The legal shocker overnight, a judge dismissing the case against
Alec Baldwin in that deadly movie set shooting in
2021. AB CS Jacqueline Lee joins us now from the
courthouse in Santa Fe,
NM Jacqueline, good morning. I know you were in that
courtroom when this all happened.
That's right, guys. Good morning to you.
You could feel the tension in the courtroom as the
case started to unravel.
Alec Baldwin remaining a free man who cannot be tried
again.
This morning, a dramatic Hollywood ending in actor Alec
Baldwin's criminal trial. Your motion to dismiss with prejudice is
granted after the judge ruled that the charges of involuntary
manslaughter in the case be dismissed with prejudice.
Baldwin crying, hugging his wife Ellaria.
The judge ruling prosecutors withheld key evidence from Baldwin's defense
team.
They buried it. They put it under a different case
with a different number.
That evidence, an envelope of ammunition turned into investigators earlier
this year,
allegedly from the same batch that killed Rust cinematographer Helena
Hutchins.
Prosecutors pushing back, arguing those rounds did not match the
bullets on set.
The judge sending the jury home while attorneys heard testimony
from the lead detective on the case.
When you say that there were discussions and the decision
was made
by all of you to put that ammo in a
separate file,
right? Is that correct? You said that yes,
ma'am. Was Miss Morrissey part of that discussion?
Yes, thank you. The lead prosecutor,
Carrie Morrissey, then taking the stand as her own witness,
telling the judge she thought the ammunition would be turned
over.
I was not aware at that point in time that
a DOC report would not have the same case number,
but outside of court telling a different story.
And do you regret not turning over the ammunition?
Well, I didn't know that the ammunition
that became the subject of today's hearing existed.
Pressing her further, you said you didn't know the evidence
existed until today.
Can you clarify that?
You, you, you heard my testimony.
As for the convicted armourer,
Hannah Gutierrez, her attorney says they will file a similar
motion as they appeal her case.
Gio. Yeah, that appeal is sure to come.
All right, Jacqueline, thank you so much.
Let's go ahead and bring in ABC News legal contributor
Brian Buchmeier.
Thank you so much, Brian.
Thank you for being here.
This decision, this came as a real shock to everyone,
including yourself. How did we get here?
So we got here because there was those ammunition as
well as a report that the prosecutor not only didn't
turn over,
but actually put in a different docket number.
Docket numbers are like Social Security numbers for your cases.
So imagine having crucial information for your case put in
someone else's identifying information.
Now, the judge ruled that this was material to the
case and it should have been turned over to the
defense to give them the opportunity to evaluate it and
also potentially form their own defense.
And it prejudice Alec Baldwin so much that there was
only one remedy,
not to have a mistrial,
allow the prosecution to try again,
but to throw the case altogether.
Unfortunately, things like this, what we call Brady or Giglio
violations are far are too common,
not common to the point that judges are throwing the
cases out,
but common that prosecutors withhold evidence that they think is
not relevant.
But this law that had that started in I think
1963 and then following a law in
1972 has been around literally for decades.
And it's not the prosecution to decide what's relevant or
not.
It's up to them to give to the defense so
they can make their arguments.
And to be clear, they cannot try Alec Baldwin again
for this.
This case is dismissed with prejudice,
meaning that it cannot come back act for any reason.
The judge said that this was so egregious,
this was so bad, that a mistrial,
meaning it could come back again,
was not the appropriate remedy,
that it must be thrown out altogether.
And the reason why the law is formed this way,
It's supposed to be that big stick that reminds prosecutors
get it right the first time or we won't let
you do it again.
All right, ABC News legal contributor Brian Buchmeier,
thank you so much for joining us.
What a choice. Thank you,
Brian.