Wisconsin Judge Bruce Schroeder defended his choice to have Kyle Rittenhouse reach into a metal container and randomly select which jurors will deliberate in his homicide trial, claiming Wednesday he has used this unusual method since an "incident" roughly two decades ago.
The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse will be held on November 15, 2021.
The images are from the same company.
The court asked Rittenhouse to pull six random numbers from a tumbler to determine which six jurors would serve as alternates.
Legal experts told the Associated Press and NBC News that the method of selecting the 12 jurors who will participate in deliberations is unusual but not problematic.
It is almost universal that defendants are asked to choose the numbers for alternate jurors in his courtroom, but he admits he is not sure if many other judges do the same.
He introduced this method after a court clerk eliminated a Black juror from a high-profile trial.
People feel better when they have control. I had never had a complaint about it before.
There is a structure called the Tangent.
In the past, he has drawn attention. He banned lawyers from referring to the three men shot by Rittenhouse as victims, saying it was a loaded term. He said that Rittenhouse's attorneys can use words like "looters" and "rioters" to describe the deceased in closing arguments if they can show proof they were involved in those activities. The judge argued that the word victim was pre-judging what the jury was going to decide, as to whether there was a victim or not. Last week, Rittenhouse took the stand and was admonished by Schroeder, who claimed that one of the prosecutors mentioned Rittenhouse's right to remain silent. The judge asked the people in the courtroom to clap for any veterans who were present, which led to a defense witness enjoying a round of applause in front of jurors.
The longest-serving circuit judge in Wisconsin is 75 years old. Some local lawyers told the Washington Post that he tends to be skeptical of prosecutors. If you get him, you are happy as a defense attorney, according to Michael Cicchini, who works for the Kenosha defense lawyer.
There was aContra.
Some people who have questioned his courtroom procedures want to undermine the result of the trial. He complained about CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin and called some media commentary "bizarre" earlier this month.
The key background.
Rittenhouse was accused of killing two men and injuring a third with an assault rifle during a protest in Wisconsin last year. Rittenhouse claims he traveled to Kenosha to defend a business and shot the men because he was under attack, but prosecutors have cast Rittenhouse as a self-proclaimed avenger who can't claim self-defense. The case has become a political lightning rod, with conservatives like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene defending Rittenhouse.
What to watch for.
The jury began deliberations on Tuesday. He was charged with five counts.
The Rittenhouse jury was narrowed.
The judge in the Rittenhouse case was accused of bias.
Who is the judge in the Rittenhouse murder trial? There is a report about this.
