Prosecutor Rips Biglaw Billing Practices While Downgrading Manslaughter Charges Against Alec Baldwin

(Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Comedy Central)

In order to avoid further litigious distractions by Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys, the District Attorney and the special prosecutor have removed the firearm enhancement to the involuntary manslaughter charges in the death of Halyna Hutchins on the “Rust” film set.

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The prosecution’s priority is securing justice, not securing billable hours for big-city attorneys.

— Sante Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, in a statement made after dropping a gun enhancement charge against Alec Baldwin for his involvement in the shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Baldwin’s lawyer, Quinn Emanuel partner Luke Nikas, had earlier argued in a fiery motion that prosecutors in the case had “committed an unconstitutional and elementary legal error” by charging Baldwin under a statute that didn’t exist at the time of the shooting. Now that the enhancement charge, which carried with it a mandatory five-year sentence, has been dropped, Baldwin faces a lesser sentence of 18 months if convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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Alec Baldwin, Biglaw, Courts, Crime, Halyna Hutchins, Luke Nikas, Quinn Emanuel, Quote of the Day