Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ Involuntary Manslaughter Trial Begins

Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial in connection to the 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins got underway on Tuesday.

The 66-year-old actor appeared in the New Mexico courtroom for the start of jury selection to find people who will determine the actor’s verdict after he pleaded not guilty to the charge, according to the Associated Press (AP).

As noted by the news outlet, the trial is being held roughly 18 miles from the set of the western film “Rust,” at Bonanza Creek Ranch, where a gun Baldwin was holding discharged a bullet and hit Hutchins during rehearsals.

Baldwin has maintained that there was “no trigger pull.”

The AP report said dozens of possible jurors will be brought into the courtroom to be questioned. However, cameras in court for the rest of the proceedings will be turned off to protect their privacy. The trial is expected to last nine days.

Alec Baldwin enters the courthouse ahead of his involuntary manslaughter trial. He is flanked by his attorneys, wife and several of his children. #AlecBaldwin pic.twitter.com/I5wUmwKu6f

— Alex Caprariello (@alcaprari23) July 9, 2024

The defense can dismiss up to five jurors without a reason under state law while the prosecution gets three, the outlet noted.

Judge Marlowe Sommer said on Monday that she was not “worried about being able to pick a jury in one day” because of the Hollywood star, and that she thought they would be able to “pick a jury by the afternoon.”

However, special prosecutor Kari Morrissey suggested that with Baldwin’s “group of defense attorneys, that’s not gonna happen,” per AP.

Baldwin attorney Alex Spiro replied, “I’ve never not picked a jury in one day. I can’t imagine that this would be the first time.”

On Monday, Judge Sommer also gave the defense a win when she ruled in a pre-trial hearing that Baldwin’s role as a co-producer on “Rust” is not relevant to the trial, something prosecutors had hoped to use as proof of Baldwin’s “total disregard or indifference for the safety of others” under the involuntary manslaughter law, AP’s report said.

Prosecutors also scored a victory when Sommer decided to exclude a summary of findings from a state investigation that placed most of the blame on the “Rust” film’s assistant director, the outlet noted.

In April, the film’s weapons supervisor, 26-year-old Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after she was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Hutchins.

If convicted, Baldwin faces up to 18 months in prison.

Related: Alec Baldwin’s Attorneys Try Getting ‘Rust’ Involuntary Manslaughter Case Dismissed Due To Gun Destruction Claim