Alec Baldwin is attempting to have one of the manslaughter charges thrown out by a US court, which could see him jailed for five years.
The plaintiff’s attorneys argued that New Mexico prosecutors had made an “unconstitutional and elementary legal error” by accusing him of a statute that did not exist at the time of the fatal shooting.
Baldwin was charged with two counts of manslaughter by the Santa Fe District Attorney’s Office, over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the western film Rust in October 2021.
The first charge can be termed manslaughter and requires proof of the underlying negligence.
The second charge is involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act, which requires proof that there was more than mere negligence involved in a death, and includes a firearm upgrade, which makes the offense punishable by five years of compulsory imprisonment.
But in a statement on Friday, Baldwin’s lawyers said the boost was only enacted last May, seven months after the crash, and that the charge was therefore “unlawful.”
“Prosecutors in this case have committed an unconstitutional and elementary legal error by charging Mr. Baldwin with a statute that did not exist at the date of the incident,” the motion read.
“It therefore appears that the government intended to charge the current version of the firearms enhancement statute, which was not enacted until 18 May 2022, seven months after the incident.”
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Baldwin’s lawyers promise to fight
The filing added, “Mr. Baldwin also respectfully requests that the Court decline to bind such improvement.”
Baldwin should do his first court appearance in two weeks, February 24, to face the charges.
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It comes after a separate civil process was filed Thursday by Ms. Hutchins’ family.
The family is suing Baldwin and the Rust film production company for alleged battery, willful infliction of emotional distress, negligence and loss of partnership.
Consortium loss is a claim that aims to recover damages to certain relationships that are mutually dependent.
