A New Mexico judge has set aside an involuntary manslaughter trial against actor Alex Baldwin in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of a Western film.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommers will consider several requests from prosecutors and defense attorneys that could restrict the evidence, testimony and court arguments the jury hears. Pretrial hearings Monday in Santa Fe are expected to last all day. Baldwin’s attorneys have waived his attendance at all pretrial hearings.
Baldwin’s trial will begin with jury selection on July 9 and will last 10 days.
Last week, the judge cleared the way for the prosecution to call key firearms experts to testify about Baldwin’s handling of the revolver, and whether the gun was functioning properly before the fatal shooting.
Defense lawyers have urged the judge not to consider Baldwin’s secondary role as a co-producer on “Rust,” arguing it is irrelevant to the negligence charges, and could confuse jurors. Prosecutors disagree and say it was likely Baldwin’s influential role as a producer that encouraged him to act recklessly and ignore the safety of others by allegedly violating gun-safety protocols.
The defense and prosecutors disagree about Baldwin’s contractual authority as a producer over crew members regarding weapons and safety.
Prosecutors argue that the state’s workplace safety investigation, which found serious violations on the set, was incomplete and unreliable, and should be barred from trial.
Baldwin has been charged with a felony count of involuntary manslaughter, for which he could face up to 18 months in prison if convicted.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who had a weapon on set, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and sentenced to 18 months in prison. She is appealing the conviction.
In October 2021, Baldwin was rehearsing a cross-draw maneuver with a revolver when the gun went off, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty, claiming the gun went off accidentally when he followed instructions to point it at Hutchins, who was behind the camera. Baldwin said he pulled the hammer back instead of the trigger because he wasn’t aware the gun had a live bullet in it.
Baldwin’s lawyers want to bar discussion in the trial of the death of actor Brandon Lee, who was fatally shot in the abdomen while filming a scene for “The Crow” in 1993. In that incident, a temporary bullet was accidentally left in a gun from a previous scene and hit Lee while filming a scene that called for using blank rounds.
Prosecutors have agreed not to subpoena testimony about “The Crow,” but also claim Baldwin was aware of the safety risks posed by guns — even when live rounds weren’t present. Baldwin’s lawyers argue it was unthinkable that live rounds would end up on set.
Prosecutors want to exclude a letter signed by crew members disputing descriptions of the “Rust” set as chaotic or dangerous before the fatal shooting.
Prosecutors also want to keep out of the trial the findings of a security investigation into the fatal shooting, which placed much of the blame on Assistant Director Dave Halls. Halls has pleaded no contest to negligent use of a firearm and could be called to testify at Baldwin’s trial.
Rust Movie Productions paid a $100,000 fine to resolve state safety violations that were described as “serious” but not intentional under a 2023 settlement agreement. Prosecutors say the investigation’s findings could easily be refuted by more reliable information.
Baldwin’s attorneys say the report cannot be dismissed as evidence and that state occupational safety officer Lorenzo Montoya should be allowed to testify at trial.
Another pretrial motion could ease the sparring between the prosecution and defense. Prosecutors want the judge to bar allegations of “prosecutorial misconduct” and “personal attacks.”
Prosecutors also want the judge to dismiss evidence and arguments designed to gain sympathy for Baldwin, including signs of remorse or the impact of the events on his family, because they argue it has no bearing on determining guilt.
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