Rittenhouse has first court showing
Appearance comes day after his mother and lawyer get standing ovation at Waukesha Republican event
Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old charged with fatally shooting two people and injuring a third during unrest last month in Kenosha, has become a cause célèbre among conservatives and some gun-rights groups.
On Thursday night, his mother and lawyer got a standing ovation at a Waukesha County Republican event after their introduction by conservative commentator Michelle Malkin. The teen has even become a symbol in Europe; fans of a Bulgarian soccer team displayed a banner saying he “did nothing wrong ... he is a hero” at a recent match.
His lawyers have talked widely about his case and even played a recording of him thanking supporters who have contributed more than $2 million to his defense. Meanwhile, video of Rittenhouse talking, running, shooting and trying to surrender to police amid a night of chaos has been widely shared across the internet.
But Rittenhouse himself hasn’t been seen or heard from much since he surrendered to authorities Aug. 26 in his hometown of Antioch, Illinois.
On Friday, he made his first court hearing in Lake County, Illinois, on the status of his extradition to face the Wisconsin
charges. Rittenhouse appeared via Zoom, wearing a mask, from the juvenile detention center in Vernon Hills where he has been held since his surrender.
Two of his lawyers, John Pierce of Los Angeles and local Illinois counsel Michael Baker also appeared by Zoom. Pierce told Judge Paul Novak they intend to challenge Rittenhouse’s handover to Wisconsin authorities, a move Pierce had signaled weeks ago.
Assistant State’s Attorney Ruth Lofthouse indicated that Illinois Gov. J.P. Pritzker has signed a warrant authorizing Rittenhouse’s release to Kenosha County officials.
Pierce indicated he had not seen that
warrant or any formal paperwork he said must come from Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers demanding Illinois turn over Rittenhouse.
Extradition is usually a routine process in which one state turns over someone in custody to face charges in another state. Defendants often just agree to be transferred.
But challenging the extradition will likely keep Rittenhouse in Illinois for weeks, or longer.
Pierce told the judge the extradition challenge would be complex and involve lots of legal research from people around the country. He asked for 30 days to prepare a writ of habeas corpus. Novak gave him two weeks, until Oct. 8.
Under Illinois’ extradition law, someone held on a charge punishable by death or life in prison in another state is not entitled to bail. Rittenhouse faces a first-degree intentional homicide charge in the death of 26-year-old Anthony Huber, among other charges. Conviction on the Huber-related charge carries a mandatory life sentence.
The shootings came during the third night of protests and unrest after a Kenosha police officer shot Jacob Blake, 29, a Black man, repeatedly in the back, leaving Blake paralyzed.
Process could be a long one
Stephen M. Komie, a veteran Illinois defense attorney who has handled many extraditions between states and countries, said any errors in the paperwork could derail the process, which could free Rittenhouse until Wisconsin began again with new paperwork.
Additionally, defense lawyers could challenge a subject’s identification — unlikely for Rittenhouse — or the validity of the original warrant in Wisconsin.
Komie said the position of Rittenhouse’s attorneys that the case involved self-defense and shouldn’t even have been charged is not something an Illinois judge considers at an extradition hearing.
Komie predicted that if Pritzker did sign off on the warrant, Rittenhouse’s lawyers could challenge it with a writ of habeas corpus, as Pierce indicated Friday he would, and a judge would hold a hearing with witnesses from Kenosha, less than 20 miles away.
If after that hearing the judge denies the request and upholds the extradition, Rittenhouse could appeal that decision.
“Absent an appeal, it could take as long as six months,” Komie estimated.
But in the end, Komie expects Rittenhouse will wind up in Wisconsin.
“After 43 years of experience,” he said, “I’d say it’s a classic self-defense (case) that will play out in front of jurors in Kenosha County.”
Attorneys push self-defense theory
Other experienced defense lawyers agree that Rittenhouse — regardless of what people may think of the judgment in carrying a rifle to a tense, large-scale civil disturbance — has a solid, though not guaranteed, claim of self-defense.
But rather than waive extradition and demand a speedy trial in Kenosha, Friday’s hearing suggests his controversial defense team will drag the case out. The longer the process takes, the more time the #FightBack Foundation can collect donations for Rittenhouse’s defense and its other causes, like suing mainstream media outlets.
The foundation recently posted a video, “Kyle Rittenhouse — The Truth in 11 Minutes,” which uses parts of the many videos taken and shared on social media that night, along with serious-sounding female narration. It lays out the defense’s likely version of events, and portrays Rittenhouse as a Good Samaritan who may have been mistaken by his first attacker for someone else who had earlier extinguished a fire in a rolling trash bin.
The video also suggests someone fired a shot that Rittenhouse believed was aimed at him or that raised his sense that he was in serious danger.
While the slickly produced propaganda piece would almost certainly never be admitted as evidence in court, much of the raw video and information would likely be offered by the defense.
The video has been highlighted by Fox News host Tucker Carlson and others, which has helped further build support among conservatives and gun-rights groups. President Donald Trump has been among those who have suggested Rittenhouse acted in self-defense and had been pursued by attackers that night.