Kyle Rittenhouse trial live updates: Use-of-force expert expected to testify
We're into the ninth day of the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, the Illinois teenager charged with killing two people and wounding a third during violent protests in Kenosha last year after the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
In addition to counts of intentional, reckless and attempted homicide and reckless endangerment, Rittenhouse, 18, is charged with possessing a firearm as a minor, a misdemeanor. A curfew violation charge was dismissed Tuesday.
More: Jurors are likely to hear from Kyle Rittenhouse in the second week of his homicide trial
Check below for updates as Journal Sentinel reporters and photographers cover the trial. You can also read about what happened on day one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and eight of the trial.
The trial is expected to continue through the week.
Use-of-force expert expected to testify
After Kyle Rittenhouse testified for most of Wednesday, expect some emotional letdown for the end of the defense case.
The next witness is likely to be John Black, an expert in use of force from Oregon. He offered a sample of his testimony last month during a pretrial hearing to determine whether he met the standards for expert, opinion testimony.
Prosecutors objected to any opinion about whether Rittenhouse acted reasonably in using deadly force against four people on Aug. 25, 2020. Judge Bruce Schroeder agreed the jury can decide that for itself.
But he said some of Black’s analysis about timing of gunshots and how human tendencies to focus on one thing among many can distort perceptions of time and distance.
On Wednesday, Binger said a new report from Black goes well beyond that, but defense attorney Mark Richards said Black would only testify about the allowed subjects and his written report would not be moved into evidence.
But first Schroeder could rule on Wednesday’s defense motion for a mistrial with prejudice. Rittenhouse’s lawyers argued that Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger had deliberately sought to cause a mistrial by hinting that their client had invoked his right to remain silent after his arrest, and by trying to bring up some evidence the judge had earlier ruled inadmissible.
If Schroeder granted a mistrial with prejudice, Rittenhouse could not be retried. Other lawyers say it is unlikely he would take the case from the jury so late in the trial.
The defense indicated it may call a couple of more shorter witnesses in addition to Black, and the state could then present rebuttal evidence, which would take the case to Friday and push the deliberations into next week.
See previous updates below
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Prosecution questions why Rittenhouse had gun, amount of risk he faced
Rittenhouse took the stand in his own defense Wednesday and at times showed emotion, and even broke down on the stand.
Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger spent more than an hour pressing Rittenhouse on why he had his gun with him and the amount of risk he perceived in the crowd.
The questions were often repetitive. Binger focused on Rittenhouse’s reasons for taking his AR-15 as he moved throughout the crowd prior to the shootings, since Rittenhouse had been asking if people needed medical care and testified that he was intending to extinguish fires.
Binger tried to argue that Rittenhouse must have taken his gun with him because he perceived he would be at risk or unsafe.
“When you decided to bring your AR-15 loaded with 30 rounds down to the 63rd Street Car Source location, what did you think you needed protection against?” Binger asked.
“I didn't think I was going to need to protect myself,” Rittenhouse replied.
As of 3 p.m., Binger had not asked Rittenhouse about the shootings specifically.
Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder at one point told Binger to “pick up the pace.”
“I thought we had covered much of this before,” Schroder said.
Schroeder called a break after the defense argued that zooming in on a video on an iPad would change the image. Prosecutors wanted to “pinch” and zoom in on a drone video to see the image better.
— Sophie Carson
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kyle Rittenhouse trial live updates: Use-of-force expert to testify
