The jury in Alec Baldwin’s manslaughter trial is made up of 11 women and five men, and the female-dominated jury pool could be a positive or negative for the embattled actor, experts told Fox News Digital.
Randolph Rice, a Maryland attorney, said prosecutors and defense lawyers sometimes adapt their tactics to suit the gender makeup of a jury.
Rice said Baldwin’s legal team might try to tug at audiences’ heartstrings by emphasizing the actor’s deep grief over the shooting death of cinematographer Halina Hutchins on the set of the 2021 Western film “Lust.”
“The defense may be trying to get to the emotional part,” Rice said, “that he was grief-stricken and that his reaction at the scene meant he couldn’t have committed the crime.”
Deadly timeline of Alec Baldwin’s ‘Lust’ shooting, actors charged with manslaughter
Alec Baldwin speaks with his wife, Hilaria Baldwin, in First District Court during the first day of testimony in the Alec Baldwin case on July 10, 2024, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (Eddie Moore/Journal/Pool via Reuters)
After the accidental shooting, photos of Baldwin looking distraught and crying into his cell phone made headlines online.
The jury panel includes the four defendants and heard opening statements and testimony from four witnesses on Wednesday.
The lawyers also pointed out that female jurors might be frustrated by Baldwin’s brusque personality and the fact that the victim in this case was his mother.
Judge Rice also noted that Baldwin’s wife, Hilaria, and his brother, Stephen, were in the front row during opening statements Wednesday. After court adjourned, the couple walked down Santa Fe’s upscale East San Francisco Street, browsing stores with their 20-month-old daughter.
Alec Baldwin’s ‘Lust’ actor’s armourer demands release days before actor’s forced murder trial
Alec Baldwin and wife Hilaria Baldwin leave the courthouse on July 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Roberto E. Rosales)
The couple left the venue after their manslaughter trial concluded in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (AP Photo/Roberto E. Rosales)
Rice said the emphasis on widespread family ties seems strategic.
“The defense may try to use to its advantage the fact that he has seven children and one grandchild with Hilaria,” he said. “Women may sympathize with their father and grandfather, along with his reputation.”
“The defense may seek to use to its advantage the fact that the defendant has seven children and one grandchild with Hilaria, making a total of eight children.”
Attorney Elizabeth Bunker countered that female jurors could be intimidated by the aggressive posture of Baldwin’s attorney, Alex Spiro, and Baldwin’s aggressive personality.
The actor’s defense attorney grilled Santa Fe Police Officer Nicholas LeFleur on the witness stand Wednesday, trying to highlight what he considers a sloppy investigation.
Alec Baldwin hugs his brother, actor Stephen Baldwin, during a break in Alec’s hearing in Santa Fe County District Court on July 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin/Pool)
Alec Baldwin leaves the courtroom following the hearing. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin/Pool)
“When you have a jury that’s dominated by women, being too aggressive in your cross-examination can backfire,” Bunker said. “It could go either way.” He also noted that Baldwin’s reputation as a brusque person could have a more negative effect on women than on men.
She emphasized that the trial hinged primarily on what Baldwin did with the gun he used to kill Hutchins, and said a jury “with a majority of women may not be as knowledgeable about firearms.”
“Men might be a little more black and white and say, ‘Of course, you pulled the trigger.'”
Baldwin has repeatedly maintained that he held the gun but did not pull the trigger.
Sheriff questions Alec Baldwin’s claim he didn’t pull the trigger while filming ‘Lust’: ‘Guns don’t just fire’
In outtakes from “Lust” used during the trial of Hannah Gutierrez Reed, Alec Baldwin was shown in the church where Hutchins was murdered. (Court TV)
But entertainment lawyer Tre Lovell said gender was unlikely to play a major role in the sentence.
“Overall, I don’t think gender matters that much in this case,” he told Fox News Digital. “It’s about how jurors feel about Alec Baldwin, how they feel about guns and whether they can rely on experts.”
On October 21, 2021, the film’s firearms officer Hannah Gutierrez Reed accidentally loaded a revolver with live ammunition, causing the actor to accidentally shoot and kill Hutchins and wound director Joel Souza.
Click here to sign up for our Entertainment Newsletter
Cinematographer Halina Hutchins passed away in October 2021 while filming Lust. (Fred Haise)
In her opening statement, prosecutor Erlinda Johnson argued that Baldwin “violated basic firearm safety rules” by pointing a real gun on set.
Click here to get the FOX News app
Spiro countered that Baldwin was told the gun was cold and that it was the duty of the gunman, not the actor, to ensure guns were safe on a movie set.
“Security must be ensured on a movie set before a gun is placed in an actor’s hands,” the lawyer told jurors in his opening statement.
The trial resumes on Thursday.
