Kyle Rittenhouse defense attorneys ask judge to declare mistrial over video
Defense attorneys for Kyle Rittenhouse asked the judge on Wednesday to declare a mistrial, arguing that they did not receive the same quality of a key drone video as the prosecution.
Defense attorney Corey Chirafisi said they initially received a compressed version of a video taken by a drone that the state prosecutors played for jurors during closing arguments.
Prosecutors say it showed Rittenhouse pointing his gun at anti-racism protesters before being chased by Joseph Rosenbaum, the first man he shot and killed during a night of racial injustice unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last August, in which Rittenhouse eventually shot three people, killing two and injuring one.
“The idea that the state would provide lesser quality footage and then use that footage as a linchpin in their case and it is the very reason they requested and were granted the provocation instruction by the court. The failure to provide the same quality footage in this particular case is intentional and clearly prejudices the defendant,” the motion read.
Rittenhouse, 18, faces life in prison if convicted on the most serious charges he faces. The trial has divided both Kenosha and the US as Rittenhouse has embraced as a heroic vigilante by conservatives while others point out the wildly differing experience the armed, white militia supporter received from law enforcement compared to anti-racism protesters.
Rittenhouse testified that he acted in self-defense, while prosecutors argued that he provoked the violence.
Jurors were weighing charges against Rittenhouse for a second day on Wednesday after failing to reach a swift verdict Tuesday on whether he was the instigator of the bloodshed or a concerned citizen who came under attack while trying to protect property.
Judge Bruce Schroeder did not immediately rule on the new mistrial request, which came after jurors deliberating for a second day at Rittenhouse’s murder trial asked to review video evidence. Schroeder allowed the jury into the courtroom to watch videos on Wednesday afternoon, while requesting everyone else to leave the room.
The mistrial without prejudice is the second mistrial request in the highly contentious case in which Rittenhouse is accused of reckless homicide and intentional homicide after he fatally shot two men and injured another in Kenosha. Last week, the defense asked for a mistrial with prejudice over what appeared to be outof-bounds questions asked of Rittenhouse by the prosecution.
Unlike a mistrial without prejudice, a mistrial with prejudice means that if granted, Rittenhouse cannot be retried in the shootings.
Chirafisi said they did not get the same footage quality until after the evidentiary portion of the case was closed. He said if we need a “level, fair playing field, we have to ask for it. And I’m asking for it.”
Prosecutors pushed back, arguing that the jury saw the highest quality version of the footage throughout the trial. “We’re focusing too heavily on a technological glitch,” said prosecutor James Kraus, adding that it is not the fault of prosecutors that the file got compressed when received by the defense.
He went on to add that the video is key because the prosecution argues it proves that Rittenhouse lied on the stand when he said he did not point his rifle at protesters.
Jury deliberation continues.