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Six Quick Lessons from the Kyle Rittenhouse Trial
USCCA ^ | 12/15/2021 | Anthony L. DeWitt

Posted on 01/05/2022 4:41:42 PM PST by COBOL2Java


Editor’s note: The views expressed in the following article are that of attorney Anthony L. DeWitt and do not reflect an official stance from the USCCA.

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.

1. You Can Be in the Right and Still Be Wrong

Kyle Rittenhouse was attacked by four different people on the night he had to shoot to save his life. His trial illustrates quite well how a person can have good intentions yet still wind up in a heap of trouble. Rittenhouse went to Kenosha, Wisconsin, expecting to protect property and potentially help injured people. He gave up a bulletproof vest to a friend. Yet, a prosecutor described him as chasing down a protester for the sole purpose of killing him. Phrasing such as this does not happen by accident.

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.

2. Never Expect the Media to Be Fair

Many who watched the trial on YouTube with the benefit of lawyers alongside to point out the prosecution’s strategic and tactical missteps understood the trial was not going well for the state. But anyone watching a major media outlet was convinced Rittenhouse was headed for maximum security at the state prison. The media only covered testimony that was good for the prosecution.

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.

3. Who You Retain for a Lawyer Matters

Kyle Rittenhouse, by his account, was treated very badly by his original lawyers. They left him in jail instead of bailing him out. In fact, there are allegations they used Rittenhouse to feather their own nests. His lawyers made statements and admissions that would later be used against Rittenhouse and allegedly never advanced the goal of getting him free.

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!

4. A Case That Takes a Year to Get to Trial Takes a Great Deal of Money

The defense had to hire an expert witness in this case. When my firm hires a medical expert for a medical negligence case, we often expect to pay $5,000 just to get a report. When someone’s life is on the line and the question is the reasonable use of force, those experts do not come cheap. An expert will have an extensive background in the sciences involved, will have testified previously, will be well-spoken and be able to withstand cross-examination. You don’t find those folks standing on the street corner with a sign that says, “will testify for food.” You find them in universities or the private sector, where they are already making a six-figure salary. Asking them to take days, sometimes as long as a week to sit through a trial means paying them a sizeable fee.

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.

5. If It’s Funny and Irreverent, Do Not Wear It or Say It

At trial, we were treated to the fact that Rittenhouse’s TikTok handle was “Four Doors, More Whores.” To a 17-year-old boy in high school whose peer group has a higher testosterone level than IQ, that kind of humor is clever and genuinely funny. To a group of women on a jury, the idea that someone may have referred to a young lady in that way could well be shocking.

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.

6. Stay Home, Be a Good Witness

Probably the most important lesson to be learned from Rittenhouse’s acquittal is that it never needed to happen. In much the same way that many folks are killed in their own front yards by going out to investigate strange noises instead of alerting the police, Rittenhouse should never have been anywhere near Kenosha, Wisconsin, on August 25, 2020. He should never have agreed to help protect property. The adults in Rittenhouse’s life failed him by failing to keep him at home.

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.


TOPICS: AMERICA - The Right Way!!; Chit/Chat; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: banglist; kenosha; kylerittenhouse; rittenhouse
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About The Author: Anthony L. DeWitt

Anthony L. DeWitt is a contributing author for Concealed Carry Magazine, the USCCA self-defense blog and the First Line email newsletter. His monthly articles in the newsletter detail true stories of self-defense, detailing where gun owners went right in each incident and how they could've done better. Anthony currently works as a lawyer and enjoys simplifying seemingly complicated matters.
1 posted on 01/05/2022 4:41:42 PM PST by COBOL2Java
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To: COBOL2Java

Binger is the one who belongs in prison.


2 posted on 01/05/2022 4:49:23 PM PST by Seruzawa ("The Political left is the Garden of Eden of incompetence" - Marx the Smarter (Groucho))
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To: COBOL2Java

With his last point the author seems to be challenging the notion that masculinity has an important place in polite society


3 posted on 01/05/2022 4:51:33 PM PST by one guy in new jersey
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To: one guy in new jersey

We need a million such young men and I am proud of him for not staying home and watching tv.


4 posted on 01/05/2022 5:02:46 PM PST by Persevero (You cannot comply your way out of tyranny. )
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To: COBOL2Java

The prosecutor made many mistakes in his weapon description (calling the AR-15 a “large caliber” weapon, for example, etc,) but I also remember hearing a few smaller mistakes on the defense side (that I can’t recall the specifics of at the moment.)


5 posted on 01/05/2022 5:02:46 PM PST by Fido969 (45 is Superman!)
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To: one guy in new jersey

The last point is that citizens should do nothing - the only thing evil needs to win.


6 posted on 01/05/2022 5:03:45 PM PST by ctdonath2 (Statistics don't matter when they happen to you.)
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To: Seruzawa

I agree, that was my whole takeaway... After watching Binger everyone now hates the prosecution from the beginning as a default. He sure did not do the state any favors in any case anywhere.

What an arrogant fool. Wonder if he still has a job?


7 posted on 01/05/2022 5:04:44 PM PST by Openurmind (The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children. ~ D. Bonhoeffer)
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To: Seruzawa

Are there any stirrings, however slight, of Binger being prosecuted, or at least disbarred? He made so many “errors” that they can’t credibly be called errors - they were deliberate violations of rules or abject lies.


8 posted on 01/05/2022 5:04:48 PM PST by coloradan (They're not the mainstream media, they're the gaslight media. It's what they do. )
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To: COBOL2Java

6. Stay Home, Be a Good Witness
Probably the most important lesson to be learned from Rittenhouse’s acquittal is that it never needed to happen. In much the same way that many folks are killed in their own front yards by going out to investigate strange noises instead of alerting the police,
***This guy’s advice is to NOT investigate strange noises in your own freeping front yard but instead call the police? What a gigantic crock of 🐂💩

Rittenhouse should never have been anywhere near Kenosha, Wisconsin, on August 25, 2020. He should never have agreed to help protect property.
***The kid is a hero. The adults who were at fault for being stupid were the owners of that car lot. With all those guys who were guarding that lot, he shoulda had them drive the cars off the lot to some neighborhood where there was no rioting. A lot less temptation when there’s no cars in the lot.

The adults in Rittenhouse’s life failed him by failing to keep him at home.
***I think the adults in this writer’s life failed him by not helping him generate a skill of detecting bull feces.


9 posted on 01/05/2022 5:06:06 PM PST by Kevmo (I’m immune from Covid since I don’t watch TV.🤗)
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To: ctdonath2

“sometimes you just have to take your beating” is what the prosecution claimed...


10 posted on 01/05/2022 5:08:22 PM PST by Openurmind (The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children. ~ D. Bonhoeffer)
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To: COBOL2Java

Good points in the article.


11 posted on 01/05/2022 5:19:48 PM PST by Inyo-Mono
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To: Kevmo
6. Stay Home, Be a Good Witness

Probably good advice to give a 17-year old kid. But not so good to a 21-year old adult who sees it his duty to protect property, the livelihood, and likely the life of a friend whose business is being attacked by rioters and the police are ordered to stand down.

12 posted on 01/05/2022 5:23:39 PM PST by CedarDave (Pfizer's boosters: You just turned your immune system's functionality into a subscription service!)
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To: Kevmo
“Rittenhouse should never have been anywhere near Kenosha, Wisconsin, on August 25, 2020.”

Though controversial, this is a correct statement. Rittenhouse’s life was valuable but the city of Kenosha - and the population that elects its leadership - is not.

Kenosha is not the hill for a conservative to die on.

In fact, the entire state of Wisconsin is worth less than two cents.

Granted, an argument can be made against this assertion on moral grounds. From a secular view, the state of Wisconsin under current conditions is not worth bug spit.

I do not want my federal tax dollars being sent there to prop up a third-world utopia; and I certainly would not want my grandson sent there to sort the terrorists from the liberal college students.

13 posted on 01/05/2022 5:35:56 PM PST by jeffersondem
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To: CedarDave
The advice is "stay at home and be a wuss, even when you are asked to step forward to defend life & property".

I don't think it's good advice. Kyle was and is a hero. A streetcleaning hero.

He should run for mayor of Kenosha, then guvner, then president.


14 posted on 01/05/2022 5:36:47 PM PST by Kevmo (I’m immune from Covid since I don’t watch TV.🤗)
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To: jeffersondem

“Rittenhouse should never have been anywhere near Kenosha, Wisconsin, on August 25, 2020.”
Though controversial, this is a correct statement.
***There is nothing correct about it. The kid is a hero. He stepped forward when wusses stayed home.

Rittenhouse’s life was valuable but the city of Kenosha - and the population that elects its leadership - is not.
***Kenosha is in the USA. Every INCH of this land is worth defending.

Kenosha is not the hill for a conservative to die on.
***It was the hill for 2 deviant libtards to die on, and one more jerkwad libtard to luze the use of his arm.

In fact, the entire state of Wisconsin is worth less than two cents.
***It is in the USA so it is worth fighting for.

Granted, an argument can be made against this assertion on moral grounds.
***Then I promote such an argument.

From a secular view, the state of Wisconsin under current conditions is not worth bug spit.
***That there secular view will destroy America. “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” ~John Adams

I do not want my federal tax dollars being sent there to prop up a third-world utopia;
***I see you are taking this ‘secular view’. Keep in mind that this website is “Pro-God” per the founder. https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1103363/posts

and I certainly would not want my grandson sent there
***Kyle was not ‘sent’. He volunteered. Your position seems to be upholding wimpiness as a virtue.

to sort the terrorists from the liberal college students.
***When the police withdraw, it will be almost all terrorists.


15 posted on 01/05/2022 5:45:20 PM PST by Kevmo (I’m immune from Covid since I don’t watch TV.🤗)
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To: Kevmo
“He stepped forward when wusses stayed home.”

That is an interesting comment. It reminds me of President Kennedy's stirring words: We will go anywhere. Defend any friend. Oppose any foe. Pay any price.

Many American's bought into that. Until they realized their leadership did not believe that. It was just political rhetoric incorporated into a speech by a speech writer for a specific purpose on a specific day.

If you believe that rhetoric, it speaks well of you. I mean that.

But if you live in Wisconsin, you need to realize this: you are living deep behind enemy lines. Rittenhouse is lucky he wasn't sent to prison for life to protect someone else’s sheet metal.

If you openly get into the streets and oppose the police state and their auxiliaries, you may not be so lucky. The Karens there will bury you.

16 posted on 01/05/2022 6:02:41 PM PST by jeffersondem
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To: Persevero
We need a million such young men and I am proud of him for not staying home and watching tv.

Exactly.

We all die in the end.

Life without risk is not life. It is death.

17 posted on 01/05/2022 6:07:29 PM PST by marktwain (Amazing people can read a persons entire personality and character from one photograph.)
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To: jeffersondem

If you believe that rhetoric, it speaks well of you. I mean that.
***I do. And I also acknowledge the facts on the ground, that in many areas such as Kenosha Wisconsin, we patriots are outmaneuvered, for now. But God was with Kyle, God is with us, and God has an interest in our little political republic experiment.


18 posted on 01/05/2022 6:14:01 PM PST by Kevmo (I’m immune from Covid since I don’t watch TV.🤗)
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To: COBOL2Java
Anthony L. DeWitt is a contributing author for Concealed Carry Magazine, the USCCA self-defense blog and the First Line email newsletter.

If Tony ever finds himself and his neighborhood under overwhelming lethal assault by government sanctioned gangs of criminals released by Soros-bought prosecutors ... I'll be busy trimming my toenails.

19 posted on 01/05/2022 7:04:34 PM PST by TigersEye (Ray Epps didn't kill himself.)
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To: COBOL2Java; mylife; Joe Brower; MaxMax; Randy Larsen; waterhill; Envisioning; AZ .44 MAG; umgud; ...

RKBA Ping List


This Ping List is for all things pertaining to infringes upon or victories for the 2nd Amendment.

FReepmail me if you want to be added to or deleted from the list.

More 2nd Amendment related articles on FR's Bang List.

20 posted on 01/06/2022 7:40:41 AM PST by PROCON (Sic Semper Tyrannis)
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