Alec Baldwin Trial Jury Selection Begins-Legal Analyst Explains

[Source: Morning on Merit Street]

Celebrity lawyer Christopher C. Melcher, who is ranked as a best family law attorney in CA, explains that the jury selection for Alec Baldwin‘s involuntary manslaughter trial begins today and what the trial might entail on Morning on Merit Street.

Fanchon Stinger: All right, the case against Alec Baldwin getting underway today, in fact, jurors will now decide if he is criminally responsible for the 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of his Western movie, Rust.

Dominique Sachse: The actor is charged with involuntary manslaughter and jury selection in his trial gets underway today in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Alec Baldwin’s Rust Producer Role

Fanchon Stinger: Chris Melcher is a celebrity attorney and legal analyst. He will cover the trial for Court TV. He is joining us live this morning from Santa Fe. Chris, good morning. Thank you for being with us. Yesterday, we heard the judge ruled that Baldwin’s role as a producer of this film is not relevant to the criminal case. Why is that being called a setback for prosecutors?

Chris Melcher: Well, when Alec Baldwin handled this gun and it was a real gun and pointed it at two people, he was in a dual role in this Rust shooting. He was not only an actor, but he was also a co-producer of this film. Under industry guidelines, it’s the producer who is ultimately responsible for the safety on the set and they delegate down to the prop master and the armorer, the responsibility for the safe handling of firearms. He was not just a producer in name only. He was shown to have exercised some authority on that set in bossing people around. But the court felt that it would be confusing to the jury to hear about that evidence, so it limited the evidence to his duty as an actor in handling the gun.

Dominique Sachse: Interesting. Chris, as you know, the judge did clear the way for firearms experts to testify for the prosecution about Baldwin’s handling of the gun. Let’s first listen to what the actor said to ABC News just a few weeks after the shooting and then we’ll respond.

Alec Baldwin’s Gun Trigger Claims

George Stephanopoulos: It wasn’t in the script for the trigger to be pulled in the Rust Film. Alec Baldwin: Well, the trigger wasn’t pulled. I didn’t pull the trigger. George Stephanopoulos: So you never pulled the trigger?

Alec Baldwin: No, no, no, no. I would never point a gun at anyone and pull a trigger at them, never.

Dominique Sachse: Now, FBI forensic experts have reported that the gun could not have fired without the pulling of the trigger. How key is this to the case?

Alec Baldwin Not Taking Responsibility

Chris Melcher: Well, it’s important I think more to Alec’s conscience because he can’t really accept the fact that he was responsible. But he did have possession of that gun without checking it, without anyone checking it for him. He pointed it at two people and the gun went off and the gun’s a machine, it doesn’t go off spontaneously. Whether he pulled the trigger or not, he should have never pointed the gun or done anything with the gun without checking it first or having the armorer display to him visually and physically that gun was unloaded. To me, the finger on the trigger thing is not as important as the fact that he didn’t check that the gun was safe and that’s a cardinal rule of gun safety.

Fanchon Stinger: Well, of course you just mentioned the armorer on this film and we know that armorer was already convicted of involuntary manslaughter and is in fact serving an 18-month prison sentence. How might that affect Baldwin’s trial?

Alec Baldwin Refused Probationary Sentence

Chris Melcher: Well, Alec takes a substantial risk that he would get a similar sentence if he were convicted. Now the reporting is that he was offered a probationary sentence as David Halls, the first assistant director, who is also responsible here got probation. But Alec did not accept that deal, and I think his responsibility is different than the armorer. But if he’s convicted, I would imagine that the court would want to issue a similar sentence that Hannah got of 18 months.

Dominique Sachse: Chris, do you know if Alec Baldwin is expected to testify? And if so, how could that star factor affect jurors in general? I mean, we’ve seen that in trials past.

Chris Melcher: Well, that is a decision that he’ll make with his attorneys probably late in the trial after he assesses the prosecution evidence. I do think that he’s well-spoken, that there will be a star effect, and that he’s clearly damaged and distressed by what happened, and so that’s going to come across too. But he’s also made these statements to George Stephanopoulos in the ABC interview that he would be cross-examined on. I think he’s going to have to wait, see how it plays out, but my guess is he will take the stand.