Courtroom filled to capacity as opening arguments begin in Alec Baldwin trial

Nonsense, Baldwin attorney Alex Spiro countered during his opening statement.

“This is an unspeakable tragedy, but Mr. Baldwin committed no crime,” he told the court. “These cardinal rules are not cardinal rules on a movie set. On a movie set, safety has to occur before a gun is placed in an actor’s hands.”

An actor’s job is to act, and that’s what Baldwin was doing, Spiro emphasized, adding his client had no responsibility to check the gun.

“Actors don’t check weapons,” Spiro said.

The contrast between what constitutes proper gun handling on a movie set versus what constitutes proper gun handling in all situations was on full display Wednesday, as lawyers for both sides laid out their versions of what happened Oct. 21, 2021, when Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally wounded on a movie set south of Santa Fe.

The lawyers’ audience was global — the trial is being broadcast on cable TV and followed by media outlets around the world. But the legal stage was the relatively small courtroom in the First District Courthouse, packed by throngs of lawyers, journalists and spectators.

Some trial-watchers jockeyed for position on the benches in the gallery, filled to capacity in anticipation of the parties laying out their cases for the first time in public.

Baldwin’s team, nearly 10 people deep, wheeled in bankers boxes full of documents and cases of bottled water as the actor, dressed in a dark suit and lavender shirt, took his place at the defense table.

In contrast, at the table for the state’s team: two special prosecutors and the lead detective from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.

Throughout their openings, Spiro and Johnson drew stark distinctions.

Spiro told the jury it was the job of others — armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed and assistant director Dave Halls — to ensure the Colt .45 replica pistol was safe and they let him down.

When Baldwin was handed the weapon and told it was a “cold gun,” he had no reason to believe the weapon was dangerous to anyone, Spiro argued.

What happened was not “foreseeable” as prosecutors argue, the attorney said. Rather, “it was anything but foreseeable.”

The real questions, Spiro said, are how live ammunition made it onto the set and why the armorer loaded a real bullet into the gun Baldwin was using in the scene.

There is “no evidence [Baldwin] had anything to do with the real bullet being on set or loaded into the gun,” Spiro said.

But Johnson contended Baldwin hired an inexperienced armorer to handle guns and ammunition on the set; asked to use the biggest gun; horsed around during a firearms training; and then, during a scene walkthrough, cocked the weapon’s hammer and pointed the pistol “straight at Ms. Hutchins and fires that gun, sending that live bullet right into Ms. Hutchins’ body.”

After the incident, Baldwin said he didn’t pull the trigger, Johnson said, adding, “That’s not possible.”

The state will present evidence showing the gun was in good working order and wouldn’t have fired otherwise, she said.

Spiro’s opening statement was on the theatrical side. In it, he evoked what he called the “magic” of moviemaking, even telling jurors the first moviemakers were magicians, contending it was up to other crew members to make sure it was safe for Baldwin to use.

“In this case … the prop gun was placed in Mr. Baldwin’s hands, and ‘cold gun’ was announced, meaning it was checked and double-checked by those responsible to ensure the gun was safe,” Spiro said.

“It was just a prop. They all thought it was just a prop and could do no harm. The actor’s job is to act, to rehearse, to choreograph his moves, to memorize his lines. He’s Harland Rust. He’s an outlaw running for his life. … He’s pulling a six-shooter to try to defend himself. That’s why the gun has to be safe before it gets into the actor’s hands. His mind is somewhere else, in the being of another, a century away, an outlaw. He must be able to take that weapon and use it as the person he’s acting would, to wave it, to point it, to pull the trigger like actors would in ways that would be lethal in the real world, but are not lethal on a movie set.”

Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to the fourth-degree felony charge, which carries a penalty of 18 months of incarceration.

Earlier this year, a jury convicted Gutierrez-Reed of involuntary manslaughter. She’s serving her sentence in a state prison near Grants. Halls pleaded no contest in 2023 to negligent use of a deadly weapon in connection with the incident. He was sentenced to six months probation.

Baldwin’s trial is expected to last through July 19.