By Morgan Lee & Andrew Dalton
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) --A New Mexico judge on Friday brought a sudden and stunning end to the involuntary manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin, dismissing it in the middle of the actor's trial and saying it cannot be filed again.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case with prejudice based on the misconduct of police and prosecutors over the withholding of evidence from the defense in the shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film "Rust."
Baldwin cried, hugged his two attorneys, gestured to the front of the court, then turned to hug his crying wife Hilaria, holding the embrace for 12 seconds. He climbed into an SUV outside the Santa Fe courthouse without speaking to media.
Baldwin, 66, could have gotten 18 months in prison if convicted.
"The late discovery of this evidence during trial has impeded the effective use of evidence in such a way that it has impacted the fundamental fairness of the proceedings," Marlowe Sommer said. "If this conduct does not rise to the level of bad faith it certainly comes so near to bad faith to show signs of scorching."
Sommer put a pause on the trial earlier Friday while she considered the defense motion to dismiss the case over the evidence.
The defense argued that prosecutors hid evidence from them about the ammunition that may be related to the shooting on the set of the Western "Rust" in 2021. The defense said they should have had the ability to determine its importance.
The prosecution said that the ammunition was not connected to the case and was not hidden.
The issue emerged Thursday on the second day of the actor's trial during defense questioning of sheriff's crime scene technician Marissa Poppell. Baldwin lawyer Alex Spiro asked whether a "good Samaritan" had come into the sheriff's office with the ammunition earlier this year after the trial of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the film's armorer, for her role in Hutchins' death. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison on an involuntary manslaughter conviction, which she is now appealing.
Dalton reported from Los Angeles.
Lionsgate Recalls and Apologizes For “Megalopolis” Trailer With Fabricated Critics’ Quotes
Lionsgate recalled its new trailer for Francis Ford Coppola's " Megalopolis " Wednesday amid revelations that critics' quotes were fabricated.
"Lionsgate is immediately recalling our trailer for Megalopolis," a Lionsgate spokesperson said in a statement to The Associated Press. "We offer our sincere apologies to the critics involved and to Francis Ford Coppola and American Zoetrope for this inexcusable error in our vetting process. We screwed up. We are sorry."
The trailer, released earlier Wednesday, included quotes from critics like Pauline Kael and Roger Ebert of other Coppola films that did not actually appear in their reviews. The intent, it seems, was to highlight the critical divisiveness of now-classics like "The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now," leaning into some of the more negative reactions to "Megalopolis," the self-financed $120 million epic opening in September.
The trailer attributed a quote to Kael that "The Godfather" was "diminished by its artsiness." But Kael loved "The Godfather," and this phrase was not used in her March 1972 review of the film for The New Yorker. Ebert also did not write that Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula" was "a triumph of style over substance." Quotes from Rex Reed and Vincent Canby, about "Apocalypse Now," did not appear in their reviews either.
"Megalopolis" has been decades in the making, and it received many mixed reviews upon its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. It has also come under scrutiny of late for alleged misconduct on set, after videos leaked of Coppola hugging and kissing extras during a club scene. Representatives have not responded to the AP's requests for comment about the videos.
The film is set to have its North American premiere at the Toronto... Read More