ALEC Baldwin appeared relaxed as he entered the courtroom for his pretrial hearing Monday morning.
The actor entered a Santa Fe, New Mexico courtroom holding a bag ahead of his trial for the accidental shooting of cinematographer Haylna Hutchins.
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In 2021, Baldwin was charged with manslaughter after a gun he was holding on the set of his film Rust accidentally went off and fatally struck Hutchins.
Baldwin casually exited a black Suburban carrying a Barnes and Noble bag.
The actor wore a dark suit with a blue shirt and tie underneath.
He was accompanied by his defense attorney Alex Spiro.
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The 30-year-old rock star did not address any reporters, Fox News Digital reported.
The actor was excused from the pre-trial hearing, but chose to attend anyway.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty but still faces up to 18 months in prison if convicted.
The SNL star stands by his original statement that he cocked the gun but did not pull the trigger.
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer will determine what evidence is admissible at his trial.
Jury selection in the case will begin Tuesday.
In May, Baldwin’s lawyers asked that the charges against him be dropped, arguing that the actor’s due process was violated. People reported.
His lawyers argued that the government agents who tested the weapon deprived the defense of the opportunity to conduct its own tests.
“Government agents knew the firearm would not survive their clumsy ‘tests’ intact. They said so explicitly in emails,” Baldwin’s lawyers wrote.
“Due to the insistence of prosecutors eager to prove a celebrity’s guilt, they nevertheless made mistakes without preserving the firearm’s original condition through photographs, videos, or other means; without informing Baldwin or his attorney, they were conducting destructive testing; and without any realistic prospect that beating the gun would reveal whether Baldwin pulled the trigger on the day of the accident.”
Prosecutors responded to the defendant’s argument by asserting that the condition of the weapon was carefully documented before testing and that the testing did not violate any due process.
Judge Sommer heard arguments in the motion in late June and decided to stay the charges against Baldwin.
“The Court finds and concludes that Defendant fails to establish that the State acted in bad faith in destroying certain internal components of the firearm during the accidental discharge test,” Sommer wrote.
The judge noted that the prosecution “must fully disclose to the jury the destructive nature of the firearm tests, the resulting loss, and its relevance and importance.”
Just months before Baldwin’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the charges, Sommer sentenced another member involved in Hutchins’ death to 18 months in prison.
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, Rust’s gunsmith, was responsible for the weapons on set and was charged with manslaughter.
Somer found Gutierrez-Reed guilty, but is currently appealing the verdict.
For Baldwin to face the same fate as Gutierrez-Reed, prosecutors must prove Baldwin’s negligent use of the firearm and that the actor acted with complete disregard for the safety of others, CBS News reported.
The actor’s defense attorneys are expected to argue that it is not the actor’s job to ensure there are no live bullets in his gun, an argument supported by the Screen Actors Guild.
Baldwin’s trial is scheduled to begin Wednesday and will likely end next Friday.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
