‘Rust’ Armorer Claims Six Errors by Judge in Appeal of Manslaughter Conviction
“Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed has claimed that the judge in her involuntary manslaughter trial made six errors, warranting reversal of her conviction in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
Gutierrez Reed, 27, is serving an 18-month sentence at the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in Grants, N.M.
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In a filing to the state’s Court of Appeals on Wednesday, defense attorney Jason Bowles cited issues with the jury instructions and the judge’s decision to allow “lay opinions” on Gutierrez Reed’s conduct as an armorer.
Alec Baldwin is set to face a trial on the same charge beginning on July 9 in Santa Fe, before Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer, who also handled Gutierrez Reed’s trial.
Gutierrez Reed mistakenly loaded a live bullet instead of a dummy round into Baldwin’s gun, which then fired during preparation for a scene in the Western film. Baldwin is accused of negligently pointing the gun at the cinematographer and pulling the trigger.
A key issue in Gutierrez Reed’s appeal has also figured in Baldwin’s defense. Gutierrez Reed’s lawyers will argue that involuntary manslaughter requires “conscious disregard of a known risk” under appellate precedents, but that the jury instructions set a lower bar for conviction.
The judge used the standard instructions for involuntary manslaughter in New Mexico, which state that the defendant “should have known” of the risk of their actions — not that they did know.
Baldwin’s lawyers have advanced a similar argument in attempting to throw out the grand jury indictment against him. Both defendants have asserted that it was unthinkable that live rounds could be on a movie set, and therefore they were unaware of the risk.
The prosecution has countered that the defendants did not have to know of the presence of live rounds to know that guns are dangerous and should be handled in accordance with safety standards.
Several crew members testified at Gutierrez Reed’s trial in February that she did not seem up to the professional standards for a film armorer. At the trial, Bowles objected that those witnesses were not experts in gun handling, but Marlowe Sommer allowed the testimony.
On appeal, Bowles will argue that those opinions should have been excluded because they covered issues that are outside the “common knowledge and experience of an average person.”
Gutierrez Reed’s lawyers will also argue that the conviction should be overturned because the prosecution mistakenly handed over a trove of attorney-client text messages to a key witness, weapons supplier Seth Kenney.
Marlowe Sommer denied a pre-trial motion to throw out the case or suppress Kenney’s testimony on that basis, finding that the error was harmless.
Bowles also plans to argue that the jury instructions allowed the jury to convict Gutierrez Reed either for loading a live round into Baldwin’s gun or for failing to adequately check the rounds. Citing a recent state Supreme Court case, the defense contends that the “and/or” conjunction between those elements allowed the jury to convict without being unanimous on the precise conduct.
The judge denied a motion for release and a new trial on that issue in late March.
The defense also faults Marlowe Sommer for excluding testimony from OSHA witnesses and from its own gun expert; and for classifying involuntary manslaughter as a “serious violent offense,” which requires Gutierrez Reed to serve at least 85% of her sentence.
Gutierrez Reed may be called as a witness at Baldwin’s trial. Her attorneys have asserted her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, while prosecutors have sought to compel her testimony by granting her immunity.
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