Hand over his mouth, Baldwin watched the video of himself with the gun... JAN MOIR is in court as the Hollywood actor's trial over fatal shooting gets under way

At 8am, pinch nan somesthesia already creeping past 70 degrees, Alec Baldwin, accompanied by his woman Hilaria and his posse of booted and suited lawyers, arrived astatine tribunal successful Santa Fe.

Who knows what nan strategy is, but Hilaria has taken to stepping into nan courthouse separately from her husband, moving quickly crossed nan plaza pinch her yoga queen slink and her glossy hairsbreadth swinging, ignoring each questions from reporters.

Still impaired by a caller hep operation, Baldwin’s advancement is slower and much sluggish. Heavy of tone and trundling of gait, he looks for illustration a man pinch nan weight of nan world connected his shoulders. As good he might.

Baldwin is charged pinch involuntary manslaughter successful nan decease of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins connected his movie Rust successful October 2021.

On group astatine nan Bonanza Creek movie ranch 20 miles southbound of Santa Fe, he was pointing a weapon astatine Hutchins during a rehearsal wrong a religion erstwhile it went off, sidesplitting her and wounding head Joel Souza. Baldwin has pleaded not blameworthy to nan charge.

In his curdled honour, nan accustomed ­circus had assembled extracurricular nan court, wherever 41 news organisations from astir nan world are credentialed to screen nan event.

Giving interviews successful their midst was 83-year-old Gloria Allred, nan high-profile lawyer who has been representing nan victim’s family. Allred held up a photograph of Hutchins successful silent accusation, explaining that her family could not recreation from their autochthonal Ukraine because of nan war.

She is representing them successful a civilian suit they person revenge against Mr Baldwin and expressed immoderate dismay complete his upcoming reality show, The Baldwins. ‘This is not a reality show!’ she cried, adding that it would beryllium ‘sick’ if he were to see moments from this proceedings successful his caller series. To beryllium fair, location is perfectly nary grounds that this is his intention.

Inside nan courtroom we were soon connected to opening statements successful nan first time of nan 66-year-old actor’s trial.

Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, nan young Rust armourer responsible for connected group weapon safety, is already down bars aft being charged pinch nan aforesaid offence.

She is presently appealing her sentence, but nan prosecution wasted nary clip successful blaming him for her deficiency of information checks and weapon protocols. 

‘Each clip he handled this weapon he did not do a information cheque pinch this inexperienced armourer and nan logic he did not do this was because he didn’t want to offend her,’ claimed charismatic Erlinda Ocampo Johnson. 

‘He violated nan cardinal rules of weapon safety.’ 

For nan defence, Alex Spiro said: ‘This was an unspeakable tragedy, but Alec Baldwin committed nary crime. 

He was an character acting.’ Spiro countered that nan aged adage saying you should ne'er constituent a weapon astatine personification unless you intend to sprout them does not use here.

‘These cardinal rules are not cardinal rules connected a movie set. In films we spot group pointing guns astatine each different each nan time.’

Then he went disconnected connected a cheesy small rap astir really films had to make it look real, baby.

‘The stuntman must leap. The snake must hiss,’ he blathered earlier nan prosecution objected and he moved on, asking nan assemblage to make a separation betwixt Alec Baldwin nan character and Alec Baldwin nan person.

The assemblage was shown footage of formed and unit rehearsing nan fateful scene. There was Alec Baldwin successful costume arsenic nan outlaw Harland Rust, complete pinch Stetson connected his caput and rascally beard, pulling nan weapon retired from his enarthrosis holster, again and again.

At nan defence array Alec Baldwin, nan person, observed this pinch his manus complete his mouth. A fewer rows down him, his woman Hilaria learned guardant successful her seat, chin resting successful her hands, watching avidly.

From my spot successful nan courtroom property benches, it seemed evident that Baldwin’s digit was connected nan trigger. In nan past, Baldwin has denied pulling nan trigger, a important but disputed facet successful his case.

‘The grounds you will perceive is that is not possible, nan weapon will not discharge without pulling that trigger,’ said Johnson for nan prosecution. ‘Even if he did,’ said Spiro for nan defence, ‘that would only make his connection incorrect. That doesn’t make him blameworthy of homicide.’ Towards nan extremity of nan greeting convention location was a reminder of nan calamity astatine nan bosom of this case.

We were shown disturbing first responder lapel-cam footage of 42-year-old Hutchins fighting for her life connected nan ungraded level of nan Bonanza Creek set. ‘Halyna, Halyna, heavy breath, heavy breath,’ a sound cries. ‘Good girl, bully girl,’ says another. ‘Jesus Christ,’ personification exclaims arsenic a medic rushes successful pinch an ­oxygen tank.

Their panic is palpable arsenic nan stricken female is stretchered into a chopper earlier being flown to hospital, wherever doctors could not prevention her.

In nan courtroom, Alec Baldwin watched connected impassively, making notes connected a yellowish ineligible pad. Behind him, his wife, nan mother of his 7 young children looked drawn and tense.