C.D. Reimer

Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies announced that she is stepping away from the “Rust” shooting case this week. The judge pointed out in an earlier hearing that the special prosecutor law doesn’t allow the D.A. to remain on the case. The D.A. appointed two New Mexico attorneys as special prosecutors.

Why is the D.A. relying on the special prosecutor law to pursue Alec Baldwin and Hannah Reed?

The D.A.’s office is short of one attorney and funding to handle their regular case load. Appointing a special prosecutor allows the D.A.’s office to tap into state funding. If the D.A.’s office had to handle the case on its own, it would have to drop all charges.

Considering how the D.A.’s office had handled the case so far, dropping the charges seems likely.

NOTE: Check out the longer version of this blog post.

Alec Baldwin’s defense team in the “Rust” film shooting had filed a motion to disqualify special prosecutor Andrea Reeb. Arguing that her role as a special prosecutor conflicted with her role as a state lawmaker. Reeb was running for state representative when appointed as the special prosecutor and later won her election.

Reeb stepped down as special prosecutor two weeks before the scheduled hearing on March 27, 2023 about the motion.

First Assistant Director David Halls’ attorney contributed $250 and investigator contributed $500 to her campaign. Everyone denied that the campaign contributions had any influence on Halls plea agreement. Halls received a suspended sentence and six months of unsupervised probation.

NOTE: Check out the longer version of this blog post.

Alec Baldwin and Hannah Reed were each charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. The first charge was involuntary manslaughter. The second charge was involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act.

The second charge has a special gun enhancement that added a five-year prison term. Which didn’t become law until May 18, 2022, seven months after the shooting took place. The U.S. Constitution prohibits retroactively charging defendants with new laws that didn’t exist at the time of the crime.

The Baldwin defense team filed a motion to dismiss the second charge on February 10, 2023. Special prosecutor Andrea Reeb filed a new legal complaint with only the first charge. Baldwin and Reed still face 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine.

NOTE: Check out the longer version of this blog post.