Jury selection in Baldwin trial draws worldwide attention

SANTA FE — Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer asked about 70 prospective jurors in Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial on Tuesday to raise their hands if they had heard anything about the case from the media.

Nearly everyone in the jury pool responded that they had.

“Let me try this,” Marlowe Sommer said, before asking if anybody had not heard of the case. Only three prospective jurors responded that they had heard nothing about the Oct. 21, 2021, shooting on the set of the “Rust” movie set that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Attorneys selected 12 jurors and four alternates, including 11 women and five men, around 4:30 p.m. Opening statements are expected to begin Wednesday morning.

Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer of the movie, was rehearsing a scene on the set at Bonanza Creek Ranch near Santa Fe when the gun he was holding discharged, fatally shooting Hutchins, 42, and injuring director Joel Souza.

New Mexico is getting a rare taste of a celebrity trial this week as some 40 news organizations from around the world converged on Santa Fe for Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial.

Camera crews, many under tents, lined the east plaza of the Santa Fe Courthouse on Tuesday waiting for Baldwin and his attorneys to arrive and exit through the one public entrance.

After the jurors were selected, Marlowe Sommer gave them a stern warning to avoid any news reports, and reporters.

“The media may want to talk with you,” she said. “Ignore them.”

About 40 reporters sat in Marlowe Sommer’s courtroom watching on closed-camera video monitors as jury selection unfolded downstairs.

Baldwin was dressed in a gray suit and wearing dark horn-rimmed glasses, his short, graying hair neatly combed. He stood when his attorneys introduced him to the prospective jury panel.

Seated in the back row of the courtroom were Baldwin’s wife, Hilaria Baldwin, and brother, actor Stephen Baldwin.

Audio problems in the jury assembly room required moving jury selection to another room, delaying the process until about 11:30 a.m.

Special prosecutor Kari Morrissey began her questioning by setting out the objective of jury selection as getting a fair and impartial jury.

“We also want to get jurors who can be fair to Mr. Baldwin,” Morrissey said.

Most prospective jurors said they had read or heard coverage but could listen to the facts and reach a fair verdict.

“I’m not a fan of the media,” one man told Morrissey.

“That makes two of us,” Morrissey responded.

At least 15 people expressed discomfort serving as jurors for reasons ranging from medical problems, job pressure and child-care issues.

Morrissey also asked each juror if they owned a firearm and if they had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

“I hate guns,” one woman responded. Another said he would like to see closer regulations on automatic weapons.

Baldwin’s attorney, Alex Spiro, told prospective jurors to put aside their perceptions of Baldwin as an actor and media figure.

“There is a man who is sitting here,” he said, gesturing to Baldwin. “He’s obviously not just a person in the media. He’s a real person.” Jurors need to set aside their perceptions of Baldwin, he said.

“Maybe he played a role in a movie you didn’t like?” Spiro said. “Maybe he did a comedy routine or imitation you didn’t like?”

Spiro also asked several questions of prospective jurors as a group: Is everybody comfortable with the idea that someone using a firearm trusts and relies on an expert? Does anyone have such a strong opinion about gun safety that it could influence their ability to judge Baldwin fairly?

Prospective jurors who expressed misgivings about the case were asked to approach the judges bench for a private conversation with Morrissey and Spiro.