Posted on 01/05/2022 4:41:42 PM PST by COBOL2Java
If you watched any part of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, you know there were some tremendous takeaways for concealed carriers. What follows is my analysis of the six most important lessons as a legal professional.
Attorney Thomas Binger told jurors they would hear evidence Rittenhouse chased down Joseph Rosenbaum, knowing the video showed Rittenhouse running away from Rosenbaum. He was relying on his ability to set the narrative and have the jury see what he wanted them to see. As someone famous once said, a lie can get around the world twice while the truth is still putting on its shoes. Binger knew that video would show Rittenhouse running. Rittenhouse was running away, but Binger told jurors he was chasing Rosenbaum. He did this with the expectation that when the jury saw Rittenhouse running, the members would reach the erroneous conclusion he was chasing rather than being chased.
The prosecution closed with the argument that Kyle Rittenhouse should have taken a beating instead of killing someone. That’s a ridiculous premise, but a prosecutor’s main objective is to win.
Everything you do in a self-defense situation can be framed negatively, even running away. That’s why immediate legal help is so important.
While not all media outlets did so, the vast majority simply tailored coverage to predict a conviction — even knowing one was unlikely given the testimony.
Rosenbaum lunged for Rittenhouse’s rifle and had said he was going to kill him. Rittenhouse fired off four rapid shots in less than 3/4 of a second. It was clear self-defense. However, the media only reported on people like Gaige Grosskreutz, saying “I thought I was going to die.” Many outlets did not report on his later admission that Grosskreutz wasn’t shot until he pointed his gun at Rittenhouse’s head. The media has the ability to manipulate the truth by what they omit as much as by what they choose to cover.
Actual defense work began when Mark Richards and Corey Chirafisi got involved. Witnesses were interviewed, statements taken, video reviewed and trial plans made. Juror consultants were brought in to do mock trials and take note of demographic information. This helped find a fair jury for Rittenhouse. (It is not unusual for attorneys to rely on juror consultants to help select an impartial jury when dealing with high-profile cases that provoke strong sentiments, such as in Rittenhouse’s case.) The lawyers did not seek to make the case about a cause or about themselves. They worked for Rittenhouse and prepared him to testify.
There are thousands of lawyers who would be excellent at trying a breach of contract case or a slip and fall lawsuit. However, they shouldn’t be within 1,000 miles of a criminal courtroom. While trial skills are, to a certain extent, transferrable, understanding how firearms work and knowing the law of self-defense with its many twists and exceptions are key in winning an acquittal in a self-defense situation. Anyone who watched the trial cringed when Binger began talking about exploding bullets and pointed the rifle directly at the jury. If a defense lawyer had done any of that, the case would likely have been over before it began.
Your lawyer should know more about how your firearms work, what happened at the scene and what the key facts are than the prosecution does. He or she will have to question on the witness stand investigators who are trained not to give an inch under cross-examination. Lawyers will need to be at the top of their games to do this. Who you hire for your lawyer matters — a lot!
As well, the jury consultants, pollsters, data analysts, forensic video analysts and court reporters all have to be paid. These people are also paid well for what they do. When your life is on the line and Brutus is coming at you with a machete, you don’t want ammunition you bought at the Dollar Store in your firearm. Likewise, when your life is on the line, you want the very best people proving your innocence. And that kind of help costs money.
Similarly, we were able to see a photo of Rittenhouse, taken after he was able to post bail, in a T-shirt that read “FREE AS F***.” The photo was taken and found its way to the prosecutor. Rittenhouse had to answer for that on the stand.
Signs that say “keep honking, I’m reloading” are funny. But they say something about the person who puts that kind of bumper sticker on his or her car. And prosecutors are always happy to make a person look bad for no other reason than to secure a conviction. Rittenhouse’s shirt had no bearing whatsoever on his guilt or innocence. Neither did his TikTok handle. But they made Rittenhouse squirm on the witness stand.
Riots where police officers abdicate their duty to the public and let miscreants burn cars, houses and gas stations are awful reminders that who you elect to positions of trust in your county is important. But there is a big difference between protecting your dwelling from people intent on taking your life and protecting someone’s car inventory. Everyone understands the former. Apparently 12 good people understood the latter as well and gave Rittenhouse the acquittal the evidence demanded. But that result is less likely to occur in states like Illinois, New York, California or Massachusetts. And that’s the real danger in generalizing the Rittenhouse case.
“That’s a ridiculous premise, but a prosecutor’s main objective is to win.”
Silly me. I thought Prosecutors were supposed to see that Justice is done.
L
You could ask Mike Nifong.
Shoulda...Woulda...Coulda...
Yep!
All he should have done was give up all his unalienable rights as a citizen of the former Republic...
What a load (items 5 & 6) of BS...
I was still 17 when I joined the Marine Corps (Moms consent of course), just barely 18 when I graduated from Boot Camp.
A persons calendar age, once over 15 or 16, has very little to do with their ability to think and act like what is called a “legal adult”.
I have known many very young people who were more adult thinking than a lot of the 21 to 40’s folks I have known.
Most of it boils down to your life and the decisions and consequences you had to live with as a young person.
Thats the way I see it.
Fear is the little death, fear prevents you from living your life as you see fit.
Those who feel fear but push through it to accomplish a goal live their lives to the fullest.
Those who allow fear to guide each and every action of their lives die a little bit each time they have to make a decision.
Fear is the little death, that’s what my Father taught me!
Who were Rittenhouse’s original lawyers? Lin Wood and who else?
The lawyer is basically saying, "It takes a village," but the village is best served if everyone focuses on protecting their own. The cumulative effect of 100 people protecting their own lot is that the whole block is protected.
The trade-off is the idea that the 100 can gather at the entrances to the village and stop the incursion in force.
-PJ
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