Alec Baldwin appeared in court in New Mexico on Monday ahead of his trial on manslaughter charges following a fatal shooting on the set of his western film “Rust.”
Baldwin, 66, faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter and up to 18 months in prison in the death of camerawoman Halyna Hutchins.
Baldwin sat in court Monday between his lawyers, shuffling through papers, wearing glasses and his hair cropped short.
The trial begins tomorrow with jury selection and is expected to last ten days.
While the actor was in court, his wife Hilaria was spotted grabbing lunch with their daughter Carmen in New York City.
Baldwin sat in court Monday among his lawyers, shuffling through papers, wearing glasses and his hair cropped short.
Baldwin, 66, faces a single charge of involuntary manslaughter and up to 18 months behind bars in the death of camerawoman Halyna Hutchins
While the actor was in court, his wife Hilaria was spotted picking up lunch with their daughter Carmen in New York City
In October 2021, Baldwin was practicing a cross-draw maneuver with the revolver when the gun discharged, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty and claims the gun accidentally discharged when he pointed it at Hutchins and pulled back the hammer, causing the gun to discharge.
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 really have a hard time with the state’s position that they want to show that as a producer he didn’t follow the guidelines and that Mr. Baldwin as an actor did all these things wrong that resulted in the death of Ms. Hutchins, because he as a producer allowed these things to happen.
“I deny that there is evidence of his status as a producer.”
Special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson argued unsuccessfully that evidence should not be admitted that Baldwin’s “role as producer made him acutely aware of his responsibilities on the set” for safety.
“Mr. Baldwin knows he acted negligently on the set,” she said.
Last week, the judge cleared the way for key firearms experts to testify on behalf of the prosecution about Baldwin’s handling of the revolver and whether the weapon was functioning properly before the fatal shooting.
Halyna Hutchins, 42, was a mother of one and an up-and-coming camerawoman when she was fatally shot on the set of ‘Rust’
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer ruled that his role as co-producer was not relevant to the trial, siding with his defense attorneys
The infamous gun fired on set that ultimately cost cameraman Hutchins his life
Prosecutors have argued that a state investigation into workplace safety, which found serious violations on set, was incomplete and unreliable and therefore should not be included in the trial.
In April of this year, Hannah Guttierez-Reed, the gunsmith on the set, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in connection with Hutchins’ death and sentenced to 18 months in prison.
The night before the incident, six members of the camera crew quit over safety concerns.
The jury heard that Baldwin commissioned director Souza to write the script, to which he owned the rights. Baldwin starred in the film and was also a producer.
The court heard that Baldwin himself made the set unsafe by waving his weapon at people like a ‘pointer’.
The FBI tested the weapon by hitting it from different angles with a raw leather hammer, which eventually broke the weapon.
Baldwin has always maintained his innocence, but Guttierez-Reed’s lawyers allege that the environment he created on set led to Hutchins’ death
Rust gun maker Hannah Guttierez-Reed has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for the involuntary manslaughter of cameraman Halyna Hutchins
The prosecution plans to present evidence at trial that it says shows the gun “could not have gone off without pulling the trigger” and that it was functioning properly before the shooting.
Baldwin has been charged twice in Hutchins’ death. Prosecutors dismissed an earlier charge but refiled it after receiving a new analysis of the revolver Baldwin pointed at Hutchins.
Since filming resumed in 2021, Rust has resumed filming but moved to Montana under an agreement with Hutchins’ husband, Matthew Hutchins, who named him executive producer.
The completed film is not yet available to the public.