Alec Baldwin Fights Prosecutors' Attempt to Force Convicted Rust Armorer to Testify at His Trial

Alec Baldwin’s lawyers do not want him convicted rust gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez-Reed will testify at the actor’s upcoming manslaughter trial.

In court documents filed June 7 and obtained by PEOPLE, attorneys for the 66-year-old Emmy winner objected to a special prosecutor’s request to compel Gutierrez-Reed, who is appealing her own manslaughter conviction, to testify at Baldwin’s trial in July .

Baldwin’s lawyers called the prosecutor’s move “unwarranted and harmful.”

Gutierrez-Reed, who inadvertently put live ammunition in the gun Baldwin was holding when it fired on set in New Mexico in 2021, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza, initially appeared on Baldwin’s witness list but asserted her privilege of the Fifth Amendment not to answer questions during pretrial interviews.

Baldwin, who announced on June 4 that he is starring in an upcoming TLC reality show with his family, insisted he never pulled the trigger and had no idea the gun accidentally contained live ammunition.

Everything you need to know about rust The shooting case and the upcoming trial of Alec Baldwin

Because Gutierrez-Reed entered the fifth plea, prosecutors asked the court for “use immunity,” which is a “limited use of immunity,” explains legal expert Emily D. Baker, a former LA deputy district attorney who is not involved in the case. .

Alec Baldwin in New York.

A good man / SplashNews

If the court granted Gutierrez-Reed immunity for use, anything she says at Baldwin’s trial could not be used against her during her appeal.

Baker says Baldwin’s legal team may have put her on their witness list assuming or knowing she would testify against the Fifth as she appeals her conviction. Then, instead of Gutierrez-Reed testifying, lawyers would be allowed to show clips of her previous police interviews.

“In her interviews, she said very clearly that she should have checked [the gun] better,” Baker believes. “Those kinds of statements where she accepts responsibility” would be a boon to Baldwin’s defense.

Halyna Hutchins 2018

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“There are already so many video interviews with her that one would imagine that her testimony would be somewhat similar to those interviews,” Baker explains.

Alec Baldwin announcing reality show ahead of manslaughter trial ‘not ideal’ timing, legal expert says

But Gutierrez-Reed said in recorded jailhouse phone calls that she was “furious that the whole thing was pinned on her” and that she wanted to see Baldwin “in jail,” according to call summaries provided by prosecutors.

For that reason, Baker wonders “if Baldwin’s team is nervous about her getting immunity because she made such harsh statements about Baldwin.”

In the lawyer’s request dated June 7, they blamed the prosecutors for waiting too long to request immunity.

Hannah Gutierrez Reed, center, with her attorney Jason Bowles and paralegal Carmella Sisneros on April 15.

Eddie Moore-Pool/Getty

“If the State felt that it should be granted exercise immunity in this matter, it should have filed this motion when it first learned that Gutierrez-Reed intended to exercise her Fifth Amendment privilege. The State did not do so and all parties continued to prepare for trial on the condition that Gutierrez-Reed would not be available at trial,” Baldwin’s attorneys wrote.

“The late addition of Gutierrez-Reed to the state’s witness list to give open-ended, unspecified testimony at this late date is unwarranted and prejudicial. The request should be rejected,” they continued.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, who also presided over Gutierrez-Reed’s trial, will hear arguments for and against granting Gutierrez-Reed immunity on June 21.

Baldwin’s trial is scheduled to begin on July 10. If convicted, he could face up to 18 months in prison.

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Source: HIS Education