OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder instructed the jury this week that they must make its decision on its own, without interference from anywhere — including Joe Biden and others.
The jury began deliberations on Tuesday morning, but not before Schroeder gave them a solid piece of advice.
“You will pay no heed to the opinions of anyone — even the president of the United States or the president before him,” Schroeder said.
WATCH:
Rittenhouse’s defense team filed a motion with Schroeder to have his case dismissed over allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.
“The state has repeatedly violated instructions from the Court, acted in bad faith, and intentionally provided technological evidence which was different from theirs,” the motion reads.
“For those reasons, the defendant respectfully requests the Court find ‘prosecutorial overreaching’ existed, that overreaching was intentional and in bad faith and thereby grant the defendant’s motion for a mistrial with prejudice,” the filing read.
As of this writing, Shroeder had not ruled on the motion and both sides, were preparing for closing arguments before the murder case heads to the jury.
Earlier Monday, Schroeder dismissed a charge of illegal possession of a firearm against Rittenhouse, a misdemeanor, after his lawyers successfully argued that under Wisconsin law, he was legally able to carry the AR-15 type rifle he possessed in public, per Breitbart News:
On Monday, as lawyers for the prosecution and the defense argued over the final draft of the jury instructions, the defense again raised the issue of the weapons charge, noting that the gun had been measured in court and that the police detective on the witness stand had confirmed that it was not short-barreled.
The judge then indicated that the gun ought to be measured. “If the barrel length is less than 16 inches, or an overall less than 26 inches, then I’ll deny the [defense] motion; if it does not meet those specifications, then the defense motion will be granted,” the judge said.
“We are not disputing that the barrel length is appropriate,” prosecutor James Kraus said, in a defeated tone, effectively admitting the rifle was not a short barrel.
Judge Schroeder dismissed the charge. The remaining charges concern murder and attempted murder. Critics have opined that Rittenhouse’s argument that he acted in self-defense would defeat those charges and that the weapons charge posed the only serious chance of a conviction — if the statute applied.
As to the dismissal, last week during testimony Schroeder repeatedly took Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger to task over various violations of protocol and previous court instructions.
Newsweek reported at the time:
The first rift between Binger and Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder broke out after the district attorney pressed Rittenhouse if he was telling his account of August 25, 2020—when he fatally shot two men and wounded a third—for the first time.
After sending the jury to the library, Schroeder slammed Binger, telling him it was a “grave constitutional violation” for Binger to talk about Rittenhouse’s right to remain silent.
“You’re right on the borderline. You may be over. But it better stop,” the judge noted.
He also dismissed the jury for a second time during cross-examination when Binger asked the teen about an Aug. 10, 2020, incident that was barred under a pre-trial order.
“You should have come and asked for reconsideration!” Schroeder yelled, before clarifying for the record he was holding it open for bias towards denial.
“Why would you think that that made it okay for you to bring this matter before the jury?” Schroeder told Binger.
“I was astonished when you began his examination by commenting on the defendant’s post-arrest silence. That’s basic law. It’s been basic law in this country for 40 years, 50 years. I have no idea why you would do something like that!” he added. “I don’t know what you’re up to.”
In objecting, the defense responded that Binger is an experienced trial attorney who should have known better. Binger defended himself by saying he was merely attempting to impeach Rittenhouse’s testimony.
“Don’t get brazen with me!” Schroeder screamed at Binger. “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. So don’t give me that!”
“I don’t see the similarity [between the two incidents]. I said it couldn’t come in and it isn’t coming in, no matter what you think!” the judge said.
