After being indicted by a grand jury once again on charges of involuntary manslaughter for the death of Halyna Hutchins in the Rust shooting, Alec Baldwin has filed his first legal response.
According to court docs obtained by ET, Baldwin’s legal council emphasized their “demand for speedy trial, discovery and exculpatory information, notice of defense intent to call witnesses,” as outlined by the Sixth Amendment.
The docs state that Baldwin is seeking a speedy trial to “minimize public vilification and suspicion” and to “avoid the hazards of proving his innocence that often arise after a lengthy delay in prosecution.”
Baldwin has been ordered to appear before a judge in New Mexico to enter a plea on Feb. 1 at 11 a.m. The actor has the option to show up to court via phone or video conference.
On Friday, special prosecutors Kari T. Morrissey and Jason Lewis announced that a grand jury had indicted the actor with a charge of involuntary manslaughter. If convicted of the fourth-degree felony, Baldwin is facing up to 18 months in prison.
“We look forward to our day in court,” Baldwin’s attorneys, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, told ET in a statement at the time.
Back in October, the special prosecutors announced that they intended to present the case to a Santa Fe grand jury and argue probable cause existed to criminally charge the 65-year-old actor.
The special prosecutors claimed they came to the determination following an extensive investigation that they say yielded “additional facts” that showed Baldwin “has criminal culpability in the death of Halyna Hutchins and the shooting of [Rust director] Joel Souza.”
Hutchins, 42, was killed on Oct. 21, 2021 on the set of Rust — at the Bonanza Creek Ranch — when the prop gun Baldwin was holding suddenly discharged, striking and killing the cinematographer and injuring Souza.
Baldwin has repeatedly maintained that he did not pull the trigger on the prop gun.
In the months since tragedy struck in New Mexico, lawsuits were filed, criminal charges were filed — then dropped, for Baldwin — and allegations were made, including that the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, consumed alcohol and smoked marijuana during filming of the Western.
In January 2023, prosecutors charged Gutierrez-Reed with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence. She pleaded not guilty. Her trial is set to begin in February. Rust ultimately resumed filming in Montana and production wrapped in May.
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