by Sebastian Hughes
The judge presiding over the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse laid into the prosecution on Wednesday in response to its line of questioning towards the defendant.
Prosecutor Thomas Binger asked Rittenhouse about an incident days before the Aug. 25 shooting where the Rittenhouse allegedly said he wished he had his gun to defend property. Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder immediately dismissed the jury after the prosecutor’s comments.
When the defense said more questions of the sort from the prosecution would lead to a request for a mistrial, Binger said he thought the court had “left the door open” to his line of questioning in a previous ruling.
When Binger attempted to defend his questioning and argue he should be able to ask Rittenhouse about the matter, Schroeder shut him down.
“Don’t get brazen with me,” the judge said. “You know very well that an attorney can’t go into these types of areas when the judge has already ruled without asking, outside the presence of the jury, to do so.”
The judge also said he was “astonished” the prosecutor began his cross-examination “by commenting on the defendant’s post-arrest silence.”
“That’s basic law,” Schroeder said. “It’s been basic law in this country for 40 years, 50 years. I have no idea why you would do something like that … so I don’t know what you’re up to.”
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