The trial of ‘Rust’ armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed will begin next week as planned, after a Sante Fe judge threw out a last-gasp effort to axe the case, Variety reported.
Gutierrez Reed’s lawyer, Jason Bowles, argued that the case was damaged beyond repair when the state disclosed hundreds of attorney-client text messages to a key witness. However, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer leaned towards not dismissing the case, and found that the disclosure was not prejudicial to the defense.
The trial will start on February 21. Gutierrez Reed is charged with involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence. She has also been accused of recklessly loading a live bullet into Alec Baldwin’s gun on the set of a Western film, which led to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Judge Sommer dealt with a series of pre-trial motions at a lengthy hearing on Wednesday.
Speaking on the motion to dismiss, judge Sommer pointed out that Bowles had signed a consent form allowing detectives to search his client’s phone. It was noted that the form did not exclude attorney-client communications.
The judge also denied a defense motion to sever the two counts to be heard at separate trials.
Gutierrez Reed, who is also accused of tampering with evidence, allegedly handed off a bag of cocaine to a friend after the shooting. The prosecution alleged that this action of hers attempted to conceal evidence that she was impaired during filming.
The special prosecutor, Kari Morrissey, quoted from numerous text messages between Gutierrez Reed and others that make apparent reference to cocaine and marijuana. Introducing it could unfairly bias the jury against the defendant regarding the manslaughter charge.
Despite the defense’s request, the judge declined to separate the two charges but did restrict the admissibility of evidence related to intoxication during the trial. The judge deemed some of the state’s proposed evidence as potentially prejudicial to the defendant, thus limiting its presentation.
Morrissey attempted to bar a report from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which criticized the production company for its inadequate safety measures on set. The defense aimed to use this report to support their experts’ arguments and shift responsibility away from Gutierrez Reed.
However, the judge rejected the prosecution’s request, deciding that the OSHA report should indeed be admissible for consideration.
Judge Sommer also turned down the defense to call an expert witness on safety standards in union productions who came forward within the last 10 days.
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