SANTA FE, N.M – In an early legal win for actor Alec Baldwin, the judge presiding over his New Mexico involuntary manslaughter trial ruled Monday that prosecutors can’t introduce evidence of his status as a producer on the film «Rust.»
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer granted the defense’s request to bar the state from introducing testimony about how Baldwin’s role as a producer of the Western film «Rust» allegedly allowed him to act recklessly and flout gun safety protocols.
«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 these things wrong,» the judge said at a hearing in Santa Fe’s First Judicial District Court. «The probative value is not substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice and confusion to jurors.»
New Mexico prosecutors claim Alec Baldwin was «reckless» on the «Rust» film set. (Santa Fe County Sheriffs Dept./New Mexico Courts)
Baldwin accidentally fired a gun that was mistakenly loaded with a live round on the film’s set in October 2021, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. He has pleaded not guilty.
The judge’s decision was a significant blow to the prosecution’s case. Baldwin, who was seated at the defense table, didn’t react to the ruling.
Prosecutors have argued that as producer of the film and the most experienced member of the cast, he was ultimately responsible for reckless behavior on the set.
ALEC BALDWIN ‘RUST’ TRIAL: ACTOR SAUNTERS INTO COURT FOR PRETRIAL HEARING
Alec Baldwin arrives at the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Monday, July 8, 2024. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital)
«Defendant’s 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,» special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson argued in court papers. «Mr. Baldwin’s role as producer also made him keenly aware of his duties to observe set safety rules and orderly conduct on set.»
Baldwin, Johnson contended, should have been aware that he was being «reckless and wanton» when he pointed the gun at Hutchins.
Alec Baldwin with his attorney, Luke Nikas, departs the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Monday, July 8, 2024. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital )
Sommer’s ruling also blocks prosecutors from presenting potentially unflattering videos of Baldwin rushing staffers and barking orders at them.
Aerial photo of the church where Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed on the «Rust» movie set. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Defense lawyer Luke Nikas argued that Baldwin’s role as producer is irrelevant to the allegations against him and would only confuse the jury.
During a brief break after Sommer handed down her ruling, special prosecutor Kari Morrissey dismissed the importance of the decision and said she was not «particularly concerned.»
Alec Baldwin leaves court in a suit. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital )
The judge ruled on more than two dozen motions Monday, delivering several blows to the defense.
Sommer told defense lawyers they won’t be allowed to introduce the findings of an investigation from the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau that primarily blamed the film’s management team for failing to follow national gun safety protocols.
Nikas has described the report as exonerating Baldwin.
Actor Alec Baldwin, right, sits in a First Judicial District Courtroom in Santa Fe, N.M., next to attorney Alex Spiro for a preliminary hearing on Monday, July 8, 2024. (Luis Sánchez Saturno/The New Mexican)
Over the objection of the defense, the judge is allowing prosecutors to present graphic images of Hutchins’ injuries and the chaotic aftermath of the shooting at trial.
Sommer ruled that evidence intended to show that Baldwin was remorseful and that the tragedy had impacted his family can’t come in.
The movie’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, was convicted at trial of the same charge Baldwin is facing and is currently serving an 18-month sentence. She unknowingly loaded the live round into the revolver.
Jury selection for Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial is set to begin tomorrow, nearly three years after the fatal shooting of «Rust» cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. (Derek Shook for Fox News Digital )
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Fox News Digital’s Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.
