Jury Selection To Begin For High-Profile Kyle Rittenhouse Trial Following Fatal Kenosha Shootings
Kyle Rittenhouse's trial is about to begin.
Rittenhouse fatally shot two men during demonstrations in Kenosha, Wis. in August 2020. The demonstrations began after Jacob Blake was shot by a police officer.
According to NPR, jury selection for the high profile case will begin on Monday, November 1.
Rittenhouse pleaded not guilty to multiple counts. He claimed he acted in self-defence. According to USA Today, Rittenhouse told reporters on the night of the shooting that he was armed and protecting a local parking lot.
On August 25, 2020, Rittenhouse fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber. Gaige Grosskreutz was wounded.
Attorneys on both sides of the case reportedly urged the judge to send questionnaires out to potential jurors to detect bias but Judge Bruce Schroeder denied the request, the Washington Post reported. The judge reportedly dislikes questionnaires because he was worried people would not fill them out. He was also said to be concerned they would realize the questionnaires are connected to the Rittenhouse case and may discuss it with other people.
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William Hanrahan, who was a prosecutor and a Wisconsin circuit judge, said the jury selection process could be completed in one-day if the judge limits the questions attorneys can ask potential jurors.
"As a judge I would be asking (potential jurors) to make that commitment to set aside what they believe the facts to be and set aside what they believe the law to be," Hanrahan said, per the Post. "To essentially be a tabula rasa, a blank slate."
Schroeder was recently criticized when he ruled during a pretrial hearing that those who were shot cannot be called "victims" during the hearing but the defense can call them "rioters, looters and arsonists." Paul Butler, a Georgetown University law professor, said the decision is not uncommon, per NPR.
Rittenhouse faces two homicide counts and one attempted homicide count. He was also charged with the possession of a dangerous weapon while under the age of 18 and reckless endangerment. He was 17 when the incident took place.
If Rittenhouse if convicted guilty of first-degree intentional homicide, he faces life behind bars.
