The involuntary manslaughter charges against were with prejudice. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer made the decision after the defense argued that from them throughout the process. As she made the announcement she was throwing out the case, Baldwin burst into tears and was consoled by his lawyer next to him.
His wife, Hilaria Baldwin, was sat behind him and also got visibly emotional. The two hugged after Judge Sommer dismissed everyone. The judge called it a "needless and incurable delay" of justice that the evidence was not brought forward sooner.
Initially, prosecutor Kari Morrissey argued that the evidence, which was ammunition from the scene, was not important to the case. However, Luke Nikas, argued passionately before the court: "If this evidence wasn't as important as we say it is, they would have turned it over. The fact that they concealed it, the fact that they put it in a separate document number, didn't disclosed a supplemental report, didn't disclose the bullets, didn't bring them to the April 6th evidentiary viewing.
If it was that irrelevant, didn't have evidentiary value, it would have been there." Crime Scene Technician Marissa Poppell took the stand and the judge, though admitting it was "unusual," had Poppell physically identify different bullets in a box that were not previously seen by the court. The jury was not present for these proceedings.
Thereafter, Poppell testified that these specific bullets were logged under a different case number and were not shown .
