AP — Nearly three years after cinematographer Halina Hutchins was shot and killed on the New Mexico set of “Lust,” as Alec Baldwin stands trial over her death, here are important things to know.
What crimes is Alec Baldwin being accused of?
The actor will appear in a New Mexico courtroom for the first time since the shooting on Oct. 21, 2021. He is charged with felony manslaughter. If the jury unanimously finds him guilty, he could face 18 months in prison.
Baldwin, star and co-producer of the western, pointed a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal in a small church on the Bonanza Creek Ranch film set when the gun went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin said he had cocked the hammer but not pulled the trigger, causing the gun to fire.
Two major themes dominate, one large, one small: the chaotic atmosphere of the film’s set, and the detail of the classic Italian-made revolver that Baldwin points at Hutchins.
It has never been officially determined who brought the live ammunition that killed Hutchins onto the set. In the previous trial of “The Last” gunsmith Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the prosecution argued that she was the killer. She was found guilty of manslaughter and given the same 18-month prison sentence as Baldwin.
What the jury must decide
Prosecutors have two alternative standards to prove the charge: one based on the negligent use of a firearm, and the other to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Baldwin acted with total disregard or indifference to the safety of others.
Despite the legal and technical complexities of the case, the 12 Santa Fe County residents who make up the jury must decide whether to verdict guilty or not guilty on one charge.
How long is Alec Baldwin’s trial expected to last?
The trial in New Mexico’s First Judicial District Court (about 20 miles northeast of where the film was shot and where the shooting took place) is scheduled to last nine days, with Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer presiding over the lawyers and emphasizing that they will stay on schedule. Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, with opening statements on Wednesday and wrap up the following Friday, but jurors can deliberate for as long as they need after receiving the case.
Why is Alec Baldwin famous?
Baldwin, 66, has been a household name ever since he emerged as a major star in the late 1980s and early ’90s in films like “Beetlejuice” and “The Hunt for Red October.” He went on to play memorable supporting roles, including 2003’s “The Cooler,” for which he was nominated for an Oscar. His career has since focused on comedy, winning two Emmys for playing network executive Jack Donaghy for six seasons of “30 Rock” and a third for playing Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live.”
He’s also played the role of outsized celebrity, a popular talk-show guest, a sought-after liberal and, at times, a man whose uncontrolled outbursts have led to public humiliation and much less-than-fair legal battles.
Baldwin is from Massapequa, New York, and is the eldest of six children, five of whom are actors. He has lived in New York City for most of his adult life. He has one adult daughter, Ireland Baldwin, with his first wife, Kim Basinger, and seven young children with his second wife, Hilaria Baldwin.
Alec Baldwin’s defense
Baldwin is bringing with him an elite legal team of mostly New York-based lawyers, many of them Harvard Law School graduates, from the law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Alex Spiro, 41, who has become one of the most sought-after lawyers in the country after representing celebrities such as Elon Musk and Megan Thee Stallion, is set to aggressively cross-examine the state’s witnesses.
The defense will likely try to argue that it is not an actor’s job to make sure a gun is not loaded with live ammunition — an argument strongly supported by Baldwin’s unions, the Screen Actors Guild and the Federation of Television and Radio Entertainers.
Baldwin, in an interview with ABC News and in interviews with authorities, suggested he never pulled the trigger of the revolver.
The defense will also attack the gun evidence, arguing that significant damage to the revolver during FBI testing amounted to the destruction of evidence and denied the defense an opportunity to examine it.
The prosecution’s firearms expert, who testified at the Gutierrez Reed trial, took the stand again, over Baldwin’s objections, to testify about the handling of the revolver and whether the gun was in good working order.
They may also call witnesses to determine whether Hutchins received proper medical attention between the shooting and when he was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Prosecutor’s side
Santa Fe County District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies appointed Cari Morrissey to serve as special prosecutor in the Baldwin case in early 2023 after her predecessor resigned due to a conflict of interest. Morrissey had the charges against Baldwin quickly dismissed, but had them reinstated by a grand jury in January of this year. Morrissey said both moves were the result of further review of the evidence.
Morrissey, a graduate of the University of New Mexico and its law school, practiced law in Albuquerque for more than 20 years. New Mexico criminal defense attorney Erlinda Johnson joined Morrissey’s team in April.
The trial could cause a culture clash among the legal teams, as the heated hearings and legal documents have already shown.
Morrissey and Spiro in particular have frequently clashed, with Spiro saying at a May hearing, “I’m not going to sit here and be called a liar!” It’s likely that Morrissey and Spiro will clash in similar ways, creating drama during the proceedings.
Prosecutors will try to convince jurors that Baldwin, as a producer and the most important person on set, introduced recklessness into the production and that, as an actor, he was careless in handling his guns.
Who is expected to testify in the Alec Baldwin trial?
Some of the most important testimony in the trial will come from members of the film crew who were inside the small church and witnessed Hutchins’ murder, including director Joel Souza, who was shot and wounded by a bullet from Baldwin’s gun, and the film’s assistant director, David Holes, who some say was responsible for the shooting but who has pleaded not guilty on the grounds of careless handling of firearms.
Prosecutors said in court documents that Zach Sneesby, a staff member who held a boom microphone during rehearsals, may be a key witness because he is expected to testify that he saw Baldwin pull the trigger of a revolver.
Prosecutors could potentially call Gutierrez Reed as a witness, but Marlowe Sommer rejected the immunity deal prosecutors sought.
Jurors will hear testimony from firearms experts who will argue that the revolver was in good working order and could not have fired without the trigger being pulled.
Baldwin himself can take the stand in his own defense, but is not required to do so; his lawyers have not said which side he will take.
The location of the “Last” shooting
Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, is not just a small town of 89,000 people, an art mecca and a tourist hotspot for its historic Southwestern beauty. Its modern court facilities downtown are a far cry from the rural courthouses you’d find in the state. But they’re also a far cry from the urban courthouses on the coasts where celebrities like Bill Cosby, O.J. Simpson, Harvey Weinstein, and Donald Trump have been tried.
The hearing could be an unusual spectacle, with scores of national media members vying for seats in the Santa Fe courtroom and overflow rooms and cameras set up around the courthouse to monitor people entering and leaving.
The public will be able to watch: the trial will be streamed and broadcast by several stations, including Court TV.
Who is Halina Hutchins?
Hutchins, who was 42 at the time of her death, was a rising cinematographer and the mother of a young son at the time of her murder. She grew up on a remote Soviet military base and worked in documentary film in Eastern Europe before studying film in Los Angeles. Promising filmmaking career.
