Alec Baldwin appeared in a New Mexico court on Monday ahead of his manslaughter trial for a fatal shooting on the set of his Western film ‘Rust.’
Baldwin, 66, faces a single felony count of involuntary manslaughter and up to 18 months behind bars in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
In court Monday, Baldwin sat between his lawyers and flipped through papers, wearing glasses and his hair short.
The trial will begin tomorrow with jury selection and is scheduled to last ten days.
While the actor sat in court, his wife Hilaria was spotted alongside their daughter Carmen picking up lunch in New York City.
In court Monday, Baldwin sat between his lawyers and flipped through papers, wearing glasses and with short hair.
Baldwin, 66, faces a single felony count of involuntary manslaughter and up to 18 months behind bars in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
While the actor sat in court, his wife Hilaria was spotted alongside their daughter Carmen picking up lunch in New York City.
In October 2021, Baldwin was rehearsing a cross-draw maneuver with the revolver when the gun went off, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty and claims the gun accidentally went off after he pointed it at Hutchins and pulled the hammer back, when it went off.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled that his role as co-producer was not relevant to the trial, siding with his defense attorneys.
Judge Sommer told the court: “I’m having a real problem with the state’s stance of wanting to show that as a producer, he didn’t follow the guidelines and therefore as an actor, Mr. Baldwin did all these things wrong that resulted in Ms. Hutchins’ death because as a producer, he allowed these things to happen.
‘I am denying all evidence of his status as a producer.’
Special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson unsuccessfully attempted to allow evidence that Baldwin’s “role as producer made him acutely aware of his on-set responsibilities” regarding safety.
“This comes to Mr. Baldwin’s attention, knowing that his conduct on the set was negligent,” he said.
Last week, the judge cleared the way for firearms experts crucial to the prosecution to testify about Baldwin’s handling of the revolver and whether the weapon was working properly before the fatal shooting.
Halyna Hutchins, 42, was a mother of one and an up-and-coming cinematographer when she was fatally shot on the set of ‘Rust.’
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer has ruled that his role as co-producer is not relevant to the trial, siding with his defense attorneys.
The infamous gun fired on set that ended up killing cinematographer Hutchins
Prosecutors have argued that a state investigation into workplace safety, which found serious violations on the set, was incomplete, unreliable and should be barred from trial.
In April of this year, Hannah Guttierez-Reed, the set’s gunsmith, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins’ death and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The night before the incident, six members of the film crew resigned due to safety concerns.
The jury learned that Baldwin had commissioned director Souza to write the screenplay, to which he owned the rights. Baldwin was the film’s lead actor and also a producer.
The court heard that Baldwin himself made the set unsafe by waving his gun like a “pointing stick” at people.
The FBI performed an accidental firing test on the gun by hitting it from various angles with a rawhide mallet, which eventually broke the gun.
Baldwin has consistently maintained his innocence, but Guttierez-Reed’s lawyers claim the environment he created on the set led to Hutchins’ death.
Gunsmith Hannah Guttierez-Reed was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the manslaughter of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins
Prosecutors plan to present evidence at trial that they say shows the firearm “could not have been fired without pulling the trigger” and was functioning properly before the shooting.
Baldwin has been charged twice in Hutchins’ death. Prosecutors dismissed an earlier charge and then refiled it after receiving a new analysis of the revolver Baldwin pointed at Hutchins.
Since filming in 2021, filming on Rust has resumed, but has been moved to Montana under an agreement with Hutchins’ husband, Matthew Hutchins, who made him an executive producer.
The finished film has not yet been released for public screening.
