Alec Baldwin arrives in court for pretrial hearing in fatal 'Rust' film set shooting case
Actor Alec Baldwin made his first in-person appearance in a New Mexico courtroom just a day before his trial is expected to start in the case related to the death of Halyna Hutchins, who was shot and killed on the set of the film "Rust" nearly three years ago.
The appearance came as attorneys for both the State of New Mexico and for Baldwin argued motions that set the stage for the trial.
Motions heard in today's hearing are related to what evidence, testimony and arguments that can be heard by the jury.
Baldwin's legal team asked the court to exclude his producer role in the movie from consideration. Attorneys said it was irrelevant to the allegations of negligence, while prosecutors said Balwin's role as a producer could have caused him to act recklessly and disregard the safety of others.
Prosecutors also argued that the workplace safety investigation by the State of New Mexico was incomplete and should be excluded.
Baldwin's trial begins Tuesday with jury selection and opening statements on Wednesday. The trial is expected to last 10 days.
In Monday's hearing, Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer made determinations on the following motions:
Motion regarding Baldwin's prior handling of gun: Denied, in part & granted in part
Sommer ruled the prior handling of the firearm is relevant to include photos. The judge also ruled that yelling at the crew and telling them to "hurry up" was irrelevant to the trial.
Motion to exclude witness: Denied
The defense included a witness that the prosecution claimed was not disclosed before June 24. Prosecutors asked to exclude the witness because they were not provided with the statement he would be making and also claimed they had no opportunity to do a pretrial interview.
Baldwin's attorneys claim the state never requested a pretrial interview and have set an interview as a courtesy.
The court denied the state's motion and ruled that the witness would be available for a pretrial interview.
Use of Alec Baldwin's role as producer: Denied
The judge ruled that she was denying evidence of his status as a producer.
