Defense Attorneys For Kyle Rittenhouse Demand A Mistrial

The defense team representing accused Kenosha, Wisconsin gunman Kyle Rittenhouse filed a motion for a mistrial on Wednesday.

Mistrials typically occur when a jury is presented with evidence that was not supposed to be included in a trial. The presiding judge then decides if the evidence can be disregarded or if it warrants dismissing the case.

Defense attorney Corey Chirafisi accused Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger of engaging in “prosecutorial overreach” during Binger’s cross-examination of Rittenhouse earlier in the day.

Binger suggested that Rittenhouse’s testimony could have been influenced by what he had heard from other witnesses. He also probed Rittenhouse over the invocation of his right to remain silent during his arrest.

Chirafisi argued to the court that Binger’s line of questioning was unfairly prejudicial and that the case should be thrown out with prejudice, meaning the charges could not be refiled at a later date.

Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder appeared to agree. Schroeder also admonished Binger for referencing an unrelated shoplifting case involving Rittenhouse.

Binger asked Rittenhouse if it would be appropriate to shoot someone to protect property.

At that point, the judge excused the jury said that Binger’s line of questioning was out of bounds. When Binger responded that he was acting in good faith, Schroeder was unmoved.

“I don’t believe that,” he said.

Those types of inquiries are “no-no’s,” Julius Kim, a Milwaukee-based defense attorney who has been observing Rittenhouse’s trial, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“You don’t comment about a defendant’s right to remain silent, especially not in front of a jury,” Kim said, adding that the shoplifting footage was a “particularly big faux pas because that goes to the defendant’s character. The motion was brought and the judge was so upset because he’s starting to see a pattern here.”

Rittenhouse, who took the stand on Wednesday morning, maintains that he acted in self-defense when he fatally shot two demonstrators and injured a third during an anti-police brutality protest last year.

His weapon of choice was a Smith & Wesson M&P 15, a semi-automatic sport rifle.

“I defended myself,” Rittenhouse said. He further insisted that he had “brought the gun for my protection.”

Rittenhouse is facing five felony indictments of first-degree reckless homicide/use of a dangerous weapon, first-degree recklessly endangering safety/use of a dangerous weapon, first-degree intentional homicide/use of a dangerous weapon, attempted first-degree intentional homicide/use of a dangerous weapon, first-degree recklessly endangering society/use of a dangerous weapon, as well as a misdemeanor charge of possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18.