Judge bars evidence of Alec Baldwin's role as co-producer

Actor Alec Baldwin’s role as co-producer of the movie “Rust” can’t be introduced by prosecutors in his trial on a charge of involuntary manslaughter, a Santa Fe judge ruled Monday.

As Baldwin watched from the defense table, prosecutors had argued that his role as co-producer made him responsible for the safety of all cast and crew on the “Rust” set.

Baldwin was holding a prop gun that fired during a rehearsal on the movie set near Santa Fe in 2021, fatally shooting cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza.

“On October 21 (2021), when he points that gun at Ms. Hutchins, he should know that, as a producer, he’s responsible for her safety,” special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson told Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer.

Jury selection in the 10-day trial is scheduled to begin Tuesday in 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe.

“We would respectfully ask that the court allow the introduction of the fact that he was a producer, and that as a producer, he has obligations to ensure the safety of others,” Johnson said at a daylong motion hearing.

“That is one of the things that producers are responsible for — safety on the set,” Johnson said.

Marlowe Sommer questioned prosecutors at length about their theory that Baldwin’s behavior as a co-producer contributed to Hutchins’ death.

“I’m denying evidence of his status as a producer,” Marlowe Sommer said in her ruling from the bench.

“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, resulting in the death of Halyna Hutchins,” the judge said.

Monday marks the first time that Baldwin appeared in person at the Santa Fe Courthouse. The gray-haired actor, wearing dark horn-rimmed glasses and a black suit, took notes and appeared to listen attentively to the arguments.

The movie’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez Reed, 27, was convicted on March 6 of involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins’ death following a closely watched trial in Santa Fe.

Testimony in that trial showed that Gutierrez Reed had loaded a single live round in the the prop Colt .45 revolver Baldwin was holding on Oct. 21, 2021, when it discharged.

On April 14, Marlowe Sommer sentenced Gutierrez Reed, who was 24 at the time of the shootings, to the maximum 18 months in prison.

Baldwin also faces a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison if a jury finds him guilty of the same charge.

Baldwin has argued that he was unaware the gun contained a live round and that he pulled back the hammer, but did not pull the trigger.

Marlowe Sommer also ruled she would allow only limited testimony about the danger posed by blank rounds on movie sets.

Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey argued that Baldwin clearly understood that real guns on movie sets are dangerous.

“The evidence in this case is that (Baldwin) knew that you can’t point a gun at someone and pull the trigger, because even if there’s not a live round, it might kill somebody,” Morrissey said.

“Real guns on movie sets, even if there’s not a live round, can kill people,” she said.

Baldwin’s attorneys filed a motion last month asking the judge to exclude testimony about the 1993 death of actor Brandon Lee, who was filming a scene for the movie “The Crow” when he was fatally shot by an improperly made dummy round.

Morrissey agreed Monday not to seek testimony about Lee’s fatal shooting but asked the judge to allow testimony showing that Baldwin knew prop guns are dangerous even if they don’t contain live rounds.

“The defense theory is this was a completely inert gun, and the only thing that made it a problem was the fact that there was a live round in it,” Morrissey said. “And that’s simply not true.”

In his interview with a Santa Fe County Sheriff’s detective, Baldwin speculated that Gutierrez Reed may have “commingled live rounds with her dummy rounds.” Morrissey said.

“He knew that there was a possibility that a live round could find its way on set,” Morrissey said. “He knows that these guns are dangerous.”

Baldwin’s attorney, Luke Nikas, responded that the prosecution’s case has always focused on Baldwin’s failure to check the gun for live ammunition.

Now on the eve of trial, prosecutors want to introduce the dangers of blank rounds, he said.

Hutchins “was not killed by a blank,” Nikas said. “She was killed by a live round.”

Marlowe Sommer said she would allow only the prosecution’s expert witness to briefly mention the dangers of blank rounds.

“I will not allow any testimony other than a one-sentence statement, probably by your expert, Ms. Morrissey, that says that blanks can also kill,” the judge said.

Marlowe Sommer also ruled that crew members called as witnesses can testify about perceived safety violations on the “Rust” set based on their experience with other movie productions.

But they can’t testify about safety regulations unless they qualify as expert witnesses on movie safety, she said.

“They can only testify about what they observed on set, on this set, and what they observed on other sets provided that they have a sufficient history to do so,” she said.