John Jefferson
Alec Baldwin sat stoney-faced in court on Monday as he prepares to face trial over the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Rust movie.
The Hollywood star faces a single felony charge of involuntary manslaughter over the incident in New Mexico in October 2021, which left the young cinematographer dead.
Jury selection in the case is expected to begin on Tuesday, though Baldwin was present for a pretrial hearing on Monday with his lead attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro.
He appeared to listen intently to proceedings, taking occasional notes on a yellow legal pad and handing written messages to an attorney. Baldwin wore glasses and close-cropped hair.
The actor faces up to 18 months in prison if he’s convicted of the felony charge.
The case has rumbled on for almost three years following the incident in October 2021. Baldwin was rehearsing a cross-draw maneuver with the revolver when the gun went off, killing Hutchins and wounding the film’s director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty and claims the gun fired accidentally after he followed instructions to point it toward Hutchins, who was behind the camera. Unaware the gun contained a live round, Baldwin said he pulled back the hammer — not the trigger — and it fired.
In April Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer on set, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins’ death and sentenced to 18 months in prison. She is appealing the conviction.
On Monday, Judge Mary Marlowe Somner ruled that Baldwin’s role as a producer of the Western was not relevant to the trial, a major set back for prosecutors, who had planned to argue that through that role, he bore a special responsibility — well beyond that of the actor holding the gun — for the dangerous environment that led to the fatal shooting.
“I’m having real difficulty with the state’s position that they want to show that as a producer he didn’t follow guidelines and therefore as an actor Mr Baldwin did all of these things wrong that resulted in the death of Ms Hutchins because as a producer he allowed these things to happen,” Judge Sommer said.
“I’m denying evidence of his status as a producer.”
Special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson argued unsuccessfully to allow evidence that Baldwin’s “role as a producer made him keenly aware of his responsibilities on set” for safety. “It goes to Mr Baldwin’s knowledge, knowing that his conduct on set was negligent,” she said.
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