Alec Baldwin, 66, WILL go to trial after judge denied a motion to dismiss ... trends now
Alec Baldwin's trial for involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins will take place in July after a judge denied a motion to dismiss the case on Friday.
The 30 Rock star, 66 - who was recently seen with his one-year-old granddaughter Holland - is facing a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison if found guilty of manslaughter.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer in New Mexico rejected arguments made by the star's lawyers, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, according to Variety.
In a statement following the judge's decision, Baldwin's attorneys expressed, 'We look forward to our day in court.'
Sommer listened to arguments from both Alec's lawyers as well as prosecutors in court earlier this month on May 17 in Sante Fe, per NBC News.
Alec Baldwin's, 66, trial for involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins will take place in July after a judge denied a motion to dismiss the case on Friday; seen in February in NYC
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One prosecutor, Kari Morrissey, stated that 'the actor has responsibility for the firearms once it is in their hands.'
However, Baldwin's lawyers argued that Morrissey did not provide important evidence to the grand jury earlier this year in January and defense witnesses were not available.
The judge stated in her ruling, per Variety, that Kari shared a letter to the grand jurors from the 'defense verbatim' but explained they made the choice to not 'follow up' on the letter.
'The Court is not in a position to second-guess the grand jury's decision in this regard,' Sommer expressed.
The judge later also added, 'Although the State deferred certain questions, in many other instances the grand jurors asked probative questions, and received complete answers from witnesses.'
In October 2021, Hutchins was fatally shot on the set of Rust, while the director of the film, Joel Souza, was injured.
Alec has plead not guilty ahead of the trial, and has also denied that he pulled the trigger on the gun and denied that it was his responsibility to make sure the gun was safe.
Last month in April, Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter of Halyna Hutchins.
The 30 Rock star is facing a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison if found guilty of manslaughter; Hutchins seen in 2021
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer in New Mexico rejected arguments made by the star's lawyers, Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, according to Variety; seen on set of Rust
Shortly after, an expert warned that her sentence was 'a bad sign' for the actor as his trial date approaches.
Alec had been offered a plea deal last year that would have seen him serve no jail time in connection with the manslaughter of Hutchins.
Variety reported in March that the actor could decide whether to accept the terms, prosecutors pulled the offer and said they would be indicting him.
In a filing seen by the outlet, prosecutor Kari Morrissey offered 'a plea deal identical to the petty misdemeanor deal accepted by Dave Halls.
The filing stated that the offer was made on October 5 and Baldwin was given until October 27 to decide, but prosecutors rescinded the offer on October 17.
Halls, the first assistant director on Rust, did not serve prison time after pleading to a count of negligent handling of a deadly weapon.
He was given six months of unsupervised
