Alec Baldwin Scores Major 'Rust' Trial Win Before Jury Selection Begins

Actor Alec Baldwin scored a major win in his "Rust" trial on Monday, even though jury selection does not begin until Tuesday, July 9.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer decided that the "30 Rock" actor's role as co-producer on the Western film cannot be entered into evidence, which hampers the prosecution's case against Baldwin, who has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Alec Baldwin is standing trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on October 21, 2021. Baldwin was holding a gun on the set of the Western film when it went off, fatally wounding Hutchins and hospitalizing director Joel Souza.

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed had her involuntary manslaughter trial earlier this year. It took a jury less than three months to find her guilty of involuntary manslaughter but acquitted her on a lesser charge of tampering with evidence. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer sentenced her to the state maximum of 18 months behind bars after prosecutors successfully argued that the rookie armorer accidentally mixed up live ammunition with dummy bullets.

During a hearing on Monday, July 8, only one day before jury selection, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer granted Alec Baldwin a major win in his "Rust" case when she decided that Baldwin’s role as a co-producer could not be entered as evidence into the trial.

“I’m having real difficulty with the state’s position that they want to show that as a producer he didn’t follow guidelines and therefore as an actor Mr. Baldwin did all of these things wrong that resulted in the death of Ms. Hutchins because as a producer he allowed these things to happen,” Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer declared today in a pre-trial motions hearing on Monday, according to Deadline.

Involuntary manslaughter is a fourth-degree felony in the state of New Mexico. As such, Baldwin could face up to 18 months behind bars and approximately $5,000 in fines. The trial is expected to take around two weeks, with the jury potentially getting the case as early as late next week if they are seated on Tuesday, July 9. That means that opening statements in the trial could begin on Wednesday, July 10. Baldwin's legal team has not made it clear whether or not the actor will take the stand to testify, although he has maintained that he never pulled the trigger in several interviews following the shooting.

The prosecution had been leaning into Baldwin's position as a producer on the set of "Rust," not an actor, and seemed ready to argue that his role as a producer allowed him to take over the production of "Rust" in terms of firearm safety and his own training. However, as of Monday, the judge took Baldwin's position as a producer off the table.

During Monday's hearing, special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson argued that Baldwin's role "As a producer made him keenly aware of his responsibility on set. In an earlier filing, Johnson had claimed that his role as a producer "emboldened him in the days before October 21, 2021, to engage in conduct that placed others, including Ms. Hutchins at risk, by rushing crew members and making demands for quick changes to scenes, sending crew members scrambling."

Johnson went on to claim that “Mr. Baldwin’s role as a producer also made him keenly aware of his duties to observe set safety rules and orderly conduct on set.” However, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer felt that Baldwin's role as a producer and an actor might be confusing for a jury.

“The probative value is not substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice and confusion to jurors,” Judge Sommer said during Monday's hearing.

Although Alec Baldwin did not testify during Hannah Gutierrez-Reed's trial, it remains unclear if she will testify in his. The 27-year-old daughter of veteran armorer Thell Reed is currently appealing her sentence and trying to get an early release after being sentenced to 18 months behind bars after allegedly putting live ammunition in the firearm that was then handed to Baldwin.

Although the rookie armorer is currently listed on the state's witness list, it is unlikely that she will testify. Last month, Judge Sommer decided that she would not force Hannah Gutierrez-Reed to testify after she invoked her Fifth Amendment right during a pre-trial interview for Baldwin's trial.