Timothy Busfield faces sexual abuse charges from prosecutors for failing to act "fairly and impartially." DA "Evaluating our options"

Nearly a year after Timothy Busfield was charged with two counts of felony sexual intercourse with a minor and child abuse stemming from alleged incidents involving two young boys in New Mexico on the Fox/Warner Bros. TV series The Cleaning Lady, the Emmy winner has had his case dismissed. "Prosecution [...]

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"Counsel failed to act in a fair and impartial manner, including by failing to properly instruct the jury on the witness-calling statute and instructing the jury on a procedure that effectively withheld requested witnesses," Enchanted Land Judge Joseph Montano wrote Friday in a ruling on the thirty-something action against him sentencing the actor. "In doing so, the grand jury proceedings were conducted in a manner that violated the grand jury rules designed to protect the structural integrity of our grand jury system and that the presumption of prejudice applies." RELATED STORIES 'CRIMINAL' LEGAL: Attorney Timothy Busfield slams 'Cleaning Lady' cast's parents for sexual abuse and more from Melissa Gilbert's ABC interview tonight. "It's done," Melissa Gilbert tells Good Morning America.

During its four-season run from 2022 to 2025, Bosfield directed several episodes starring Oldie Jung. Besfield, who was being held without bond at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center after his arrest and arraignment, appeared briefly Jan. 14 in Judge Felicia Belli-Rivera's courtroom remotely. On Jan. 20, just days after the actor-director surrendered, New Mexico Judge David Murphy dismissed Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bergman's concerns and past (never charged) charges. Watch The West Wing actor on Deadline

A hearing was held Sept. 25 on Busfield's motion to dismiss the indictment.

Now, with the indictment dismissed, Judge Montano has authorized DA Bergman's office to initiate "new criminal proceedings" against Basfield. The reality, however, is that today's order itself is a rather damning indictment of the former gubernatorial candidate and his office's rush to judgment.

In his six-page order, Judge Montano added: "The issue presented is that, after admonition, the jury requested to hear evidence that the State did not present, and the prosecution used an inexplicable and incompletely explained procedure regarding the subpoena requirement to unilaterally withhold evidence from the jury." "These actions are inconsistent with neither the letter nor the spirit of the jury rules. To the extent that a delay may result when a prosecutor challenges the evidence requested by the jury — after they have been informed of the evidence without objection — the court finds the validity of the jury system and the intent of the jurors to have access to more potential evidence — until, given the apparent circumstances, they are allowed access to more potential evidence. Proceedings."

Reached by deadline Friday after the dismissal order was made public, DA Bergman's office said: "Our office has received this order and is evaluating our options to determine how to proceed."

A repeat for Busfield, who has been out on loan since the beginning of the year, and his main lawyer, Larry Stein, did not respond to Deadline's request for comment on their big win today.

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