The jury is currently being selected for Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial in Santa Fe.
The Departed actor’s trial over the accidental shooting of a cinematographer on the set of Rust is to take place on Tuesday.
If the Jury were to find Baldwin guilty of involuntary manslaughter, the actor could be facing up to 18 months in prison.
The incident took place in October of 2021 on the set of the western film Rust. The Hollywood actor was rehearsing a scene when the prop gun he was holding fired a live round. Cinematographer Hutchins was fatally shot in the chest. The director Joel Souza was also injured.
Baldwin has said that the incident was a complete accident and has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. He maintained that he had no idea that the prop contained a live round and said that he pulled back the gun’s hammer, not the trigger.
The trials judge, Judge Marlowe Summer, has said that the jury selection should happen quickly despite it being a celebrity trial.
“I’m not worried about being able to pick a jury in one day, I think we’re going to pick a jury by the afternoon.” she said.
Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey, was more sceptical about the upcoming selection saying at the hearing: “It is my guess that with this group of defence attorneys, that’s not going to happen,”
Alex Spiro, Baldwin’s attorney, replied to Morrissey’s scepticism stating “I’ve never not picked a jury in one day. I can’t imagine that this would be the first time.”
Judge Summer has said that she expects the first opening statements to take place on Wednesday.
The 66-year-old, who was also co-producing Rust, requested earlier this month that the charges be dismissed on the grounds of the prosecutors allowing for the destruction of evidence. This request was denied by the judge, who ruled that the Baldwin’s legal team was unable to prove that prosecutors acted in bad faith.
