Who’s who in the Alec Baldwin trial

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — It’s a role actor Alec Baldwin presumably never wanted: Defendant.

Baldwin will stand trial in New Mexico beginning this week. He has pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was shot on set as Baldwin and others were rehearsing a scene for their film “Rust.”

The one count against Baldwin is described in court documents as “negligent use of a firearm.” An alternative count alleges Baldwin caused Hutchins’ death without due caution or circumspection, as “an act committed with the total disregard or indifference to the safety of others.”

With testimony expected to start as early as Wednesday, here are some of the key figures connected to the trial.

Halyna Hutchins

A journalist turned promising cinematographer, Hutchins was 42 at the time of her death. A native of Ukraine, Hutchins worked as an investigative journalist with British documentary productions in Europe, where she did feature documentaries for the BBC and Discovery. She lived in New York City, where she found a love for photography, before moving to Los Angeles.

After taking a UCLA extension course for directing Hutchins quickly figured out she loved cinematography more than directing, according to an interview for “Why Women Are Excelling in Hollywood” posted on YouTube months before her death. 

Hutchins is survived by her husband, Matthew, and their young son.

Alec Baldwin

Baldwin, 66, held the prop gun that fired a live round of ammunition that hit Hutchins on October 21, 2021. The gun had been announced as “cold” or unloaded on set, according to investigation documents, before the Colt 45 was handed to Baldwin.

The director of the movie told authorities that Baldwin was practicing drawing his gun when it was fired, according to information in 2021 affidavit for a search warrant.

“That she died, that’s the worst thing of all. Somebody died, and it was avoidable. It was so unnecessary,” Baldwin said of Hutchins’ death in a 2022 interview with CNN. “Every day of my life I think about that. ”

The Academy Award-nominated actor is also among the producers on the western drama “Rust.”

Prosecutors contend Baldwin improperly handled the gun on the Bonanza Creek Ranch set.

Luke Nikas

Nikas is serving as Baldwin’s lead defense attorney. He is employed by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan LLP, which is one of the largest law firms in the world. Nikas is a graduate of Harvard Law School and based in New York.

He has filed several motions to dismiss the case on behalf of Baldwin, the most recent of which was denied last week.

Nikas has previously told CNN they “look forward” to their day in court.

Kari Morrissey

Morrissey is the lead special prosecutor who will present the state of New Mexico’s case against Baldwin. She has practiced law in the state for more than 20 years. Morrissey took over the case in 2023, dropped the charges against Baldwin and then later refiled them, citing “additional facts” in the case.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer

Marlowe Sommer was appointed to the First Judicial District Court in 2010 by then-New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

Prior to becoming a judge, she served as a court clerk, defense attorney and a hearing officer. She presided over the high-interest trial of Hannah Gutierrez Reed, during which she kept to a succinct schedule.

Hannah Gutierrez Reed

Hannah Gutierrez Reed was the armorer for “Rust.” She was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in March for Hutchins’ death and sentenced to 18 months in prison, the maximum possible punishment.

“I did not hear you take accountability in your allocution. You said you were sorry but not (that) you were sorry for what you did,” Judge Marlowe Sommer said in announcing her sentence.

“You alone turned a safe weapon into a lethal weapon,” the judge said. “But for you, Ms. Hutchins would be alive, a husband would have his partner and a little boy would have his mother.”

Joel Souza

Souza, the director and screenwriter of “Rust” film, was also shot on set in the 2021 incident.

“It felt like someone had taken a baseball bat to my shoulder, I remember that distinctly,” Souza testified in the Gutierrez Reed trial.

Souza had been standing directly behind cinematographer Hutchins, trying to get a closer look at the shot in the film’s camera.

“I distinctly remember (Hutchins) being lowered to the ground, people had her sort of on either side. I still didn’t know what had happened. Nothing made sense,” he testified. “I remember initially thinking, ‘Had she been startled by it?’ and then I saw the blood on her back.”

David Halls

Halls was the assistant director on “Rust” who handed Baldwin the firearm on set the day Hutchins and Souza were shot. Halls signed a plea agreement in 2023 “for the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.” Prosecutors said the terms of his deal included six months of probation and a suspended sentence.

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