Alec Baldwin weeps, as Rust shooting trial dismissed over withheld evidence

Baldwin, 66, could have got 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 on Friday while she considered the defence motion to dismiss the case over the evidence.

The defence 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 defence 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 on Thursday on the second day of the actor’s trial during defence 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 armourer, for her role in Hutchins’ death.

She was sentenced to 18 months in prison on an involuntary manslaughter conviction, which she is now appealing against.