Jury is seated in Alec Baldwin's involuntary manslaughter trial in New Mexico

Jury is seated in Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial in New Mexico

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Alec Baldwin arrives at court with wife Hilaria and baby, as jury selection begins in the actor’s involuntary manslaughter trial. (July 9)

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A dozen people were inside a movie set church the day Alec Baldwin shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza during a rehearsal for the Western film “Rust.” Now, almost three years later, Baldwin is standing trial on a charge of involuntary manslaughter.

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Actor Alec Baldwin leaves court after jury selection in his involuntary manslaughter trial, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Santa Fe, N.M. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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Actor Alec Baldwin leaves court after jury selection in his involuntary manslaughter trial, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Santa Fe, N.M. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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Actor Alec Baldwin leaves court after jury selection in his involuntary manslaughter trial, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Santa Fe, N.M. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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Prosecutor Kari Morrissey leaves court after jury selection in Actor Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Santa Fe, N.M. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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Actor Alec Baldwin, right, and attorney Luke Nikas, leave court after jury selection in Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Santa Fe, N.M. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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Prosecutors Kari Morrissey, left, and Erlinda Ocampo Johnson, right, arrive for jury selection in Actor Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Santa Fe, N.M. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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Actor Alec Baldwin, right, and attorney Luke Nikas, arrive for jury selection in his involuntary manslaughter trial, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Santa Fe, N.M. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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Actor Alec Baldwin, right, and attorney Luke Nikas, arrive for jury selection in his involuntary manslaughter trial, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Santa Fe, N.M. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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Actor Stephen Baldwin, brother of actor Alec Baldwin, exits the courthouse, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Santa Fe, N.M. Baldwin was at the court for the jury selection of Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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Actor Alec Baldwin, left, sits with his lawyer Luke Nikas, in District Court in Santa Fe, N.M., Monday, July 8, 2024, during a preliminary hearing in his involuntary manslaughter trial over a fatal shooting on the set of the film, “Rust.” (Luis Sánchez Saturno/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP)

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Alec Baldwin wipes his eyes during a pretrial hearing, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Santa Fe, N.M. The actor’s involuntary manslaughter trial starts July 9 with jury selection. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool)

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The media gathers outside of the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico where Alec Baldwin participated in a pretrial hearing, Monday, July 8, 2024, in Santa Fe, NM. Baldwin is facing a single charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a cinematographer. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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Lawyers Alex Spiro, from left, actor Alec Baldwin, Luke Nikas and Heather LeBlanc participate in a pretrial hearing in Santa Fe, N.M., on Monday, July 8, 2024. Baldwin is facing a single charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a cinematographer. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool)

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Attorney Alex Spiro, left, sits next to his client, actor Alec Baldwin in District Court in Santa Fe, N.M., during a preliminary hearing on Monday, July 8, 2024. Baldwin faces a single charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a cinematographer on the set of the film, “Rust.” (Luis Sánchez Saturno/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP)

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Actor Alec Baldwin sits in District Court in Santa Fe, N.M., during a preliminary hearing for the “Rust” trial on Monday, July 8, 2024. Baldwin faces a single charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a cinematographer on the set of the film, “Rust.” He has pleaded not guilty. (Luis Sánchez Saturno/Santa Fe New Mexican via AP)

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Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer listens during a pretrial hearing in Santa Fe, N.M., on Monday, July 8, 2024. Alec Baldwin is facing a single charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool)

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Actor Alec Baldwin, right, and attorney Luke Nikas, are escorted by deputies as they leave court after jury selection in Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial, Tuesday, July 9, 2024, in Santa Fe, N.M. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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By MORGAN LEE and ANDREW DALTON

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Sixteen jurors were seated Tuesday for Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial in New Mexico, where opening statements are set to start Wednesday.

Five men and 11 women were chosen by Santa Fe County special prosecutors and the actor’s team of defense attorneys. Twelve will be designated as the jury and four as alternates by the court only after they hear the case.

They’ll be tasked with deciding whether Baldwin committed the felony when, during a rehearsal in October 2021, a revolver went off while he was pointing it at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. They were on the set of the Western film “Rust,” at Bonanza Creek Ranch some 18 miles (29 kilometers) from where the trial is being held.

Media members were not allowed in the courtroom when attorneys used their challenges to strike jurors. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer swore in the jury, told them to avoid news about the case and to report Wednesday morning.

Baldwin, 66, could get up to 18 months in prison if the jurors unanimously find him guilty.

The selection got off to a slow start Tuesday with a delay of over two hours due to technical problems, but the panel was selected in a single day as expected.

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When Marlowe Sommer asked the pool of 70 possible jurors if they were familiar with the case, all but two raised their hands to indicate they were.

Two others indicated they would not be able to be fair and impartial and were excused.

Baldwin, the star of “30 Rock” and “The Hunt for Red October” and a major Hollywood figure for 35 years, sat in the courtroom with a team of four of his lawyers, dressed in a gray suit, dark tie, white shirt with glasses and neatly combed hair.

His wife, Hilaria Baldwin, and his brother, “The Usual Suspects” actor Stephen Baldwin, were seated in the back of the courtroom.

Under questioning from prosecutor Kari Morrissey, a potential juror said she hates firearms, but many others acknowledged owning them and few people expressed strong opinions about guns.

Baldwin’s lawyer Alex Spiro in his questioning highlighted the gravity of the situation — “obviously someone lost their life” — and asked jurors to come forward with any reservations about their own ability to be fair and impartial.

“Does anyone have that view, even in the slightest?” Spiro asked the group.

He asked them to come forward if they’d shared opinions about the case online. None did.

Spiro asked if any of them had strong opinions on gun safety, and whether a person can rely on an expert to ensure the safety of a gun, not just themselves.

Several said they always treat a gun as if it were loaded. One man said he was taught to respect and treat guns the same way, but also deferred to an instructor during instruction he got for a concealed carry permit.

Spiro also asked whether jurors were comfortable questioning the judgment of law enforcement officials, even those testifying under oath.

He asked whether any knew potential witnesses, and several said they knew Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza, who is on the prosecution’s witness list.

Getting chosen to serve in a trial of such a major star accused of such a major crime would be unusual even in Los Angeles or Baldwin’s hometown of New York. But it will be essentially an unheard-of experience for those who are picked as jurors in Santa Fe, New Mexico, though in recent years the state has increasingly become a hub of Hollywood production.

Baldwin and his wife arrived at the courthouse early with their youngest child, Ilaria Catalina Irena Baldwin. The couple have seven children, ranging in ages from 1 to 10.

Baldwin has said the gun fired accidentally after he followed instructions to point it toward Hutchins, who was behind the camera. Unaware that the gun contained a live round, Baldwin said he pulled back the hammer — not the trigger — and it fired.

Hutchins was considered a rising star in film photography when she was killed at age 42. She was the mother of a young son who grew up on a remote Soviet military base and worked on documentary films in Eastern Europe before studying film in Los Angeles and embarking on a movie-making career.

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Dalton reported from Los Angeles.

___ For more coverage of Alec Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter trial, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/alec-baldwin