Real Lawyer Reacts: Alec Baldwin Trial Primer + Ben Chew's Thoughts 

HOLY COW a recorded police interview. Can someone explain the Massachusetts PD how to do that??

Alec B is his own worst enemy! He cannot shut up!

Baldwin denied pulling the trigger, but he had to according to experts. The Stephanopolis interview will haunt him.

Baldwin should have availed himself of his right to remain silent.

I was in the Army for 6 years and I equate "I fired the gun" the same as "I pulled the trigger"

It is my opinion AB will have a tough time not trying to take over the narrative. He has a strong personality and comes off as a bit of a bully at times. Also, he took on the responsibility of handling a gun on set and seemed to allow very loose interpretations of the role of armorer. Such a tragic siruation.

SAG MEMBER OF 30+ YEARS HERE. On many sets, one or more person may yell at everyone to hurry up or for other reasons. The Armorer is charged for gun safety on set.

He gives SO MUCH information in the interrogations and interviews about how a gun is handled on set and all the ins and outs of ammunition that I find it impossible to give him grace for not bothering to know what was in his hand when he shot the cinematographer. He didn't even bother to check the gun himself. Didn't even bother.

It is absolutely fact that Baldwin pointed a gun at another person. It is disputed, but I fully believe, that the firearm would not fire without Baldwin manipulating it in some way. I believe he had his finger on the trigger, not intentionally pulling it but to rest it there, and pulled the hammer back, based on interviews, testing of the gun, and the nature of the gun itself. Being so careless with his trigger finger AND cocking the hammer puts it in reckless to my eyes. Adding his blasé attitude regarding gun safety, and the training AND his status as a producer make this pretty clear to me. Maybe his defense will get me back to the other side of reasonable doubt, but I doubt it.

That is the issue, you never point a gun at a person, loaded or unloaded period. I believe he stated that he IS aware of that, and has stated himself. Thats where the problem is for him.

He lied. He pulled the trigger!!No way the bullet would discharge itself

I can't think of any excuse for breaking ALL FOUR of the fundamental rules of firearm safety. Its not something you can pawn off on someone else. Even personally, i've been places and horsed around with firearms with friends, we still respected those rules even with magazines removed and chambers cleared. Its mindblowing that anyone could claim to be above or excluded from those rules. Especially when the result of his rule breaking was the loss of life. At minimum, even if all his BS denial somehow works on a jury, he deserves to be prohibited from ever being legally allowed to hold, operate, or possess a firearm.

Ben Chu said something there that I think explains a lot, regardless of whether you think Baldwin should go to prison. He said he’s seen people unable to accept the reality of what happened because it’s devastating. I think this explains the less pleasant behavior of both Baldwin and Sarah Boone. When the Rust shooting happened, NPR did a story on the impact of killing someone by accident and how it can have long term effects on them.

Peter just wanted to thank you for being there and your insight. Whenever there is breaking news or latest content to be discussed you are there. It shows how much you enjoy doing this. When you first started I thought you were bias but as time went on I saw how you try to show both sides. May you and your family have peace.

The “not pulling trigger” is a red herring. At a minimum he pointed the weapon at another person.

Peter I'm so happy you will be covering this trial .I so appreciate your ability to be objective right up to closing arguments. I often times tend to make upmy mind before all the evidence is in. And you really make me take stock of that and make me really LISTEN until the closing arguments THX. 💜 🇺🇸

Happy 4th everyone. Stay safe

Yes, Baldwin being an actor gains this case more notice but to suggest that he's unfairly in the light considering that Baldwin himself tried to use media to spin his story, really does take away the nosey fans line. Baldwin is one of those who believes that somehow being a successful actors means they are arbiters of truth and he has proven himself, outside of this, a self-serving narcissist and from his own mouth, believes half the country should be imprisoned/silenced for simply not politically aligning with his views.

I will be at the Trial and watching LYK and EDB on the side. I was at both Rust sets and have friends who are Witnesses. Thanks for covering this, Peter!

I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when that suitcase killer lady found out she has to represent herself……8-)

He pulled the hammer back. Period. It could have easily "gone off" because his funger was ON the trigger. 3 basic rules of gun handling: ALWAYS keep it pointed in a safe direction. ALWAYS keep your finger OFF the trigger until ready to fire . ALWAYS keep it unloaded until ready to shoot.

He is the only 1 who was holding, pointing & pulling the trigger PERIOD!

I predict Alec Baldwin trial is going to be spicy, have a lot of sidebars and possibly have a circus-like atmosphere. I watched entirety of Hannah’s trial. Now I’m invested in Alec’s.🍿

Yep, Depp is humble and Baldwin is not.

Baldwin wanted to make an action western to cement his legacy. He wrote/co-wrote a gun heavy script in which he was the action hero. He secured the minimal amount of funding to take a shot at making his hero movie... but it was barely enough and corners were being cut everywhere. He went ahead with the shooting even though they couldn't secure a competent, experienced armourer. His incompetent armourer was hired at the last minute, along with the props lead, with far less lead time than is normal alleged by the two of them. The armourer was not competent or diligent. This cannot have escaped the attention of Baldwin, because she was lax and he clearly thought she was not up to par. But he didn't care to fix it. Baldwin was required to participate in a gun safety briefing, but he didn't care to do so, and instead goofed off with guns and a cellphone video for his own record. There were numerous improper loads of full-power blanks near horses and the minor actor, but Baldwin and his production didn't care to fix this. There were two negligent discharges - one an extra left with a prepared shotgun by Hannah, the other the props master flubbing the loading of a lever action. Baldwin doesn't appear to care. Baldwin is seen frequently directing people using the muzzle of his very real gun - he doesn't care about not pointing guns directly at people. Baldwin is seen to discharge his firearm after a 'cut' is called on at least one scene. Baldwin doesn't care about trigger discipline and critical safety. Because no one is requiring thorough and end-end safety - including the very experienced Baldwin, Hannah is skimping on safety checks because she can get away with it. Baldwin doesn't care, it speeds things up which suits him. There are live rounds in the gun belts and in some firearms which are in circulation as 'dummies' for nearly two weeks and Hannah was permitted to not perform checks often enough or thoroughly enough because of the safety climate. No one called her on it. Baldwin didn't care. Baldwin was given a real firearm. He didn't care to have Hannah or Halls actually clear it and demonstrate the really actually dummy rounds condition of the firearm... or indeed since this was a 'blocking in' only, request that the gun be empty for safety. He didn't care enough to make safety more probable. He didn't care that you never point a firearm at another person, because safety is everyone's responsibility. He didn't care that you keep your finger off the trigger unless and until you mean to fire it at a 'suitable' target and in a safe direction. Because of his consistent lack of care for safety and the critical importance of it in a scenario with many guns, and the substantial risk of death or serious injury that comes from the mishandling of firearms he pointed an 'unloaded gun' at a person and shot them dead. This is clearly negligence and recklessness and an absence of caring about safety from start to end. While there are aspects which are more directly the fault of Hannah, Baldwin was responsible for all of his own actions, from the inception of the lowest budget gun-action-movie to irresponsible behaviour on set and a failure to have a safety culture... all the way to the intentional manipulation of the fire control group of a real gun which was pointed right at the heart of a person in extremely close proximity which resulted in a death from an unsafe loading condition. I cannot see any justifiable finding of anything other than guilty. He knew or should have known his behaviour was inappropriate and dangerous. It allowed the substantial risk of death to be realised - had he not had the world's worst armourer on set there may not have been an improper loading condition. Had he not pointed the muzzle of the firearm directly at his cinematographer's heart there may not have been injury or death from the negligent discharge (and thus no trial for an unlawful death), if he had not unnecessarily fired the weapon then there would have been no death from a negligent discharge, even though he had the muzzle pointed directly at her. Baldwin was directly or indirectly but causally linked to all three failings. A person died because of his irresponsibility.

He lied when he said he didn't pull the trigger or point it at someone he should take responsibility for the death of halina hutchens

Everyone in heart of hearts knows a gun don’t fire on its own

I saw program with a professional on set production and he said there are 3 people responsible for checking the bullets in the gun being used on a set and the actor using the gun is one of them. I believe that is why Alex is saying that he did not pull the trigger because had the responsibility to inspect the bullets.

Sharing my thoughts on this as a theatrics armorer, worked both in the US and Australia for over 14 years 1.) Actor NEVER checks the weapon, in fact, a lot of set I worked at forbid them from doing so, EVERY firearm related interaction has to go thru the armourer, actor usually aren't allow to do stuff to the firearm unsupervised, because that usually lead to breaching of the insurance contract as those aren't acceptable risk, actor don't necessary know how to clear or unjam firearms, imagine an actor is checking the weapon by himself, and then accidentally goes off and wounding/killing another actor? If an actor wants to make sure the firearms is safe, he/she calls cuts and call the armourer on set to come over and check it in front of them. Now I don't know (Or rather I have no opinion) whether or not Baldwin should have asked to check it, but then Baldwin was not the only one on set, at least 3 other people are on set and they didn't ask too, and judging from the fact that the weapon was pointing at their general direction of them instead of Baldwin, I would say, risk-wise Souza or Hutchin probably would be the one that ask for the weapon to be check if they are unsure. But then since live round have no business on a film set, I am pretty sure all of them wouldn't be thinking of "Hey I should check if there is a live round pointing at someone" if they are some distant away with each other. 2.) That particular weapon can be fired without pulling the trigger, anyone fired six shooter knows the hammer don't lock if your finger is impeding the trigger. I am pretty sure a lot of western shooters will tell you the same thing. I think Dutch Merrick did a demonstration on Court TV some days ago. 3.) You are supposed to point the weapon toward people when you shoot. Yes, in a perfect world if you have just 2 actors on set, you will try to avoid that by adjusting the camera angle so it wouldn't point directly at people and camera, but if you have more than 1 (a lot of scene on Rust shows 6 or 7) then you can't simply adjust the camera angle because it simply crossed path, you have 3 actors point their weapon at 4 other and vice versa, you tell me which angle you can "adjust" to not point the weapon on at least 1 of them, this is easier to say than when you have to do it. You also have close up shot that you can't simply show a miss and you have to point the weapon on someone body or head. That's why you hire professional armourer and not just actor bring their own firearms to work. Because the armourer makes sure the set was safe, and that's why you replicate all the maiming and killing on screen. That's what I thought about this case in the production armorer stand point.

Peter, please have Ian Runkle or Andrew Branca on as a guest to discuss this trial. Both have been following the pre-trial motions and have a good understanding of the facts, and both have legal specialties that are adjacent to this topic. Either of them could provide a deeper understanding of this case for your followers.

Love LYK! Part of the rewatch crew! I Love the coverage and objective analysis. This will be an interesting trial to watch unfold!

Santa Fe will not have too much trouble seating a jury. But keep in mind the jury for Hannah had plenty blue collar workers and business professionals who collectively take safety very seriously and found her guilty of negligence.

I want to know why would there EVER be real bullets on the Set?

Him blaming Helena for being in a different position is BS, the assistant director was seated behind her and stationery, in the same spot as always, and he too was shot.

Alec's FATHER taught RIFLE class at the local high school when he was growing up....

“I don’t want to do this anymore”… proceeds to sign on for a reality show.

Happy 4th Peter and fam!

Replay… I’ve never heard him say he pulled the trigger. Like you said, “I fired the gun” it’s like his heart knows he was holding the gun that shot a live round and killed his friend.

I've been shooting and handling guns for 30 years to include duties as a range safety in the Army. My two cents here... Alec Baldwin the actor is less culpable than Alec Baldwin the producer who failed in his responsibility to keep the film safe as they already had employees walk off set because of an issue with a live round being fired out of a prop gun a week prior. In the movies we'd call that foreshadowing. The instant that happened the correct action as THE PRODUCER would be to stop all filming with firearms and scour all of the blanks and dummy rounds for any live rounds mixed in but they didn't do that.

Thank you for covering this, Peter. We know you always keep an open mind and stay objective, and we learn so much about the law. Best channel on youtube!

Peter- this was discussed at a recent hearing. 1 day for jury selection (which i think may be on the 8th). 8 days for trial. judge split it 5 & 3 but may change it to 6 & 2 later. AB's lawyer said they only need 1-2 days so I doubt he's testifying.

Doesn’t want to be a public person anymore?? Just signed up with his wife and kids to be on an upcoming reality show! 😮

I think what will kill his defense are the videos that were taken of him playing with guns and also his many, many interviews (with conflicting information). I‘m curious to see if he will take the stand. I‘d wager that his lawyers will advise against it, but I’m not sure he will listen.

Good interview..

The only question here is who is to blame for injury or death on a set. There's clearly rules and roles in place for safety. If someone, or multiple people, fails at following those then it's on them

Alec better hope the jury is full of people with no understanding of firearms. Anyone with actual gun knowledge knows they don't ever fire themselves. ✌

At one point I thought Baldwin said he held the hammer back (trigger) to spin the chamber. Does anyone remember that?

With thanks to you and the team.

Happy 4th🇺🇸

IMO, every tween, teen & adult should take gun safety courses. If you like or hate weapons gun safety is a critical life skill in the US. A safety course should have a hands on component (actual firing not required). Guns have mystic and mystery for Children/teens. When safety courses are taken the mystic goes away along with some of the desire to”play” with a weapon when they encounter one.

Everyone enjoy your 4 of July weekend! Thanks Peter and Mods! 🤗🥰🧨🎇

Thanks for this review. Well done as always, Peter.

Today‘s our 10 years wedding anniversary 🎉

Happy 4th to all.

😊thanks for sharing 🎉🎉

Happy 4th July from Ireland. Love your coverage and balanced views.!

The state attorney is a feisty lady so this case will be interesting to follow.

I can’t like Alec Baldwin. I don’t know why. I think he’s just not relatable for the masses. I feel he should be held responsible for his actions and inactions that led to this death.

Happy 4th Peter! Enjoy the holiday with your family! 🎉❤

Thank you for this great video! An excellent primer for sure. Looking forward to your coverage on the trial 🙏

One of my fav actors

Good morning from Washington state. It’s early!

Peter, PLEASE do a segment where you go throught the SAG guidelines and applicable NM gun law.

I have a reservation in Sante Fe on July 11, didn't realize the trial would be starting!

It blows my mind that no one is talking about that fact that Alec does have firearm experience and exposure to firearms. His father was ex military fire arms expert, who taught gun safety for a living . His explanation of being ignorant to safety procedures is a lie

This is gonna be a great trial. I love Kari Morrisey

Thank you, Peter! 👍🏽

Very interesting, thank you!

Greetings from Chicago ❤happy 4th of July in the 🇺🇸

Why are there live rounds on set? A friend of mine works in BC as a special effects specialist on movies. He says they can’t have live rounds on set.

Santa Fe is actually not hard to get to. It has an airport and is about 50 miles from ABQ International Airport

You are right . He just said I fired the trigger. Which I was thinking the same thing about that

If he’s found guilty it’s going to be the numerous interviews and the scientific evidence that convict him. Because that’s what sells me on it.

I just don't think Alex will do any time for this. I'm not saying he wasn't irresponsible, but I do think they have gotten Hannah & the blame is on her. It was her job. But I've been wrong before ( OJ, Casey Anthony, Karen Read) so I guess we'll have to wait & see. I do think that Baldwin shouldn't have done that interview. It made him look bad. He's a good actor. He could have at least acted sad & shed some fake tears instead of making it all about him. I think this new family reality show is in poor taste. Love Ben Chew! Happy 4th🎉🇺🇸

PS, Thanks for all you do LYK!👏

Thanks I didn’t know a thing about this trial

The state must prove that Baldwin consciously disregarded a SUBSTANTIAL risk that harm WOULD result from his conduct. State v. Henley, 237 P.3d 103, Par. 16. Baldwin's honest belief in the armorer's and AD's assurances that the gun was cold made him unaware of the true level of risk. The state's theories about negligent hiring of the armorer and other general circumstances did not make Baldwin aware of the actual risk. The involuntary manslaughter charge should be dismissed.

They sure didn’t use KR demeanor against her even as bad as it was. Alex may be different.

Yeah!!! Good show

Ian Runkle did a vid back when AB was originally charged, with the model. of gun. He said he HAD to have pulled the trigger. There is no other way for that gun to go off.

Whomever hired the child, Hanna Guiteriez, should be held accountable

My biggest problem with this, is people are calling him an A-list actor. No, no he's not 😅😅😅

Great video

25:42 I agree with you, he’s saying don’t be the tough guy, show your true emotions.

HAPPY FOURTH 🎉EVERYONE 😊😊😊😊😊😊

He doesn’t want to be a public figure yet he and his family are doing a reality show? Sure!

I agree with Ben

It was his reaction and attitude post-incident that really made Alec Baldwin sound arrogant and cold. Had he shown remorse, not been on the defensive or made excuses, and stayed away from the media, I think he wouldn't have been so ferociously attacked. If I were to assign degrees of responsibility, I believe the armorer is ultimately the person responsible for the weapons used on the Rust film set.

That gun should’ve never been loaded. It was a movie set!

The lawyer just said that Baldwin grew up in "the hood" . I grew up in the same town as Baldwin, Massapequa, NY, and it is so far removed from "the hood". It's 99% white and privileged, and still is. Wiki shows the long long list of famous people from there.

Seth Kenny knows exactly why there was live ammo on the set. Kenny should be on trial.

Love Ben Chew!!!

Honestly. It was an accident. A horrible accident. Where Hannah was careless and could be held responsible , I can’t see convicting him

Hey you lovely lot. Lets all hit that like button x

I’ve been listening while working but am definitely going to follow this one closely as I did Hanna’s. I thought from the beginning it seemed like it was a low budget, cut corners operation and for that alone he’s responsible!

Can you look into the Aubreigh Wyatt case?

In my mind it was the person in charge of the weapons who is culpable.

I think he was just saying he was the one holding the gun. So clearly whatever happened with the gun, HE was holding the fun.

We need to cover Sandra Birchmore - that type of case needs the attention!

Good morning!