Rittenhouse Defense Calls For Mistrial “With Prejudice”

The Associated Press reports:

The murder case against Kyle Rittenhouse was thrown into jeopardy Wednesday when his lawyers asked for a mistrial over what appeared to be out-of-bounds questions asked of Rittenhouse by the chief prosecutor. The judge did not immediately rule on the request.

Rittenhouse lawyer Corey Chirafasi all but suggested prosecutors might be deliberately trying to cause a mistrial because this one is “going badly” for the prosecution and it wants a do-over. The defense asked for a mistrial with prejudice, meaning that if one is granted, Rittenhouse cannot be retried.

Yahoo News reports:



The motion for a mistrial was filed in response to Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger’s cross examination of Rittenhouse, which he began by implying that the defendant’s silence ahead of the trial was potentially incriminating.

Rittenhouse’s attorney objected to the line of questioning. After instructing the jury to leave the room, the judge sustained the defense’s objection and berated the prosecutor for implying Rittenhouse should be penalized for exercising his constitutional right to remain silent.