Alec Baldwin Arrives At Courthouse For Pretrial Hearing Over Fatal Shooting Of Cinematographer

A New Mexico judge is preparing for the involuntary manslaughter trial of actor Alec Baldwin, who appeared in court Monday for a fatal gunshot on the set of a Western film.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer will consider various requests from prosecutors and defense counsel that may limit the evidence, testimony, and legal arguments seen by a jury. Monday’s pretrial session in Santa Fe is anticipated to occupy most of the day.

Baldwin sat in the courtroom on Monday alongside a four-person legal team. Wearing glasses and short hair, he quickly thumbed through papers.

Alec Baldwin | AP News Image

Alec Baldwin Arrives At Courthouse For Pretrial Hearing Over Fatal Shooting Of Cinematographer

Baldwin sat between lead attorneys Luke Nikas and Alex Spiro, his yellow legal pad on the table before him.

The trial begins on July 9 with jury selection and is anticipated to last ten days.

Last Monday, the judge allowed key firearms experts for the prosecution to testify concerning Baldwin’s handling of the revolver and whether the gun was functioning correctly before the deadly shooting.

Defense attorneys have urged the judge to omit Baldwin’s secondary involvement as a co-producer on “Rust,” stating that it is extraneous to negligence accusations and may confuse jurors. Prosecutors disagree, claiming that Baldwin’s intimidating status as a producer encouraged him to act recklessly and disregard the safety of others when allegedly violating gun safety standards.

The defense side and prosecution differ on Baldwin’s contractual responsibility as a producer over crew members responsible for firearms and safety.

Prosecutors contend that a state occupational safety investigation, which discovered major infractions on set, was insufficient and untrustworthy and should be excluded from the trial.

Baldwin is charged with a single felony crime of involuntary manslaughter, which is punishable by up to 18 months in jail if convicted.

The armorer on set, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and sentenced to 18 months in prison. She is appealing her conviction.

In October 2021, Baldwin was practicing a cross-draw maneuver with the revolver when the gun went off, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.

Baldwin had pleaded not guilty, claiming that the gunshot was inadvertently when he followed instructions to point it at Hutchins, who was behind the camera. Baldwin claimed that unaware that the gun was loaded with a live cartridge, he pulled back the hammer rather than the trigger, and it fired.

Baldwin’s lawyers also seek to keep the death of actor Brandon Lee, who was shot in the abdomen while filming a scene from “The Crow” in 1993, out of the trial. In that case, a homemade bullet was unintentionally left in a gun from a previous scene, striking Lee while filming a scene that required blank rounds.

Prosecutors have agreed not to obtain unauthorized testimony concerning “The Crow,” but they also claim that Baldwin was aware of the safety dangers posed by guns, even when live rounds were not present. Baldwin’s attorneys say that live bullets could not possibly have ended up on set.

Prosecutors seek to delete a letter signed by crew members that questions the portrayal of the “Rust” set as chaotic or dangerous before the deadly shooting.

Prosecutors also want to remove from the trial the findings of the safety investigation into the fatal shooting, which blames assistant director Dave Halls in large part. Halls has pled no contest to negligent use of a firearm and may be summoned to testify in Baldwin’s case.

Alec Baldwin | AP News Image

Alec Baldwin Arrives At Courthouse For Pretrial Hearing Over Fatal Shooting Of Cinematographer

Rust Movie Productions paid a $100,000 fine to rectify violations of state safety standards that were deemed “serious” but not willful, according to a 2023 settlement agreement. Prosecutors claim that more trustworthy information easily confuses the investigation’s findings.

Baldwin’s attorneys argue that the report cannot be struck out as evidence and that state occupational safety officer Lorenzo Montoya should be permitted to testify at trial.

Another pretrial motion may defuse sniping between the prosecution and defense teams. Prosecutors urged the judge to rule out claims of “prosecutorial misconduct” and “personal attacks.”

Prosecutors also want the judge to omit evidence and arguments intended to elicit compassion for Baldwin, such as expressions of sorrow or the impact of events on his family, arguing that they have no bearing on deciding guilt.

SOURCE | AP