Posted on 11/15/2021 9:25:32 AM PST by blam
Harvard law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz says Kyle Rittenhouse “should be acquitted” of killing two men and wounding a third during riots and protests last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and he should file defamation lawsuits against media outlets for claiming that he’s guilty of murder.
“If I were a juror, I would vote that there was reasonable doubt [and] that he did act in self-defense,” Dershowitz told Newsmax on Nov. 13.
Rittenhouse, if acquitted, should then “bring lawsuits” against corporate news outlets for articles claiming the teen engaged in “vigilante justice,” Dershowitz said.
“It’s CNN who is involved in vigilante justice. It’s The New Yorker that’s guilty of vigilante justice,” he said.
Several years ago, then-Kentucky high school student Nicholas Sandmann filed defamation suits against CNN, The Washington Post, and other outlets following accusations of racism against him after a viral video showed an encounter with a Native American activist in Washington, D.C. Sandmann ended up reaching a settlement with CNN and The Washington Post last year.
“The idea is to make the media accountable for deliberate and willful lies,” said Dershowitz, referring to Sandmann’s case.
Now, left-leaning media outlets “want an outcome” in the trial, Dershowitz said.
“They want a result and if they don’t get their results, and you know this seeps through to the jury. I worry that the jury could be influenced by the fear that if they vote to acquit, they’ll be called racist and they’ll be attacked.”
Rittenhouse, 18, is charged with killing Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, in Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020, during protests and rioting that followed a police-involved shooting. Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty.
According to video footage of the incident, both Huber and Grosskreutz chased Rittenhouse as he was trying to run toward police after shooting Rosenbaum. Several videos and photos also show Huber hitting Rittenhouse with a skateboard, while Grosskreutz, who himself was armed with a handgun, testified last week that he thought Huber was attempting to attack Rittenhouse.
Dershowitz’s remarks come after Judge Bruce Schroeder, the presiding judge in the case, said he may allow the jury to consider several lesser charges in addition to the murder charges that prosecutors brought against Rittenhouse.
On Nov. 12, he told Rittenhouse that with the lesser charges, “You’re raising the risk of conviction, although you’re avoiding the possibility that the jury will end up compromising on the more serious crime.”
The judge continued, “You’re also decreasing the risk that you’ll end up with a second trial because the jury is unable to agree.” Rittenhouse confirmed that he understood.
I would love to see the MSM pay for its sins. Literally.
I hope he sues many many media talking heads!
Hope he sues for wrongful prosecution as well.
There should be penalties for running an innocent man through the process like this.
I just hope the jury doesn’t convict on something out of fear of the mob.
It’s amazing to me how much political bias seems to affect everything. All these lefties want this kid to fry only because they perceive him to be on the other side. If someone had told those same people that he had shot 3 January 6th protestors, they’d be defending him
Include Sleep Joe in the lawsuit too.
Dershowitz is the rare honest man. Turley, too.
He most certainly needs to sue the media outlets for what they allowed over the air.
the jury could be influenced by the fear that if they vote to acquit, they’ll be called racist and they’ll be attacked.”......
Never understood the race aspect of this case since it was KR vs 3 white thugs.
I have not been following this trial closely, but I have heard very little about how Kyle’s defense attorney has been performing. Most of what I hear is about the back-and-forth between the prosecution and the judge.
Has Kyle’s attorney been doing an adequate job? Has he called out the prosecution on any of his BS? Or has he been just sitting back and playing more of a spectator role?
Sad but true. It just shows how phony the propaganda media and others on the left are. They do not accept objective truths.
“Has Kyle’s attorney been doing an adequate job?”
Well, they got Grosskreup or whatever his name is to say, on the stand, that Kyle did not shoot him when Grosskreup approached, did not shoot him when he raised his arms, and only did shoot him when he pointed his gun at Kyle. To any sane person this completely and utterly destroyed the prosecution’s case on this count. So, I would say they’re doing a pretty good job. They also got the charge of illegally carrying the gun thrown out. That was a pretty big deal as it eliminated a minor underlying charge that could have had an impact on the major charges.
Absolutely, all Rittenhouse’s charges should be dropped. This should have NEVER BEEN BROUGHT TO TRIAL.
Your comparison to a leftist view of the same events if they had happened on Jan. 6 is something I hadn’t thought of, and is an excellent point.
Judge can overrule a guilty verdict if the thinks the jury acts out of fear
I hadn't notice before, all three of the 'victims' here have German names. Actually all four 'victims' have German names and maybe Jewish names. What are the odds of that?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.