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A federal judge on Wednesday threw out much of Alec Baldwin’s civil rights lawsuit against prosecutors in the “Rust” case, finding they are entitled to prosecutorial immunity.
Baldwin sued last year, alleging he was
the victim of an out-of-control prosecution that wrongly sought to convict him for the accidental shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021.
In her ruling on Wednesday, Judge Kea Riggs found that while the misconduct allegations paint a “very disturbing picture,” Kari Morrissey and other prosecutors involved in the case are nevertheless shielded from liability for prosecutorial conduct.
“Sometimes, it is better to leave unredressed the wrongs done by an allegedly dishonest prosecutor than to subject those who try to do their duty to the constant dread of retaliation,” Riggs wrote. “This is one of those times. The doctrine of absolute prosecutorial immunity is worthwhile only if it applies to hard cases, occasionally shielding acts of gross misconduct.”
Baldwin’s trial for involuntary manslaughter was cut short in July 2024, when the judge dismissed the charge after learning that Morrissey had withheld evidence from the defense. Baldwin alleged that decision was just one part of a pattern of disturbing prosecutorial abuses, including presenting false information to the grand jury, failing to disclose two firearms reports, and filing an unlawful gun enhancement.
Baldwin has also sued Santa Fe County and several sheriff’s investigators under New Mexico and federal civil rights law. The county has filed separate motions to dismiss those claims. The judge has yet to rule on those motions.
The prosecutorial defendants in the lawsuit included Morrissey, the appointed special prosecutor who led the trial; Mary Carmack-Altwies, the elected district attorney in Santa Fe; and Andrea Reeb, who was originally appointed as the special prosecutor but later withdrew from the case.
Baldwin’s suit was initially thrown out last year by a state judge after a lengthy period of inactivity. But it was later refiled and then removed to federal court. The state then filed a series of motions to dismiss the suit on immunity grounds.
Through prosecutors are generally absolved from civil liability, they can be sued for misconduct when they act in the role of investigators. The state did not seek to dismiss allegations related to Morrissey’s statements to the media or to her agreement to log a cache of bullets under a separate case number, functionally hiding them from the defense.
“Accordingly, any claims based on these allegations survive this stage of litigation,” the judge wrote.
Baldwin’s lawyers have previously noted that Morrissey would remain a defendant in the case even if the motions to dismiss were granted in full.
