Kyle Rittenhouse trial - anyone watching?

Listened to him testify this am. He comes across as such a boy scout. What a dbag. Dropped out of school, drives himself to work, no license, etc, etc.

He should have stayed home and played his video games....

So many families affected by this tragedy.

I think the judge is doing a lousy job and I don't believe anything out of that kid's mouth.. and really? can't trust pinch zooming?

I was surprised the prosecution used him as a witness. I wonder if they knew he was going to say that Rittenhouse shot him in self-defense?

I saw part of it today when he was being questioned by the prosecutor and he really doesn’t make a great witness. What a punk ass douchebag.

Typical privileged brat. Curfew doesn't apply to me, driving without a license doesn't apply to me etc, etc, etc.

If it goes to mistrial, I think it should be retried.  The current judge has set some strange parameters, such as verbage when referring to the men that were shot.  Social media posts Kyle made can't be shown.  

The prosecutor absolutely sucks at his job. I just watched him question Rittenhouse and he accidentally proved that he wasn't just shooting at anyone who was shooting off their gun, but that he was only reacting to personal threats. That wasn't the prosecutor's intention. He was so focused on his line of questioning and steering it a certain way that I'm not even sure if he realized that he did that. 
If I had come in at that point I would have thought he was the defense.

Here's the information I have for you: prosecutors are not used to having to be good at their jobs or pleasing the judge, often. They usually have the sympathy of the judge and are prosecuting someone without resources. It's a fact-based running joke among defense attorneys that prosecutors don't know how to cross-examine witnesses.

Honestly what you are watching is a judge treating the prosecutor like they normally treat the defense attorney. We have to ask permission before we do absolutely everything or the judge will take our heads off.

Also what you are seeing is that self-defense law in this country has gone far off of its original form, which was that if you provoked a conflict you could not claim self-defense.

Anyhow, the thing is that the absolute best version of events here is that a minor with terrible judgment was driven by an adult with terrible judgment to a place he had no business being with a gun he had no business carrying, and is now being enabled by adults with a gross political agenda. No matter what happens here, I think it is going to be very difficult to rehabilitate him into a force for good.

His mother will be on Hannity tonight...

www.rawstory.com/wendy-rittenhouse-sean-hannity/

I don't think the prosecution is doing a good job, but I do think the judge is biased. Today's news is that he won't allow a video to be enlarged because "pinch to zoom" alters the original content of the video. WTH?!

Ok, sure…

Is it just me or is this a somewhat sympathetic take on this kid?

I have no sympathy for any kid that thinks an AR.15 is cool so he buys one illegally and takes to a protest so he could play cop.

From The New York Times

“Kyle Rittenhouse arrived in downtown Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020, with at least one mission in mind: to play the role of police officer and medic, joining a group of other armed civilians roaming the city streets, offering medical attention to strangers and protecting buildings from rioters.

The night would end with Mr. Rittenhouse, then 17, engaging in violence himself, fatally shooting two men and wounding another. Hours later, he turned himself in to the police in Illinois, where he lived.

For much of his life, Mr. Rittenhouse had tried on identities infused with bravery and service, while exaggerating his accomplishments and eventually dropping out of high school.

He had idolized law enforcement since he was young, joining a cadet program for at-risk youths in his hometown, Antioch, Ill., and later decorating his social media pages with Blue Lives Matter images and praise for former President Donald J. Trump. At the time of the shootings, Mr. Rittenhouse was employed part-time as a lifeguard at a recreational complex in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., which borders Kenosha.”

The result wouldn’t be different with a different judge.

People are basing feelings and opinions on the whole of the story, but the story is very different from the actual narrow legal question that is being adjudicated at trial.

At trial, it doesn’t matter why he went there. It doesn’t matter that he crossed state lines. It doesn’t matter why he had the weapon.

Literally all that matters is did he reasonably believe that he was in danger at that moment and the clear answer is yes.

Now clearly, when people are forming their opinions they’re going to argue that he wouldn’t have been in danger if he hadn’t put himself in that situation, but in this trial, that doesn’t matter.