‘Rust’ Trial: DA Suffers Another Setback as Judge Denies Replacement for Special Prosecutor

thewrap.com:

recently departed Andrea Reeb with a new special prosecutor. At a virtual hearing on Monday, District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies argued that a new special prosecutor was necessary as her office was suffering from staffing shortages despite receiving $360,000 from the New Mexico state legislature earmarked specifically for forensic investigation and outside counsel related to the “Rust” case, in which Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed have been charged with involuntary manslaughter in relation to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. “We need extra manpower on this case.

All the money in the world doesn’t help prosecute a case if we can’t find the bodies in our office,” Carmack-Altwies argued, saying that only 15 of her 24 assistant DA spots are currently filled. “We have to be able to look outside of our offices in order to find people.

That is our good cause that we do not have the sufficient manpower to fully prosecute this by ourselves. Bringing on a special prosecutor helps with that by taking on some of the burden of prosecution.”That request was denied by Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, who said that the DA’s office had to either prosecute the “Rust” case itself or delegate it to a special prosecutor and recuse itself completely from the case.“You cannot use [a special prosecutor] unless you’re not going to prosecute,” the judge said.