Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial in the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the Rust film set began on Tuesday at a New Mexico courthouse where 16 people were selected to serve on the jury.
After a full day of proceedings, which were initially delayed by technical issues for several hours, a jury of 11 women and five men were seated in the long-awaited trial.
The trial in Santa Fe is starting nearly three years after the death on a film set sent shockwaves across the entertainment industry. On 21 October 2021, Baldwin was rehearsing for the western on set at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, a popular location for Hollywood, when he pointed a prop firearm at Hutchins.
Baldwin, who faces up to 18 months in prison, has said he did not pull the trigger, but pulled back the hammer of the gun when it malfunctioned and fired. The single bullet killed Hutchins and injured the director Joel Souza.
On Tuesday morning, Baldwin arrived at the first judicial district court in Santa Fe with his wife, Hilaria, and attorneys. Wearing a dark grey suit and carrying a Barnes and Noble bag, the 66-year-old was soft-spoken as he made his way through a mass of press and into the building where he went through security and headed toward the courtroom.
His brother, actor Stephen Baldwin, was also in attendance.
The courthouse was buzzing with activity as dozens of cameras and reporters from every major US network and outlets across the world staged themselves outside the building and in a courtroom to cover the proceedings.
Jury selection was scheduled to start early on Tuesday morning but was delayed for several hours before beginning just after 11.30am local time. The prosecution and defense interviewed from a pool of 70 potential jurors.
The Prosecutor Kari Morrissey questioned potential jurors about whether they had formed an opinion in the case based on any media coverage, as well as about life experiences that might prevent them from being fair. Only three of the 70 potential jurors said they had not seen or heard anything about the case.
“Our job – the attorneys for both sides – is to make sure we get a fair and impartial jury,” Morrissey said before beginning her questioning. “We want to get jurors who can be fair to the state. We also want to get jurors who can be fair to Mr Baldwin.”
Two potential jurors expressed that they did not feel they could be fair and were excused and nearly 20 asked to be dismissed because serving would pose a hardship.
Alex Spiro, Baldwin’s defense attorney, sought assurance from potential jurors that despite the tragic nature of the case, they would be able to listen to the facts and provide a fair verdict.
“There’s a man sitting here who has his day in court now – finally – Alec Baldwin. He’s a real person,” he said. “Some of you may have been exposed to him in the media … I need to know if any of you have a view that’s going to cause you to come in and lean against him in some way.”
Spiro’s questions focused on any bias potential jurors might have against Baldwin, whether they would favor the perspective of law enforcement and prosecutors and whether they took issue with the idea that in sensitive safety situations – such as movie sets – people rely on experts.
Sixteen people were selected to serve on the jury – four of whom will act as alternates.
The judge Mary Marlowe Sommer instructed the jury not to discuss the case with anyone, including one another, and to refrain from reading any news coverage.
“The facts in the case are what you hear in the courtroom,” Sommer said. “They are not anything other than what you hear in the courtroom.”
The tone in the courtroom was far different than hearings in recent months, which frequently saw tense exchanges between the prosecution and defense.
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Baldwin, who was also the co-producer of the movie, had repeatedly sought to get the case against him dismissed. His latest request to get the charges dismissed on grounds that prosecutors had allowed potentially “exculpatory evidence” to be destroyed was dismissed late last month. Sommer ruled that Baldwin’s legal team had failed to prove state prosecutors had acted in bad faith, and allowed the controversial case to proceed.
This is the second criminal trial stemming from the tragedy, a rare fatal shooting on a film set. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, Rust’s chief weapons handler, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in April after she was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors alleged in her trial that she had put dummy rounds and at least one live round into the weapon, and that she had neglected to follow critical safety procedures.
Baldwin’s legal team is expected to cast blame on Gutierrez-Reed and continue to argue that he did not actually pull the trigger. The trial is moving forward after prosecutors had initially dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin last year when they said they needed more time to review evidence.
He was charged a second time after prosecutors said forensic testing on the gun revealed Baldwin had pulled the trigger. Baldwin’s team has cast doubt on the examination of the gun commissioned by prosecutors. The FBI conducted initial tests on the gun to see if it could have accidentally discharged, but the process involved striking and damaging the weapon. A later forensic analysis required replacing parts that had been damaged.
Baldwin’s lawyers recently sought to have the case thrown out over the handling of the gun during the investigation, but the judge sided with prosecutors.
Legal experts have said that Baldwin’s guilt may be harder to prove after Gutierrez-Reed was deemed responsible in the last trial. Prosecutors have also sought to draw attention to Baldwin’s role as a producer, and Baldwin previously faced scrutiny for his comments to a detective acknowledging how films try to cut costs and keep on a tight schedule.
But a judge ruled Monday that Baldwin’s producer position was not relevant to the trial, siding with defense lawyers and saying evidence related to his secondary role on the film would not be allowed.
After Hutchins’ death, it was reported that there had been two accidental firings of blank rounds on set before she was killed, and that some crew members had resigned the day before partly due to worries about safety.
At jury selection for Gutierrez-Reed’s trial, prosecutors raised concerns about the challenges of seating a jury when so many potential candidates had been exposed to media coverage of the case.
Baldwin has a right to testify at the trial, but it is unclear if he will.
Last month, the actor and his wife announced the launch of a new TLC reality show chronicling their family.