ALEC Baldwin appeared relax when he entered court for his pre-trial hearing on Monday morning.
The actor walked into the New Mexico courthouse clutching a tote bag ahead of his trial for the accidental shooting of cinematographer Haylna Hutchins.
Alec Baldwin arrived at a Santa Fe courthouse for the pre-trial of his involuntary manslaughter caseDerek Shook for Fox News Digital
Baldwin didn’t respond to reporter’s questions as he walked into the courthouseDerek Shook for Fox News Digital
ReutersBaldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter for the death of Rust cinematographer Haylna Hutchins[/caption]
In 2021, Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter after a gun he was holding on the set of his movie Rust accidentally fired and fatally hit Hutchins.
Baldwin casually stepped out of a black Suburban carrying a Barnes and Noble tote bag
The actor was wearing a dark suit with a blue shirt and tie underneath.
He was accompanied by his defense attorney Alex Spiro.
The 30-rock star did not address any reporters, Fox News Digital reported.
The actor was excused from the pre-trial hearing, but he chose to attend anyway.
Baldwin pleaded not guilty but still faces up to 18 months in jail if he gets convicted.
The SNL star stands by his original statement that he cocked the gun but didn’t pull the trigger.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer will be determining what evidence is admissible in his trial.
Jury selection for the case will begin on Tuesday.
In May, Baldwin’s lawyers asked that the charges be dropped against him, arguing that the actor’s due-process was violated, People reported.
His lawyers claimed that government agents testing the gun deprived the defense of the opportunity to conduct their own tests.
“Government agents knew that the firearm would not survive their clumsy ‘tests’ intact. They said so explicitly in emails,” attorneys for Baldwin wrote.
“The insistence of prosecutors eager to prove a celebrity’s guilt, they nevertheless blundered ahead without preserving the original state of the firearm through photographs, video or other means; without informing Baldwin or his counsel they were conducting destructive testing; and without any realistic prospect that bludgeoning the gun would reveal whether Baldwin had pulled the trigger on the day of the accident.”
Prosecutors responded to the defendant’s argument stating that the condition of the gun was carefully documented prior to testing and the testing did not violate any due-process.
Judge Sommer heard the arguments of the motion in late June and decided to uphold the charges against Baldwin.
“The Court finds and concludes that Defendant fails to establish that the State acted in bad faith when destroying certain internal components of the firearm in the course of the accidental discharge testing,” Sommer wrote.
The judge noted that the prosecution “must fully disclose the destructive nature of the firearm testing, the resulting loss, and its relevance and import to the jury.”
Only a couple of months prior to Baldwin’s attorneys filing a motion to dismiss the charges, Sommer sentenced another member involved in Hutchins death to 18 months in prison.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armourer for Rust, was in charge of the weapons on set and was charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Somer found Gutierrez-Reed guilty, but she is currently appealing the verdict.
Baldwin’s trial is set to begin as early as Wednesday.
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