Names and faces
■ A New Mexico judge rejected a request by Alec Baldwin to dismiss the criminal charge against him in a fatal shooting on the set of the movie “Rust,” keeping the case on track for a trial this summer. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer upheld Friday an indictment charging Baldwin with one count of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins in 2021. The judge rejected defense arguments that prosecutors flouted the rules of grand jury proceedings to divert attention away from exculpatory evidence and witnesses. Special prosecutors have denied accusations that the grand jury proceedings were marred. Friday’s decision removes one of the last hurdles for prosecutors to put Baldwin on trial in July. “We look forward to our day in court,” defense attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro said in an email. During a rehearsal, Baldwin pointed a gun at Hutchins when the revolver went off, killing her and injuring director Joel Souza. Baldwin has pleaded innocent to the involuntary manslaughter charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 1½ years in prison. He did not appear at the hearing.
■ Prosecutors in New York have accused the lead defense lawyer for Harvey Weinstein of making public statements intended to intimidate a potential witness ahead of the movie mogul’s retrial and asked a judge to take action. The Manhattan district attorney’s office sent a letter to the trial judge Thursday criticizing comments made May 1 by lawyer Arthur Aidala, urging the judge to instruct the defense team “not to make public statements discussing or disparaging potential witnesses in the future.” New York’s highest court last month threw out Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, ruling that the trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on claims that weren’t part of the case. Weinstein, 72, has maintained his innocence. Speaking to reporters about the case after Weinstein’s first court appearance following the decision, Aidala said he believes Miriam Haley, a film production assistant who testified that Weinstein forced himself on her in 2006, lied to the jury about her motive in coming forward, which prosecutors rebut. He said his team planned an aggressive cross-examination on the issue “if she dares to come and show her face here.” Haley, who did not attend the court hearing, said days earlier she was weighing whether to testify again at a retrial. Aidala declined to comment Friday. Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg, in the letter to Justice Curtis Farber, said the defense attorney violated state rules of professional conduct and “knowingly disregarded his professional and ethical obligations.” Weinstein’s next court date is Wednesday. Farber said the trial would take place some time after Labor Day. He was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape and is still sentenced to 16 years in prison in California.