By Victor Li

October 16, 2026, 11:35 am CDT

Citing the robust protections of prosecutorial immunity, a federal judge in New Mexico has dismissed the vast majority of actor Alec Baldwin’s high-stakes civil lawsuit against the legal team that previously brought involuntary manslaughter charges against him in connection with the fatal 2021 shooting on the movie set of Rust.

U.S. District Judge Kea Riggs of the District of New Mexico issued a ruling holding that former prosecutors Mary Carmack-Altwies and Andrea Reeb were entitled to absolute immunity regarding most of the individual claims brought forward by Baldwin. The court’s decision arrives just weeks after Judge Riggs similarly dismissed separate claims leveled against special prosecutor Kari Morrissey, applying the same foundational legal principles protecting prosecutorial discretion.

The overarching litigation stems from a tragic October 2021 incident on the Bonanza Creek Ranch movie set near Santa Fe, New Mexico, where cinematographer Halyna Hutchins lost her life after a prop firearm held by Baldwin discharged during a rehearsal. The incident ignited a firestorm of criminal investigations, civil litigation, and intense public scrutiny that has reverberated throughout the entertainment and legal industries for years.

Baldwin was formally charged with involuntary manslaughter in 2023. However, that high-profile criminal case came to an abrupt halt in July 2024, when the presiding judge dismissed the charges with prejudice after determining that state prosecutors had engaged in egregious discovery violations, specifically by withholding crucial evidence related to the source of the live ammunition that made its way onto the set. Following that dramatic dismissal, Baldwin pivoted to the offensive, filing a sweeping civil lawsuit in early 2025 that accused the prosecutors of malicious prosecution, defamation, and severe civil rights violations.

In her recent memorandum opinion, Judge Riggs acknowledged the troubling nature of the allegations made by the actor against the legal officials, yet underscored that the doctrine of absolute prosecutorial immunity remains a vital shield for government attorneys acting within the scope of their official duties. "Even though the court is concerned by the allegations of misconduct by defendants Carmack-Altwies and Reeb, it recognizes that, as prosecutors, they are entitled to invoke the protection of absolute prosecutorial immunity," Riggs wrote in her decision.

While the core of Baldwin’s malicious prosecution and civil rights claims was swept away by the ruling, the federal judge did carve out specific exceptions that allow narrow portions of the lawsuit to move forward. Judge Riggs determined that Carmack-Altwies could not claim absolute immunity regarding allegations tied to her purported role in investigating and subsequently destroying the prop gun involved in the incident. According to the court, those specific actions fell outside the traditional scope of courtroom advocacy, remaining "too far removed from the judicial process" to warrant absolute protection. Additionally, claims concerning Carmack-Altwies’ alleged media statements and her direct involvement in the preliminary law enforcement investigation are permitted to proceed, largely because the former prosecutor had not formally sought their dismissal at this procedural stage.

The federal court also addressed constitutional concerns surrounding Andrea Reeb’s dual roles during the criminal proceedings. Judge Riggs found that Reeb had indeed violated the separation of powers doctrine by simultaneously serving as a state legislator and as a special prosecutor on the high-profile case. Despite identifying this constitutional conflict, the judge concluded that Reeb nevertheless retained the legal authority to act as a prosecutor during the proceedings. Furthermore, Riggs declined to dismiss a handful of what she characterized as "vague and undated allegations" directed against Reeb, determining that it was premature at this juncture to definitively rule whether immunity applied to those specific, less-defined claims.

Legal representatives for the defense expressed satisfaction with the court’s overarching decision to dismantle the bulk of the actor’s civil complaint. Luis Robles, the attorney representing the targeted prosecutors, indicated in a statement to Courthouse News Service that his clients were both "relieved" and "heartened" by the federal judge’s measured ruling, which shields government lawyers from personal liability for the vast majority of their prosecutorial decisions.

Meanwhile, representatives and legal counsel for Alec Baldwin did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the federal court’s decision to trim the lawsuit down to its remaining, limited components. The survival of these isolated claims ensures that the legal battle between the actor and the state’s legal architects will continue to wind its way through the federal court system, even as the primary criminal chapter of the Rust saga remains officially closed.