In a TRULY stunning turn of events, the judge in Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial related to the death of a person on the Rust movie set was DISMISSED with prejudice after a hearing on Brady violations was held on Friday.
I know, I just threw a lot of legal jargon at you guys, so I am going to explain exactly what happened - and why this was absolutely the correct decision.
Some definitions:
BRADY VIOLATION: This is a very serious violation that occurs when a prosecutor fails to provide a defendant or their defense attorneys with favorable evidence that could help their case. It is a direct violation of the defendant's constitutional rights. It is a high bar to prove, but if met, often leads to a reversal after conviction, a dismissal of charges or a mistrial.
DISMISSAL WITH PREJUDICE: A permanent decision that ends a case and prevents it from being brought back to court - unless the prosecutor appeals and wins.
So what exactly happened in this trial? Simply put, the prosecutors and the Sheriff's Department withheld information and evidence. That evidence was the existence of ammunition that was brought into the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office in March by a person who said it could be related to the death from the set of Rust. Prosecutors felt it was unimportant, but the defense allege they "buried it."
