Baldwin's attorneys ask special prosecutor to be removed from case

Feb. 7—Actor Alec Baldwin's lawyers are seeking to have state Rep. Andrea Reeb disqualified as a special prosecutor in the criminal case related to the fatal shooting on the set of the movie Rust in 2021, claiming the role conflicts with her position as a state legislator.

Three lawyers representing the actor filed a motion Tuesday in state District Court, requesting Reeb be disqualified based a clause of the state constitution they say bars sitting members of the Legislature from simultaneously exercising powers belonging to any other branches of government.

"Ms. Reeb's continued service as a special prosecutor in this case is unconstitutional," according to the motion filed Tuesday by attorneys Luke Nikas, John F. Bash and Heather LeBlanc. "The legal question is not a close one. She must be disqualified."

Nikas is based in New York, Bash in Austin, Texas, and LeBlanc in Albuquerque.

The motion cites Article III, Section 1 of the state constitution.

The motion also quotes a New Mexico Supreme Court ruling, contending the provision "articulates one of the cornerstones of democratic government that the accumulation of too much power within one branch poses a threat to liberty," and notes as a legislator Reeb could be in a position to make decisions about a legislative appropriation the District Attorney's Office has sought to prosecute the Rust defendants.

The District Attorney's Office has charged Baldwin and film armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed — who was tasked with gun safety on the set — with involuntary manslaughter last month in connection with the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, which occurred during a rehearsal.

The bullet fired from a .45-caliber Colt revolver Baldwin wielded during the scene passed through Hutchins' body and also wounded director Joel Souza.

First Judicial District Attorney Marcy Carmack-Altwies announced in August she had hired Reeb — a Clovis Republican who retired as district attorney in the 9th Judicial District last spring — to help work on the Rust case.

"Mr. Baldwin and his attorneys can use whatever tactics they want to distract from the fact that Halyna Hutchins died because of gross negligence and a reckless disregard for safety on the Rust film set," Heather Brewer, a spokeswoman hired by the District Attorney's Office to handle media for the case, wrote in an email Tuesday. "However, the district attorney and the special prosecutor will remain focused on the evidence and on trying this case so that justice is served."