- Quickdraw McLaw
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I'm no fan of Alec Baldwin (as a conservative moralist) but since he hired a team to be responsible for the gun safety I don't think he should be criminally liable. For example, I fix my own brakes badly maybe manslaughter could follow but if the factory repairs them I do not have to crawl around the car to somehow inspect them outside of my own area of expertise. Seems like his charges are politically motivated.
Involuntary manslaughter in New Mexico consists of “manslaughter committed in the commission of an unlawful act not amounting to felony, or in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death in an unlawful manner or without due caution and circumspection.” Rehearsing without ever checking the gun very easily could be interpreted as a lawful act without due caution or circumspection. We can debate whether that definition under the statute is unconstitutionally vague. But there are reports that Baldwin and the crew acted very cavalierly on the set. Rehearsing with a real gun. Never checking the gun before waiving it around. We have had numerous incidents in which people (kids) were wanting to show off a gun without ever checking to see if it was loaded that were charged as involuntary. This appears to be no different.
Former prosecutor here who handled criminally negligent homicide cases. Suspect they charged Baldwin so that there is not an empty chair for the armorer who was responsible for the gun and blanks on the set. Suspect that it will depend on Baldwin's knowledge/training about firearms. Suspect that Baldwin should have made sure the gun was not loaded with blanks. In other words, he checks the gun himself and cleared it. Suspect he should not have actually pointed the gun precisely at the person in practicing a shoot. What was his responsibillity on the set as producer? Also seemed like he shot off his mouth before discussing with counsel and have counsel speak to authorities and the press. This is a terrible accident. Is there enough for criminal liability. As I understand it, the judge who will hear the cases at the preliminary hearing will decide if there is enough to go forward. So a mini trial before the actual trial? Remember when Bruce Lee's son was killed on a set with a gun loaded with blanks. No charges there. There was a round jammed in the chamber that became a projectile which struck and killed him. Another freak accident. Guns are dangerous. There were reports of fooling around on the set with the gun and rounds.
When you pick up a gun, you are responsible for any discharge. Baldwin knew that the gun was not a plastic toy but was a real gun. There is no such thing as an accidental discharge, only negligent. Basic firearm training is to assume every gun is loaded.
"Basic firearm training is to assume every gun is loaded." is like saying "Basic driving training is to assume you have no mechanical problems with your vehicle that can cause you to have an accident such as brakes failing while driving or steering failing while driving." Why are they trying to put the obligation on him to check the guns when they paid a gun expert to do that for them? My statement presumes that he did not mess with the gun, load it, unload it, etc, after the gun expert handed it to him.
My understanding is that the armory expert did not hand him the gun to use in rehearsals. Baldwin made the decision to use the gun in rehearsal. The better analogy in my view is the 1982 death of actor Vic Morrow where a helicopter crashed and killed Morrow and 2 children. The accident led to civil and criminal action against the filmmakers which lasted nearly a decade. Director John Landis, a producer, the helicopter pilot, production manager and explosives specialist were all criminally charged with manslaughter which took 9 months of trial.
I was talking about this case with my wife today. I had to be honest and just come to the conclusion I can't objectively look at it because Alec Baldwin is such a loathsome wanker, although a talented actor and very intelligent. And no, I am not conservative.
@2:50pm (@2:31p here) – if that's the case, then I can absolutely see how they're charging him for it. If on his own initiative he decided to use the gun without having his gun expert approve it for him, then I can see negligence on his part.
You miss the point. If you pick up a gun it is your responsibility for checking it, no matter who hands it you. Especially if you intend to point it at a person. There is no slack here, no shifting of responsibility, the consequences are too great.
The CCW course I took taught that when you hold a gun you are responsible to be sure it is not loaded and that you should not point or gesture with it unless you have checked it personally.
@8:31a – I think the only real argument against Baldwin's liability is that he has to be ignorant of guns and their safe use. If he has any knowledge of guns at all and has used them in the past personally (and even taken a CCW or equivalent course) then I think he's screwed. If he absolutely depended solely on the movie's gunsmith (or gun handler/expert/whatever), and he personally had very little experience with guns outside of that setting, then the argument that he should have known to check it is somewhat questionable.
Baldwin has said publicly that he is well trained and versed in firearms handling Somehow, I doubt that he is a gun owner.
"Somehow, I doubt that he is a gun owner." This would be reasonable given his outspoken political beliefs. But you are forgetting, 9:42, that Baldwin is a massive hypocrite. He may very well own guns.
So much of the Baldwin case will depend on admissible evidence. The press rehearsal of the case including his stupid statements may not come into evidence at trial. The multiple choice prosecution is problematic. Jurors struggle with choosing crimes. The case is a cluster you know what. The case will be theater and TV entertainment.
OBC is too busy penetrating solos (without lube) for taking two days to email an order to a client who has the minutes and drafts of the order. Heard it from a friend.
My comment about Wasielewski got deleted? Why? The guy got suspended for stealing client money. His sex-for-rent client filed BK in an attempt to stop the proceedings against him. That’s exactly what happened in my case against Wasielewski years ago after Wasielewski got caught lying in discovery. Clearly this is a pattern with him. The bar and Hooge have done nothing and no doubt he’s had years of complaints considering his repeated behavior. How is any of that wrong? Salacious? Defamatory?
Meanwhile, Hooge is busy regulating attorney speech because the fine print on our law licenses says we gave up our first amendment rights.
You just outed yourself, which is not wise. I recommend you ask lawdawg to remove your post. Your comments defame Hooge. I'm no fan of Hooge, just offering you some free advice.
The truth is the ultimate defense. Have you not been reading the comments lately? OBC has run amuck and has been going after small and solo practitioners for all kinds of crazy things. I find it highly likely that they are going after people for saying things they don’t like.
Truth may be a defense, but restraint is better judgment on this topic. It is just my opinion. I hand them out daily for a living.
OMG I would love it if Hooge would sue someone for defamation and have to open the bar records so the truth could be asserted as a defense.
Stay in your lane chasing ambulances, 6:29. Nothing in 12:26's comment was defamatory towards Hooge. At best it's unactionable opinion.
I can't tell if 9:08 is being serious, but it's pretty clear that the board of governors isn't doing their job. I personally know two attorneys who are answering the most ridiculous bar complaints I've ever heard. I'm not going to give details because the information was given to me in confidence, but needless to say, this never would have happened under Clark or Bare. OBC is out of control.
Following up on yesterday's discussion, has the Nevada Supreme Court ever explained why they scan physical copies of their advanced opinions, instead of converting them to pdf? The scans create huge file sizes and look terrible. The US Supreme Court and all the federal court of appeals just upload pdfs (and their decisions look great, except for the First Circuit's godawful font), what's the issue here?
"This is how we've always done it."
Also an ADA violation for the PDFs not to be OCR'ed
Not my blog admittedly. However the 2 comments that were removed discussing Andrew Wasielewski and his history in practice seemed completely in-bounds and topical based on the story (other than the name calling in the first comment).
Agreed. The comments were not out of bounds. Wasielewski was not fun to oppose.
Sometimes name-calling is earned. Wasielewski wasn't just not fun to oppose. He was dishonest to counsel and the court. He obstructed and misled whenever possible. Filing BK on the eve of trial was his go-to trial tactic.
I want to add my voice – don’t delete things like this from the blog please
Its pretty easy to sit back anonymously and imagine what content might get someone else sued, but when its potentially your name on the bad side of the caption, you might also be a bit more cautious. Let's stop calling people names and all the other things that could conceivably lead to a claim, and I'll stop deleting, deal?
Nothing like a little risk management Law.Dawg
Do you amigo.
This Robin Lehner bankruptcy is likely to be the most fun bankruptcy practitioners have had in this town in long time.