Alec Baldwin Could Sue ‘Rust’ Investigators: ‘This Is Open and Shut’
variety.comGene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Alec Baldwin could file a civil rights lawsuit against the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, after a judge dismissed his manslaughter case due to withheld evidence.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer found the state “highly culpable” for failing to disclose a batch of bullets to the defense. Baldwin could sue under the New Mexico Civil Rights Act, the state Tort Claims Act, or the federal Civil Rights Act of 1871. “This is open and shut in my mind,” said Taylor Smith, an attorney in Albuquerque who has sued police agencies across New Mexico. “I would love to take this case.” Baldwin’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, sent letters to Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza and special prosecutor Kari Morrissey on Monday, advising them to preserve evidence in light of “the potential for future litigation based on your actions in connection with Mr.
Baldwin’s prosecution.” Rolling Stone first reported on the preservation letters on Wednesday. Baldwin was on trial for shooting “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
In a dramatic scene on Friday, the defense revealed that a Sheriff’s crime scene investigator had received a batch of bullets connected to the case on March 6, and then logged them under a new case number, keeping them out of the reach of the defense.
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