Alec Baldwin Trial: Jury Selection Begins in Manslaughter Case

Jury selection is underway in the Santa Fe, N.M., trial of Alec Baldwin, who faces up to 18 months in prison if convicted in the accidental death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer began by asking a large group if they had seen or heard anything about the case. Only two people said they had not. Two others said they had read extensively about the case and could not be fair.

As they talk to prospective jurors, the defense attorneys are trying to screen for two key types of bias: strong feelings about guns and strong feelings about Baldwin.

Baldwin’s public image — including his brash, liberal politics and his long-running impression of former President Trump on “Saturday Night Live” — can have a polarizing effect.

The court is screening a pool of 70 people, of whom 12 will serve on the jury and four will be seated as alternates.

Baldwin was holding a replica of a vintage Colt .45 revolver when it fired during preparation for a scene in October 2021. He has maintained that he did not pull the trigger, but prosecutors have hired experts to show that the gun would not have fired without a trigger pull.

The “Rust” case has been heavily publicized in New Mexico. The attorneys will try to find jurors who can keep an open mind and who have not already formed opinions about Baldwin’s guilt.

The trial is scheduled to begin with opening statements on Wednesday, and to conclude on July 19.

Baldwin and his legal team arrived at the Judge Steve Herrera Judicial Complex in a pair of black Chevy Suburbans around 8 a.m. Tuesday. Baldwin’s wife Hilaria was also present, along with the couple’s infant child, whom she handed off to a nanny before entering the courthouse.

Baldwin and his lawyers ran a gauntlet of dozens of reporters and photographers on their way inside, and did not respond to shouted questions.

Baldwin paid close attention during a daylong pre-trial hearing on Monday. At the hearing, Marlowe Sommer excluded evidence of Baldwin’s role as a producer, making it harder for prosecutors to blame him for systemic safety issues on set.

The defense attorneys filed their proposed jury instructions on Tuesday, in which they seek to make clear to jurors that “criminal negligence” is a high bar. One of the proposed instructions would specify that in order to find Baldwin guilty, the jury must find that his conduct was “more than merely negligent or careless,” and that he “consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk.”

Another proposed instruction would state that Baldwin must have been “subjectively aware” — that is, actually aware — of the risk of his actions, not just that he should have known of the risk. The standard instruction in New Mexico includes language that he “should have known” — but the defense has argued that the state Supreme Court has set a higher standard.

Marlowe Sommer has yet to rule on which instructions will be given to the jury, but she used the standard “should have known” instruction in the Gutierrez Reed trial.

Baldwin did not know that Gutierrez Reed had loaded a live bullet into his gun. Prosecutors will argue that he nevertheless violated set safety rules by pointing the gun at Hutchins and pulling the trigger.