Alec Baldwin, 66, makes his first court appearance in New Mexico - but leaves Hilaria at home in New York - as Rust involuntary manslaughter trial set to begin

Alec Baldwin appeared in a New Mexico court on Monday ahead of his manslaughter trial over a fatal shooting on the set of his Western film 'Rust'. 

Baldwin, 66, is facing a single felony count of involuntary manslaughter and up to 18 months behind bars following the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. 

In court on Monday, Baldwin sat between his attorneys and thumbed through papers, wearing glasses and close-cropped hair. 

The trial is set to start tomorrow with jury selection and is scheduled to last ten days. 

While the actor sat in court, his wife Hilaria was spotted alongside their daughter Carmen picking up lunch in New York City.

In October 2021, Baldwin was rehearsing a cross-draw maneuver with the revolver when the gun went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. 

Baldwin has pleaded not guilty and claims the gun accidentally fired after he pointed it toward Hutchins and pulled back the hammer, when it fired.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer has ruled that his role as a co-producer isn't relevant to the trial, siding with his defense attorneys.

Judge Sommer said told the court: 'I'm having real difficulty with the state's position that they want to show that as a producer he didn't follow guidelines and therefore as an actor Mr. Baldwin did all of these things wrong that resulted in the death of Ms. Hutchins because as a producer he allowed these things to happen.

'I'm denying evidence of his status as a producer.'

Special prosecutor Erlinda Johnson argued unsuccessfully to allow evidence that Baldwin's 'role as a producer made him keenly aware of his responsibilities on set' for safety.

'It goes to Mr. Baldwin's knowledge, knowing that his conduct on set was negligent,' she said. 

Last week, the judge cleared the way for crucial firearms experts for the prosecution to testify about Baldwin's handling of the revolver and whether the gun was functioning properly prior to the fatal shooting.

Prosecutors have argued that a state workplace safety investigation, which found serious violations on set, was incomplete, untrustworthy and should be prohibited from the trial.

In April of this year, Hannah Guttierez-Reed, the armorer on set, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Hutchins's death and sentenced to 18 months. 

The night before the incident, six members of the camera crew quit because of their concerns over safety.

The jury heard that Baldwin commissioned director Souza to write the script, which he owned the rights to. Baldwin was the lead actor on the movie and was also a producer.

The court heard that Baldwin himself made the set unsafe by waving his gun like a 'pointing stick' at people.  

The FBI conducted an accidental discharge test on the gun by striking it from several angles with a rawhide mallet, eventually breaking the gun.

Prosecutors plan to present evidence at trial that they say shows the firearm 'could not have fired absent a pull of the trigger' and was working properly before the shooting.

Baldwin has twice been charged in Hutchins's death. Prosecutors dismissed an earlier charge, then refiled it after receiving a new analysis of the revolver that Baldwin pointed at Hutchins.

Since the 2021 shooting, the filming of Rust resumed but moved to Montana under an agreement with Hutchins's husband, Matthew Hutchins, which made him an executive producer.

The completed movie has not yet been released for public viewing.