Judge dismisses most of Alec Baldwin's lawsuit against 'Rust' prosecutor

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed the bulk of Alec Baldwin's civil rights lawsuit against prosecutors involved in his criminal case over the fatal 2021 shooting on the set of Rust, ruling that the prosecutors are shielded by prosecutorial immunity. 

Baldwin filed the suit last year, alleging he was the target of a politically motivated, "out-of-control" prosecution that wrongly sought to convict him for the accidental shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Judge Kea Riggs acknowledged in her ruling that the underlying misconduct allegations paint "a very disturbing picture," but concluded that special prosecutor Kari Morrissey and her colleagues are nonetheless protected from civil liability for actions taken in their official prosecutorial capacity. 

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Riggs wrote that the doctrine of absolute prosecutorial immunity "is worthwhile only if it applies to hard cases, occasionally shielding acts of gross misconduct." 

Baldwin's original involuntary manslaughter trial was dismissed with prejudice in July 2024, after the presiding judge found that Morrissey had withheld key evidence from the defense and elicited false testimony during trial, conduct that judge separately characterized as "willful and deliberate misconduct."

Not all claims were dismissed, however, the state did not seek to throw out allegations tied to Morrissey's public statements to the media, nor her decision to log a cache of bullets under a separate case number, a move Baldwin's team has argued functionally concealed the evidence from the defense. 

Baldwin's lawyers have said Morrissey will remain a defendant in the case even with the broader dismissal. 

Separately, Baldwin has also sued Santa Fe County and several sheriff's investigators under state and federal civil rights law, the county has filed its own motions to dismiss those claims, which the judge has not yet ruled on. 

Hutchins died on October 21, 2021, after a prop revolver Baldwin was handling discharged a live round during rehearsal.