that they can't be introduced at trial, she then also has to ask if a reasonable jury could convict on C alone.

Even with a detailed written opinion, we truly never know what goes through a judge's mind.

[jeezifonly]

There was not enough evidence to prove that the actor is the one who turned a prop into a live weapon, it seems. 
Baldwin, as a producer on the film, has certainly had to put his finances into any civil judgements against the company. 

[+ Italiano]

On 7/13/2024 at 3:16 PM, augustus said:

 

Nonetheless, Baldwin is a celebrity, so he is above all that.  There are people in our peer group that idolize the likes of him and will go along with it is "somebody else's fault".  Just Wow.   

I am wondering why you don't like Alec Baldwin?....I am SO surprised!