SANTA FE, N.M. — Jury selection got underway on Wednesday in the trial of Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the film armorer charged with involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 fatal accident on the set of “Rust.”
Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer began the questioning by asking the pool of 70 potential jurors to raise their hands if they had seen media coverage of the case. Most hands went up.
Kari Morrissey, one of two special prosecutors, also focused on media coverage in her opening question.
“Because of all the press coverage, that makes it difficult to get a fair and impartial jury,” Morrissey said. “All of us can agree that frequently the press gets it wrong.”
Gutierrez Reed faces up to three years in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering. She is accused of loading a live bullet into Alec Baldwin‘s gun, which should have contained only inert dummy rounds. The mistake led to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.
She is also accused of handing off a small bag of cocaine to an acquaintance after the shooting, in an alleged effort to hide evidence that she was impaired during filming.
Media were initially able to watch jury selection via a video feed to a nearby room at the Santa Fe courthouse. After about 15 minutes, the feed was muted to allow for questioning in private.
Opening statements are expected to begin on Thursday. The trial is expected to run about two weeks.
The prosecution is expected to call members of the film crew, Sheriff’s investigators, and film armorer Bryan Carpenter, who will serve as the state’s expert. The state is also expected to introduce photos and text messages from Gutierrez Reed’s phone to show that she was smoking marijuana while in possession of ammunition for the film.
The defense has said it will call Thell Reed, a veteran film armorer who is also Gutierrez Reed’s stepfather. The defense has also indicated it will call the bureau chief of the New Mexico division of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The agency conducted an investigation that placed blame on supervisors — and not on Gutierrez Reed — for sloppy safety standards on set.
To prove its case, the state will have to show that Gutierrez Reed acted with “willful disregard for the safety of others.” The case may come down to a war of experts over safety standards in the film industry, and what steps should have been taken to ensure there were no live rounds on set.
A joint labor-management committee recently updated industry guidelines for handling of firearms in response to the “Rust” tragedy. Among other things, the new guidelines specify that dummy rounds should have a BB inside, which rattles when shaken. The prior guidelines made no mention of dummy rounds, and focused largely on safe handling of blank ammunition.
Baldwin has also been indicted on involuntary manslaughter charges for negligently firing his Colt .45 while preparing for a scene. He has denied pulling the trigger. At a hearing on Tuesday, the judge indicated she likely would schedule his trial for either June or July.
At the hearing, Baldwin’s attorney, Alex Spiro, indicated that he would move to throw out the indictment. He argued that Judge Glenn Ellington had issued certain orders during the confidential grand jury proceeding that were “ignored and violated.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Spiro said. “I believe there’s a reasonable chance your honor tosses this case, and if does not toss it, greatly limits it. The faster we can get those motions before you, the faster this case may end.”
In the Gutierrez Reed case, the prosecutors made unsuccessful efforts in recent weeks to obtain a plea that would avoid a trial.
Court filings show that Morrissey offered a “favorable resolution” if Gutierrez Reed would take responsibility for bringing live bullets to the “Rust” set. Gutierrez Reed has denied bringing the live rounds, and blamed Seth Kenney, the ammunition supplier.
The specific terms of the plea offer have not been made public. The defense refused the deal.
Morrissey filed a motion on Feb. 7 asking the judge to intervene in plea negotiations. She asked for a sealed hearing in which the judge would “make certain inquiries of the defendant.” She argued that the hearing was necessary to “ensure that the defendant has been properly counseled.”
Jason Bowles, Gutierrez Reed’s defense lawyer, said in an email that the prosecutor was “essentially trying to force a deal on Hannah which isn’t happening. We are going to trial.”
Marlowe Sommer denied the prosecution’s request in a terse order last Friday, saying the motion was “not well taken.”
Two New Mexico attorneys said the proposed hearing would have been unusual.
“They’re not supposed to involve the court in plea negotiations at all,” said Jennifer Burrill, a criminal defense attorney.
Stephen Aarons, another defense attorney, said he had never heard of such a hearing, in which the judge would effectively go around the defense attorney to speak directly with the client.
“These are highly skilled, experienced defense lawyers,” Aarons said. “You gotta believe they talk to their client all the time.”
