Alec Baldwin Civil Rights Lawsuit Over ‘Rust’ Prosecution Dismissed

A lawsuit from Alec Baldwin accusing Santa Fe officials of malicious prosecution and civil rights violations for pursuing criminal charges against him in an accidental shooting death on the set of Rust has been dismissed.

U.S. District Judge Kea Riggs found on Wednesday that the prosecutor in the case is entitled to immunity while acknowledging a “very disturbing picture of malicious prosecution.”

“Sometimes, it is better to leave unredressed the wrongs done by an allegedly dishonest prosecutor than to subject those who try to do their duty to the constant dread of retaliation,” Riggs wrote. “This is one of those times.”

Baldwin had alleged that prosecutors intentionally concealed evidence that would vindicate him and sought to charge him for political gain. He had claimed that Santa Fe district attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies and special prosecutor Kari Morrissey manipulated evidence and elicited false testimony, with the aim of scapegoating him to secure a conviction.

The filing of the lawsuit came after Baldwin’s trial abruptly ended in stunning fashion following an unexpected, labyrinthian hearing over how police and prosecutors treated a handful of bullets. It related to retired Arizona police officer Troy Teske turning over a collection of live ammunition to the Santa Fe Sheriff’s Office. The bullets weren’t inventoried with the Rust case, effectively hiding the evidence from Baldwin and armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed.

The judge later found that the prosecution “intentionally and deliberately withheld” key evidence from the defense. Morrissey, the court concluded, not only repeatedly failed to fulfill discovery obligations but also gave “inconsistent” testimony related to the evidence she suppressed.

At the heart of Wednesday’s dismissal: foreclosure of claims against the prosecutors because the alleged misconduct fell within the scope of their duties. Riggs concluded that Morrissey is shielded by “absolute prosecutorial immunity.”

That immunity, the court said, covers Morrissey withholding firearm analyses, one of which said there were unexplained toolmarks on the trigger mechanism of the discharged firearm, failing to disclose evidence and giving false testimony at trial. While nodding to valid claims against “dishonest or malicious government officials,” Riggs said that the functioning of the judicial system takes precedence.

“The doctrine of absolute prosecutorial immunity is worthwhile only if it applies to hard cases, occasionally shielding acts of gross misconduct,” the judge wrote.

Next month, The Trial of Alec Baldwin, a documentary centered on the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, the media firestorm that followed and the actor’s years-long legal battle that threatened to send him to prison, opens in theaters.

A representative for Baldwin didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.