Alec Baldwin's Involuntary Manslaughter Trial: Legal Team Files New Motions to Dismiss

Alec Baldwin's legal team submitted two new motions to dismiss his involuntary manslaughter indictment, alleging the prosecution failed to prove a criminal offense and destroyed crucial evidence. The motions come ahead of Baldwin's scheduled July 9 trial date.

Alec Baldwin's defense team has filed two additional motions to dismiss his involuntary manslaughter indictment, arguing that the prosecution has failed to prove he committed a crime and has compromised his right to a fair trial by destroying evidence.

Baldwin's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss for failure to allege a criminal offense, asserting that the prosecution admitted the presence of live ammunition on the "Rust" set was "incomprehensible." They further argued that it was the armorer's responsibility to ensure the gun didn't contain live rounds.

"With no awareness that the firearm might contain live rounds, Baldwin had no reason to believe – zero – that his manipulation of the firearms could lead to death, let alone a belief that his alleged actions posed a substantial risk to Hutchins," the motion states.

In a separate motion, Baldwin's legal team alleges that the prosecution intentionally destroyed the gun used in the shooting, depriving him of due process. The motion argues that the firearm should have been preserved as evidence and that its destruction by the FBI at the prosecution's request has rendered it impossible to fully investigate the circumstances of the incident.

"Simply put, there is no way to undo what the government has done," Baldwin's lawyers wrote. "Although Baldwin's attorneys can make their best effort to persuade a jury that the defects or modifications to the sear and hammer notches – including the virtually nonexistent full-cock notch – preexisted the FBI's testing, Baldwin has forever lost the chance to probe that fact without doubt, because the government did not even take the basic step of documenting the condition of the firearm's internal components before destroying it."

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani believes Baldwin's motions are a Hail Mary attempt to get his indictment dismissed or provide grounds for appeal. He suggests that Baldwin's high-priced law firm is trying to overwhelm the understaffed prosecution with multiple motions.

"They're just going to continue to file and try to paper the prosecution, which is understaffed and overwhelmed," Rahmani said. "This type of law motion work puts them on their heels and creates more work for them."

Baldwin was indicted on two counts of involuntary manslaughter in January for the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Western film "Rust." The prosecution alleges that Baldwin's reckless actions led to Hutchins' death, while the defense maintains that the shooting was an accident and that Baldwin was not responsible.

A hearing on Baldwin's motions to dismiss is scheduled for March 24. Jury selection for his trial is set to begin on July 9.