The 68-year-old actor was charged with involuntary manslaughter after a prop gun he was holding discharged and Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot on the set of the Western in October 2021.Â
His trial subsequently collapsed and, in January 2025, he filed a civil complaint against prosecutors in the case, officials from the First Judicial District Attorney's Office, Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office authorities and Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners for "malicious abuse of process, intentional spoliation of evidence, defamation, and violation of the New Mexico Civil Rights Act".
However, on Wednesday, Judge Kea Riggs noted the misconduct allegations painted a "very disturbing picture", but Kari Morrissey and the other prosecutors in the case are entitled to prosecutorial immunity.
In a ruling obtained by Variety, the judge wrote: "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.
"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 involuntary manslaughter trial was halted in July 2024 when the judge dismissed the charge after discovering special prosecutor Morrissey had withheld evidence from the defence, a move the former 30 Rock star had alleged was part of a pattern of prosecutorial abuses.
Baldwin had also claimed prosecutors had presented false information to the grand jury, failed to disclose two firearms reports, and filed an unlawful gun enhancement.
Under federal civil rights law, the Boss Baby star has also sued Santa Fe County and several sheriff's investigators. The county has filed separate motions to dismiss those claims but the judge has yet to rule.
Baldwin's suit was initially thrown out in 2025 by a state judge following a lengthy period of inactivity, but it was later refiled and moved to federal court.
The state filed a series of motions to dismiss the case on immunity grounds, but did not seek to dismiss allegations based on Morrissey's statements to the media, or agreeing to log a cache of bullets under a separate case number, which functionally hid them from the defence.
The judge wrote: "Accordingly, any claims based on these allegations survive this stage of litigation."
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