RUST TRIAL: Prosecutor Kari Morrissey Accused of Calling Alec Baldwin a "C**k Sucker
Before Alec Baldwin's legal case was dismissed, his lawyers accused a prosecutor of using unsavory language about the actor.
Baldwin—who was charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection to the fatal Rust set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins—got his case tossed on July 12, when a New Mexico judge dismissed it with prejudice—meaning he is not able to be retried for the charge.
Before the trial was dismissed, Baldwin's lawyer Alex Spiro questioned prosecutor Kari Morrissey on the stand about allegations she had bad-mouthed the 66-year-old to witnesses.
When asked if Morrissey doesn't "like Mr. Baldwin very much," the prosecutor responded, "That is absolutely untrue."
"I actually really appreciate Mr. Baldwin's movies," she shared. "I really appreciated the acting that he did on Saturday Night Live, and I really appreciate his politics."
Spiro then accused her of telling "one of the witnesses who disagreed with you during an interview that you thought Mr. Baldwin was a c–ksucker."
photosThe Massive Baldwin Family Tree
But Morrissey said she did "not recall" saying that.
"I know that that was something that Mr. Baldwin would say on the set of Rust," she testified. "And if I did say it, I invite you to point it out to me."
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Baldwin's legal team went on to allege that she called him an "arrogant prick" to another witness.
"To who? To what witness, I'm asking you?" she asked. "I don't believe I did. I don't recall."
Furthermore, she denied telling a witness that she would teach Baldwin a lesson over the 2021 shooting, which also injured director Joel Souza when a live round was discharged from a prop gun in the Glengarry Glen Ross actor’s hand.
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"I never said to witnesses that I would teach him a lesson. Absolutely not," Morrissey told Spiro. "I made every effort in this case to resolve this case with your client in a very favorable way for him."
The prosecutor later added of the name-calling allegations, "I have invited the defendant to tell me what he's talking about and he has declined. I want the court to take notice of that."
Baldwin's trial was thrown out after his legal team accused prosecutors of hiding evidence, saying a crime scene technician received ammunition that was then logged under a different case file. The technician took the stand and denied that she intentionally hid the ammunition from Baldwin's team, and prosecutors likewise disputed claims they hid evidence.
For his part, the Departed star has denied pulling the trigger on the gun that fatally shot Hutchins in 2021, pleading not guilty to his involuntary manslaughter charge in the case.
Read on for all the key moments in Baldwin's trial.
