HIGHLIGHTS FROM ALEC BALDWIN'S TELEVISED MANSLAUGHTER TRIAL SHOW HIS LAWYERS UNCOVERING A POLICE CONSPIRACY TO CONCEAL CRUCIAL EVIDENCE

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July 14, 2024

Alec Baldwin was acquitted of manslaughter for shooting a cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, to death on a western movie set in New Mexico because police and prosecutors in the case conspired to conceal crucial evidence: bullets. 

The bullets were given to police by a good samaritan. The man, a former police officer, judge and private investigator, said they were "evidence" related to Hutchins death. But police and prosecutors decided to file them under a different case number. That mean they weren't included in the evidence revealed to Baldwin before the trial so that he could prepare his defense.

Criminal defendants in both federal and state courts are entitled to be provided by police and prosecutors with any evidence in their possession that could be used to show their innocence under the U.S. Supreme Court's 1963 decision in Brady v. Maryland. Brady held "that the suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment, irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the prosecution." 

Despite being more than 60 years old, police and prosecutors appear to regularly evade Brady—as they did in Baldwin's case. 

Most Brady violations are never uncovered, which is one of the reasons why Baldwin’s case is so exceptional. Since New Mexico allows cameras in its courtrooms, video also shows how Baldwin's legal team, lead by Alex Spiro, revealed a stunning Brady violation in open court.

The first sign of trouble early in the morning on the second day of the trial. Marissa Poppell, a Crime Scene Technician for the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, testified that a man Spiro called a "good samaritan" walked into the sheriff's office and surrendered ammunition. The bullets were .45 caliber long Colt rounds that would have fit the revolver Baldwin shot Hutchins with. 

That established police were in possession of evidence covered by Brady since the bullets fit the murder weapon. That begs the questions who else besides Poppell knew about the bullets? Poppell's answer: her supervisor in the sheriff's office, Lt. Brian Brandle, and the lead investigator on the case, Det. Alexandria Hancock. 

Crucially, CST Poppell also revealed the bullets were not inventoried along with the rest of the evidence in Baldwin's case. They were assigned an independent case number and inventoried separately.

Having secured the crucial concession from Poppell that the bullets were inventoried separately from Baldwin's case, Spiro moved in for the kill. Even the best defense attorneys rarely have as clear a line of attack like the one Poppell handed Spiro. Poppell laid the blame on her bosses, the Santa Fe county sheriff's office and Det. Hancock.

Next on Spiro's agenda was showing that, by withholding the evidence, police and prosecutors somehow prejudiced the defense. Spiro did this by getting Poppell to admit that because the bullets were inventoried separately, they were never tested to see whether they in fact matched the bullet that killed Hutchins. This impacted the defense because how the bullets go on the set in the first place was a big question that had never been really answered.

Now the president judge, Hart Marlowe Sommer, gets involved. She orders the bullets brought into the courtroom so that they can be examined to determine whether they appear to match the bullet that killed Hutchins. One of the most dramatic moments of the trial.

Next up in the hot seat was Det. Hancock—who'd since been promoted to corporal. Hancock claimed she didn't know the bullets matched. She blamed the "good samaritan" for not returning her telephone calls. She claimed it prevented her from following up. Nevermind that she's a cop and could've hunted him down.

Given Hancock's weak excuses, the defense had seized momentum from the prosecution. So much so that the judge Sommer was clearly pissed off, as this clip of her letting Spirro get a smart-alecky comment off at the prosecution's expense shows. 

Judge Sommer had some questions of her own. Spiro had enough to make his case, but the court really wanted to know who made the decision to hide the bullets in another file. Judge Sommer wasn't about to let Hancock slip away. Hancock was honest. She blamed her supervisors in the sheriff's department and prosecutors handling the case. 

This is the moment the case against Baldwin crumbled. 

Even though they'd been caught dead-to-rights, Hancock still tried to slither out of the trap she'd been caught in. It was so pathetic Spiro just left there floundering around and ended his questioning with a contemptuous courtroom flourish. But Judge Sommer had some more questions. One of them was whether the lead prosecutor, Kari Morrissey, had anything to do with hiding the bullets.

Troy Teske is the “good samaritan” who handed in the bullets that upended Baldwin's trial. Here he is captured on body camera video saying he sent a photograph of the bullets to police including Det. Hancock. He said they said the bullets were relevant evidence.

Now the lead prosecutor, Morrissey, switched roles with Baldwin and took the stand to defend herself in a last-ditch attempt to save the case. She failed.

Things took a nasty personal turn when Spiro alleged Morrissey was biased against Baldwin. Morrissey defense: “Nah, I’m actually a fan and tried to give him a sweet plea-bargain deal.” Judge Sommer did her a favor by silencing her on that topic.

A good lead lawyer spreads the work around. Here's Baldwin's technical legal ace Luke Nikas zooming out and putting everything in perspective.

Now it's time for Judge Sommer to render her decision. It's a high-profile case so she has to dot all her Is and all her Ts to make sure whatever decision she makes is not vulnerable to reversal on appeal. She bomb-proofs her decision to dismiss the case on three grounds that each provide an independent legal basis for her decision. First up is the U.S. Constitution and Brady v. Maryland.

The second ground for dismissing the case was New Mexico state law, which also required the bullets and the police report created when Teske handed them over be provided to Baldwin's defense team.

Finally, Judge Sommer invoked the Court's inherent authority to enforce court orders and punish violations of same. In Baldwin's case, Judge Sommer ruled the prosecution violated her orders to make its evidence available for inspection to the defense before the trial. Here’s when the tears really start to flow, as Baldwin and his supporters realize the Court is throwing the case out for good, in order to preserve the "integrity of the judicial system."