is set to that the involuntary manslaughter charge against him will stand. The 66-year-old star has been embroiled in legal battles since the tragic on-set shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of Rust in October 2021. Despite repeated attempts by his defense team to dismiss the case, citing a violation of "due process" because the gun involved was destroyed during testing by government agents, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer has upheld the charge for the third time in five weeks.
Arguments and testimonies were presented to Judge Sommer on June 21 and 24 before she made her decision public on Friday, June 28. In her ruling, Judge Sommer stated: "The Court finds and concludes that Defendant fails to establish that the State acted in bad faith when destroying certain internal components of the firearm in the course of the accidental discharge testing." She further clarified: "In other words, the evidence before the Court does not demonstrate that the State or its agents knew that the unaltered firearm possessed exculpatory value at the time of accidental discharge testing, and nonetheless destroyed it, thereby indicating that the evidence may have exonerated the Defendant.
" However, the judge did emphasize that the prosecution must make clear to the jury the destructive nature of the firearm testing, the loss of potential evidence, and its significance to the case. She further stated: "The State must examine appropriate witnesses to achieve this disclosure. I.
