Alec Baldwin faces July trial over Rust shooting after defence plea rejected

Alec Baldwin faces trial next month (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

US actor Alec Baldwin is facing an involuntary manslaughter trial in early July after a judge denied a request to dismiss the case on complaints that key evidence was damaged by the FBI during forensic testing.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer sided with prosecutors in rejecting a motion to dismiss the case.