Baldwin Suit Faces Move to Federal Court

Alec Baldwin’s malicious-prosecution lawsuit over the 2021 Rust shooting was reinstated after an earlier dismissal for inactivity, and defendants this week filed to remove the case from New Mexico state court to federal court. Baldwin’s complaint accuses special prosecutor Kari Morrissey, Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack‑Altwies, sheriff’s investigators and others of civil‑rights violations and alleges prosecutors withheld or mishandled evidence—claims tied to a judge’s dismissal of the involuntary manslaughter charge after revelations about previously undisclosed ammunition. Defendants say removal is appropriate because Baldwin included federal civil‑rights claims and is not a New Mexico resident, though Baldwin can seek to have the case remanded to state court. Both sides have engaged in settlement talks, and the filing shifts the case onto a different procedural track that could alter timing or venue. The broader Rust litigation has already produced a wrongful‑death settlement with some Hutchins family members, a prison term for weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez‑Reed and probation for assistant director David Halls.