{"id":914141,"date":"2021-10-23T15:44:13","date_gmt":"2021-10-23T19:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=914141"},"modified":"2021-10-23T15:44:15","modified_gmt":"2021-10-23T19:44:15","slug":"legal-expert-weighs-in-on-alec-baldwin-shooting-incident-discusses-potential-prison-time-co-producer-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/legal-expert-weighs-in-on-alec-baldwin-shooting-incident-discusses-potential-prison-time-co-producer-role\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Expert Weighs In On Alec Baldwin Shooting Incident; Discusses Potential Prison Time, Co-Producer Role"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flegal-expert-weighs-in-on-alec-baldwin-shooting-incident-discusses-potential-prison-time-co-producer-role%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=914141&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Attorney Andrew Branca of Law of Self Defense weighed in Friday on the Alec Baldwin <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/union-says-alec-baldwin-shot-live-round-in-on-set-fatal-incident-report-notes-clarity-needed\">on-set shooting incident<\/a> that left one dead, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and another injured, director Joel Souza.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/use-of-force-expert-state-witness-throws-wrench-in-prosecutions-knee-on-neck-narrative\">Branca<\/a>, who notably offered insight into the Derek Chauvin case last year, ran through legal possibilities Baldwin might be faced with over the fatal shooting, stressing that he\u2019s operating on hypotheticals based on news reports and court documents \u2014 not on what actually happened, as that still remains unverified.<\/p>\n<p>He also discussed potential liability for Baldwin, who is reportedly a co-producer for the movie \u201cRust.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The fatal shooting could be argued to be an accident, prove negligence, or be classified as recklessness or involuntary manslaughter \u2014 a worst-case scenario for the actor, Branca said in an 18-minute video.<\/p>\n<p>The attorney noted that, for this case, involuntary manslaughter in New Mexico would be classified as a fourth-degree felony, which is typically punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a fine of $5,000.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s Branca\u2019s commentary concerning the argument that the shooting was an accident, per Law of Self Defense:<\/p>\n<p><em>What might an genuine accident with a handgun look like? Well, imagine a gun that has an unseen defect, such that when the barrel is brought up to the horizontal position the gun discharges without any press of the trigger.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This is clearly not how a gun is supposed to fire, nor would any reasonable person expect a gun to fire under such circumstances.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>If the gun being handled by Alec Baldwin is found to have such a defect, and his handling of the gun was otherwise non-negligent, he would have a good argument that the gun discharging and killing Ms. Hutchins was a genuine accident for which he should bear no civil or criminal liability.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what the case for negligence would look like (emphasis added):<\/p>\n<p><em>In our hypothetical with the defective gun, for example, it may be true that the discharge of the gun was not foreseeable by Alec Baldwin, and therefore not really in his control\u2014but the direction in which the gun was pointed certainly was in his control.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The death of Ms. Hutchins by the discharge of the gun could not have occurred had the gun not been pointed at her\u2014and that pointing of the gun at her would certainly seem to constitute negligence.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Anyone trained in firearms safety\u2014and anyone handling an inherently dangerous instrument like a firearm can be reasonably expected to have a duty to<\/p>\n<p><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Attorney Andrew Branca of Law of Self Defense weighed in Friday on the Alec Baldwin on-set shooting incident that left one dead, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and another injured, director Joel Souza.Branca, who notably offered insight into the Derek Chauvin case last year, ran through legal possibilities Baldwin might be faced with over the fatal shooting, stressing that he\u2019s operating on hypotheticals based on news reports and court documents \u2014 not on what actually happened, as that still remains unverified.He also discussed potential liability for Baldwin, who is reportedly a co-producer for the movie \u201cRust.\u201dThe fatal shooting could be argued to be an accident, prove negligence, or be classified as recklessness or involuntary manslaughter \u2014 a worst-case scenario for the actor, Branca said in an 18-minute video.The attorney noted that, for this case, involuntary manslaughter in New Mexico would be classified as a fourth-degree felony, which is typically punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a fine of $5,000.Here\u2019s Branca\u2019s commentary concerning the argument that the shooting was an accident, per Law of Self Defense:What might an genuine accident with a handgun look like? Well, imagine a gun that has an unseen defect, such that when the barrel is brought up to the horizontal position the gun discharges without any press of the trigger.This is clearly not how a gun is supposed to fire, nor would any reasonable person expect a gun to fire under such circumstances.If the gun being handled by Alec Baldwin is found to have such a defect, and his handling of the gun was otherwise non-negligent, he would have a good argument that the gun discharging and killing Ms. Hutchins was a genuine accident for which he should bear no civil or criminal liability.Here\u2019s what the case for negligence would look like (emphasis added):In our hypothetical with the defective gun, for example, it may be true that the discharge of the gun was not foreseeable by Alec Baldwin, and therefore not really in his control\u2014but the direction in which the gun was pointed certainly was in his control.The death of Ms. Hutchins by the discharge of the gun could not have occurred had the gun not been pointed at her\u2014and that pointing of the gun at her would certainly seem to constitute negligence.Anyone trained in firearms safety\u2014and anyone handling an inherently dangerous instrument like a firearm can be reasonably expected to have a duty to be trained on its safe operation around others\u2014would know that one of the four primary safety rules of handling firearms is that you do not point the muzzle of the gun at anything you are not willing to destroy.Pointing the gun at Ms. Hutchins then, at least under circumstances in which the gun discharges and kills her, would certainly qualify as negligence at a minimum, and thus create civil liability for her death.Branca then took on criminal recklessness and involuntary manslaughter, again making it clear that he was operating on hypotheticals based on news reports, and does not know what actually happened.Based on reporting that Baldwin allegedly \u201cjoked\u201d that he should shoot\u00a0Hutchins and Souza if he had to shoot the scene again, and then pulled the trigger, then it would\u00a0be \u201cno innocent accident, and we have no mere civil negligence\u2014instead, we have, with the pointing of the weapon at the victims and the deliberate press of the trigger, criminal recklessness.\u201d\u201cThe gun did not go off for unforeseeable reasons, such as a hidden defect,\u201d Branca argued. \u201cThe gun discharged because it operated as designed\u2014to fire when the trigger is depressed. Of course, the gun must be loaded when the trigger is depressed in order to cause harm\u2014but as the tragic consequences here amply demonstrate, the gun was loaded. It would be the duty of the person wielding the gun to ensure it was unloaded if they wished to cause no harm when they depressed the trigger\u2014and clearly that duty was not met.\u201d\u201cSecond, anyone handling an inherently dangerous object such as a firearm would be presumed to possess the safety knowledge needed to handle that firearm safely around others\u2014a claim of ignorance is no defense when one is handling inherently dangerous objects,\u201d he continued.\u201cThat guns are inherently dangerous is common knowledge presumed to be known to everyone,\u201d the attorney said. \u201cThat the rounds fired come out of the muzzle and travel with lethal force and distance is also common knowledge presumed to be known to everyone. That guns discharge when their triggers are depressed is also common knowledge presumed to be known to everyone.\u201d\u201cWhen you are aware you are creating a risk of death, deliberate[ly] disregard that risk, and death results\u2014that\u2019s the very definition of criminal recklessness\u2014commonly referred to as involuntary manslaughter,\u201d Branca asserted.The attorney then noted of Baldwin\u2019s reported role as actor and co-producer, noting that this could have implications for Baldwin within the civil law context and criminal law context:Alec Baldwin was both the actor handling the firearm when it discharged\u2014and an actor might argue that he is at the \u201cbottom\u201d of the safety responsibility ladder for something like a movie set\u2014but he was also a co-producer for the film\u2014which would place him at the \u201ctop\u201d of the safety responsibility ladder.In theory, an actor at the \u201cbottom\u201d and the producer at the \u201ctop\u201d might each point their finger at each other in the case of a tragic event like this. That is, the actor might argue that the producer ought to have had better safety protocols in place, and the producer might argue that the actor had the [ultimate] responsibility for safe handling of the firearm.In this case, however, Alec Baldwin occupies both seats. So he can point his finger in this manner if he wishes, but ultimately he\u2019ll be pointing it at himself.And this implication could well apply not merely in the civil law context, within the scope of negligence, but also within the criminal law context, within the scope of recklessness and involuntary manslaughter.Related:\u00a0Union Says Alec Baldwin Shot \u2018Live Round\u2019 In On-Set Fatal Incident; Report Notes \u2018Clarity\u2019\u00a0NeededThe Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a member.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-914141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=914141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/914141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=914141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=914141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=914141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}