Kyle Rittenhouse trial: Wis. judge sets ground rules on evidence, use of force experts

[Elderberry]

ABC 7 10/25/2021

The 18-year-old is charged with killing two men and seriously injuring another during sometimes-violent protests in Kenosha after the Jacob Blake police shooting in August 2020. The then-17 year old patrolled the streets with an AR-15 type of weapon.

"If more than one of them were engaged in arson, rioting, looting, I'm not going to tell the defense you can't call them that," the judge said.

The judge also ruled that the two deceased men and the injured man could not be referred to as victims.

More: https://abc7chicago.com/kyle-rittenhosue-rittenhouse-trial-kenosha-protest-shooting-police-brutality/11167589/

[skeeter]

Has anyone heard jack about that 'security guard' Matthew Dolloff creep who shot that guy dead in Denver for pepper spraying him?

[Elderberry]

Has anyone heard jack about that 'security guard' Matthew Dolloff creep who shot that guy dead in Denver for pepper spraying him?

If you are so interested, why haven't you performed a simple search?

Today, October 19, Matthew Dolloff, hired by 9News as a security guard for a crew covering a so-called Patriot Muster and a Black Lives Matter/Antifa soup drive both scheduled at the Civic Center on October 10, will be formally charged with second-degree murder by the Denver District Attorney's office. In the meantime, Jeremiah Elliott, a BLM activist who got into a dust-up with Keltner shortly before Keltner sprayed a cloud of chemicals in Dolloff's direction and the security guard pulled the trigger, is speaking out about threats made against him.

[skeeter]

If you are so interested, why haven't you performed a simple search?

I did. It was a rhetorical statement. My point was the difference in media handling of the two cases.

[sneakypete]

If you are so interested, why haven't you performed a simple search?

@Elderberry

Why such a snotty response to a simple question?

Sometimes people post questions because they just popped into their heads and they are TRYING to inform others of similar cases where the outcomes were different due to politics.

Sometimes they just don't have the time right then to look it up.

Sometimes they just might not know how to look it up.

Lighten up,Lucille!

[Elderberry]

My Bad. I should have not answered the question. It comes from my belief that not all questions deserve an answer. At least not from me. I will try harder to not reply to questions that show that side of me.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

My Bad. I should have not answered the question. It comes from my belief that not all questions deserve an answer. At least not from me. I will try harder to not reply to questions that show that side of me.

You are fine as we know you.

BTW, how's that son of yours doing in the oilpatch?

[skeeter]

My Bad. I should have not answered the question. It comes from my belief that not all questions deserve an answer. At least not from me. I will try harder to not reply to questions that show that side of me.

And I'll try not to pose rhetoric in the form of a question in order to make a point.

Although it worked great for Aristotle.

[Elderberry]

You are fine as we know you.

BTW, how's that son of yours doing in the oilpatch?

About a year ago, he got laid off again. One of many. On that Friday he posted on Linkedin, he was looking for new opportunities. That weekend he was contacted by a NAVY pal who said he wanted him to be a lead for SpaceX at Boca Chica. An interview was set up for Tues, but he was told he was already hired and it was just a formality. At first he was just working on ground construction. But now he also does QA work on the vehicles as well.

[Kamaji]

About a year ago, he got laid off again. One of many. On that Friday he posted on Linkedin, he was looking for new opportunities. That weekend he was contacted by a NAVY pal who said he wanted him to be a lead for SpaceX at Boca Chica. An interview was set up for Tues, but he was told he was already hired and it was just a formality. At first he was just working on ground construction. But now he also does QA work on the vehicles as well.

Cool!  So we can come to you for VIP tickets to any launches, right ....   

[PeteS in CA]

From the article:

Rittenhouse's attorneys want use-of-force expert John Black to testify that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense. Prosecutors have asked Judge Bruce Schroeder to block Black's testimony, arguing that jurors don't need an expert to understand what happened that night.

Schroeder told the attorneys that Black wouldn't be allowed to testify about what Rittenhouse was thinking when he pulled the trigger or whether he definitively acted in self-defense.
...
Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger said if Schroeder allowed Black to testify only about the timeline of events that night he wouldn't call his own expert to the stand. Defense attorney Mark Richards agreed to the deal.

Binger asked Schroeder to bar a video that shows police telling Rittenhouse and other armed militia members on the streets that they appreciated their presence and tossing Rittenhouse a bottle of water. The prosecutor said the video would transform the trial into a referendum on police procedure that night when it isn't relevant.
...
Defense attorney Corey Chirafisi argued the video shows that police felt Rittenhouse wasn't acting recklessly. Binger countered that the shootings happened after Rittenhouse interacted with the police, but Schroeder decided to allow the video.

"If the jury is being told, if the defendant is walking down the sidewalk and doing what he claims he was hired to do and police say good thing you're here, is that something influencing the defendant and emboldening him in his behavior? That would be an argument for relevance," the judge said.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

About a year ago, he got laid off again. One of many. On that Friday he posted on Linkedin, he was looking for new opportunities. That weekend he was contacted by a NAVY pal who said he wanted him to be a lead for SpaceX at Boca Chica. An interview was set up for Tues, but he was told he was already hired and it was just a formality. At first he was just working on ground construction. But now he also does QA work on the vehicles as well.

Good for him.

Bouncing back after you get beat down reveals character.

[Elderberry]

Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸

BREAKING: Kyle Rittenhouse prosector says the mob member didn’t attack anyone else and all he did before was ‘arson’

https://twitter.com/i/status/1453100089594023947

[verga]

Sounds like the judge is using some common sense, so far......

[Elderberry]

An Excellent Day for Kyle Rittenhouse Defense at Pre-Trial Hearing

Legal Insurrection by by Andrew Branca 10/28/2021

https://legalinsurrection.com/2021/10/text-version-with-links-to-statutes-jury-instructions-court-decisions-here-https-lawofselfdefense-com-an-excellent-day-for-rittenhouse-defense-at-pre-trial-hearing-free-book-the-law-of-se/

We will cover the trial live beginning on November 1.

Welcome to today’s Law of Self Defense content! I am, of course, Attorney Andrew Branca, for Law of Self Defense.

Today I’d like to share with you my perspective on the most recent pre-trial hearing for the Kyle Rittenhouse trial.  That hearing took place on Monday, October 25, and lasted about two and half hours.  As the headline to today’s contents suggests, the hearing was a very good day for the defense—with one glaring exception—and yet another poor day for the prosecution.

I’m sure you’ve all heard my “pound the table” legal adage—if the facts are on your side you pound the facts, if the law is on your side you pound the law, and if neither the facts nor law are on your side you pound the table—and we continue to see little but “pound the table” out of this prosecution so far.

To be more specific, this prosecution faces a considerable dilemma—any objective and emotion-free view of the facts and law, in this case, can only result in the conclusion, to a reasonable degree of legal certainty, that it will not be possible for the state to disprove Kyle Rittenhouse’s legal defense of self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt.

For similar reasons, there is little basis, at least on the legal merits, to believe that the state can prove any of the recklessness charges against Kyle beyond a reasonable doubt.

With respect to the gun charge, who knows what that statutory gun law stew actually means, apparently, so the charge should rightly be dismissed for vagueness—but at worst it’s a misdemeanor.

So if this case were being judged on the legal merits, as it ought to be, there’s little reason to believe that it could possibly result in anything but an acquittal on all charges—absent, of course, a runaway jury, which is always a risk.  Indeed, I expect the prosecution believes a runaway jury is his only hope for a conviction on any charge.

If the prosecution has little foundation in legal merit, that’s consistent with the case being brought for political reasons and not reasons of justice, which in turn suggests the prosecutor leading this case—ADA Thomas Binger—is pursuing the case for political and not legal reasons.

And in pursuing his political prosecution of Kyle Rittenhouse, ADA Binger faces considerable challenges.

First, as noted, he has neither the facts nor the law on his side—as I detailed in my legal analysis soon after the event itself, here: (Legal Analysis Video on Site)

(Incidentally, all our aggregated Rittenhouse content can be found at lawofselfdefense.com/Rittenhouse.)

Second, opposing counsel—Attorneys Mark Richards and Corey Chirafisi—come across as extremely capable and savvy, and unlikely to simply fumble the case for the state to run with.

Third, Judge Bruce Schroeder is a rigorously fair, old-school trial court judge (and himself a former prosecutor) who appears to lack any political interest in this case whatever—and, most important, has little if any tolerance for theatrics and game playing in his courtroom.

That last is probably a fatal dilemma for Prosecutor Binger, because having neither facts nor law to work with, theatrics and game playing is about all he has left—and that means he finds himself getting repeatedly smacked around and embarrassed in these pre-trial hearings.

If anybody is happy that this trial is scheduled to start on Monday, November 1, it has to be Prosecutor Binger—he surely can’t want to continue going through the painful and humiliating experiences these pre-trial hearings have so often been for him.

Much more at link.

[skeeter]

Sounds like the judge is using some common sense, so far......

A refreshing display of judicial courage totally lacking in the Chauvin trial. The consequences of an acquittal here will be nearly as explosive.