Alec Baldwin could be a “burden” to his defense, but the leak of key evidence could help him win his case, legal experts told Fox News Digital.
In 2021, a gun carried by Baldwin discharged on the set of the western film “Lust” in New Mexico, killing cinematographer Halina Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.
Baldwin is charged with manslaughter and faces up to 18 months in prison if convicted. Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, July 9.
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New Mexico prosecutors claim Alec Baldwin was “reckless” on the set of Lust. (Fox News Digital | Derek Shook for Court TV)
Should Baldwin testify?
His lawyer, Todd Spodek, said the “30 Rock” star could become infuriated if he takes the stand, which could infuriate the defense.
The lawyer previously represented Genevieve Sablan, who was convicted of stalking Baldwin after he and his wife, Hilaria, took the stand as witnesses in a shocking trial in Manhattan.
“It would be very dangerous for him to testify,” Spodek told Fox News Digital. “He has constant outbursts. He has no control over his emotions. He’s a very volatile individual.”
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Attorney Todd Spodek with his client, Genevieve Sablan, who was convicted of stalking Alec Baldwin in 2013. (Stephen Hirsch/SplashNews/Pool)
Spodek cross-examined Baldwin, grilling him about his alleged affair with Sablan. Baldwin denied having anything more than a professional relationship with the French-Canadian actress and repeatedly attacked his lawyer.
Spodek said the actor could be easily offended.
“My experience with him is that if you make him angry and infuriated, he will lash out,” said Spodek, who also represented false heir Anna Sorokin. “He’s difficult, and a jury may view him as reckless and impulsive.”
Alec Baldwin leaves Manhattan Criminal Court after testifying against stalker Genevieve Sablan on November 12, 2013 in New York City. (Stan Honda/AFP via Getty Images)
Defense attorney Mark Bederow agreed with Spodek, adding that prosecutors will aggressively pursue Baldwin, who has given conflicting accounts of the accident in interviews with the media and police.
“He’s in New Mexico, far from Hollywood and far from New York,” Bederow said. “There’s a real risk that a New Mexico jury will find him dishonest and intolerable.”
Weapon Damage
In a television interview, the actor claimed that he had cocked the gun but not pulled the trigger, and that the shot had gone off accidentally.
The prosecution countered that the handgun could not have fired if Baldwin had not fired the bullets.
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On October 21, 2021, a Colt .45 caliber Army revolver used by Alec Baldwin on the set of the movie “Lust” accidentally discharged, killing Halina Hutchins. (Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office)
But the defense argues that the FBI destroyed the Colt .45 during testing, making it impossible to tell if it had any defects that could have caused it to malfunction.
Bederow said Baldwin’s defense team is apparently seeking an acquittal by highlighting the damage to key evidence in the case.
“The prosecution’s destruction of the gun could be a huge advantage to the defense,” he said. “It is incomprehensible that the prosecution would ignore the very real risk of destroying the gun in order to prove a point that they are almost certain to prove. It never looks good for the prosecution to behave so recklessly when the defendant is being accused of exactly that.”
To test the gun’s sensitivity, investigators struck it with a mallet from multiple angles, destroying its firing mechanism and safety in the process.
Halina Hutchins stands next to her sister, Svetlana Zemko. (Courtesy of attorney Gloria Allred)
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer refused to dismiss the case last month, allowing both sides to examine how the gun was damaged during the trial.
Elizabeth Bunker, a New Mexico lawyer, said the defense’s argument would be difficult for a gun-savvy jury to accept. “A firearms-savvy juror would say, ‘Of course he pulled the trigger. He’s a liar,'” Bunker told Fox News Digital.
Hannah Gutierrez Reed’s conviction
Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who did the costumes for the film, was convicted of the same charges Baldwin now faces and is serving an 18-month sentence.
The jury found that Baldwin was reckless in loading a live round into the gun he fired. Gutierrez-Reed is appealing the conviction.
Bederow said he expects Baldwin’s team to hold Gutierrez Reed responsible for the murders and that her conviction would help his case.
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Hannah Gutierrez Reed is shown being sentenced in her trial for manslaughter. (New Mexico State Court)
“The defense will likely argue that she had a responsibility to keep the gun safe and to only hand it over to the actor when it was safe to do so,” he said. “They will likely argue that she was not reckless in relying on her training and expertise, no matter how unfortunate the accident was.”
Los Angeles-based entertainment lawyer Tre Lovell said the allegations could be supported by Screen Actors Guild rules that govern the obligations of workers on Hollywood sets.
Prosecutors argue it was Baldwin’s responsibility to make sure the gun was unloaded, but Lovell said that’s not the case under SAG rules.
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Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria are celebrating their 12th wedding anniversary ahead of his criminal trial. (Getty Images)
“In the real world, if someone handed me a gun and said it was unloaded, and I shot it and killed someone, I would be criminally liable,” he told Fox News Digital, “But on a movie set, it’s different, everyone has a job and obligations. The actor acts, the director directs, the lighting guy works on the set, the weapons guy is there as a weapons expert.”
In fact, he said it would be a violation of SAG rules for actors to be responsible for guns or set safety.
Lovell pointed out that Baldwin’s position as a producer on the film and overseeing the entire project was a potential weakness, but at a pretrial hearing on July 8, Sommer ruled that the prosecution could not present evidence to prove Baldwin’s status as a producer.
Alec Baldwin arrives at the First Judicial District Court on Monday, July 8, 2024, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
“I am extremely troubled by the state’s position that it seeks to prove that as a producer, it did not follow the guidelines and that, as an actor, Mr. Baldwin erred in all of these respects,” the judge said during a hearing in Santa Fe’s First Judicial District Court. “The evidence of any unfair prejudice or confusion to the jury does not materially outweigh its probative value.”
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