'Whole case is a mess': Internet stunned as judge lets Rittenhouse choose final jurors in raffle system
[Correction: This piece claims that Kyle Rittenhouse crossed state lines with a gun. Prosecutors in both Illinois and Wisconsin have said otherwise. AlterNet regrets the error.]
Controversial Judge Bruce Schroeder allowed Kyle Rittenhouse, on trial for shooting three people and killing two of them with an AR-15 assault weapon he had illegally obtains and carried across state lines, with literally having a hand in choosing the twelve jurors who will now decide his fate.
Judge Schroder has been under fire for what many see as extraordinary deference to Rittenhouse, some even say support of Rittenhouse. Others have noted his cell phone ring tone is the same song as Donald Trump's campaign theme song, and others still were offended by at least one offhand "joke" Schroder made. Trial watchers were also stunned when Schroder falsely claimed zooming in on a photo as millions of people do daily to enlarge it is "so-called scientific evidence." And others were disturbed by Schroeder's very public attacks on the prosecutor.
18 jurors sat through the entire trial, but only 12, as is customary, will decide the case.
"At the direction of Circuit Judge Bruce Schroder," the Associated Press reports Tuesday afternoon, "Rittenhouse's attorney placed slips of paper into a raffle drum with the numbers of each of the 18 jurors on it who sat through the two-week trial. The drum had been sitting on a window ledge throughout the trial but was placed in front of Rittenhouse at the defense table Tuesday."
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"Rittenhouse then selected six pieces of paper from the drum, who a court official then read aloud to be dismissed: 11, 58, 14, 45, 9 and 52."
The remaining 12 will deliberate the case.
Correction: He randomly drew six numbers: 11, 58, 14, 45, 9, 52\n\nThose are the six alternates for the case. \n\n#RittenhouseTrial— Andrew Havranek (@Andrew Havranek) 1637075578
"I've never heard of a defendant pulling the names," Portage County Assistant District Attorney Robert Jambois told the AP. "That's done by a member of the court."
Not in this case, which has deviated from general norms repeatedly.
Former Milwaukee County assistant district attorney Julius Kim told the AP, "I've never seen a judge allow a defendant to draw those names. That might be a little unconventional but there's nothing wrong with it that I could really see."
On social media many were stunned.
I thought this was snark until I read the article. “At the direction of Circuit Judge Bruce Schroder, Rittenhouse's attorney placed slips of paper into a raffle drum" pic.twitter.com/hHkaBj313l
— cindy_momo'4 (@cindymomo4) November 16, 2021
Are you fucking kidding me right now? When will this judge be removed from the bench? #RittenhouseTrial\n\nJudge lets Kyle Rittenhouse choose from raffle drum which jurors will decide his fate - Newsweekhttps://apple.news/AWfnCjkG2QHepVuW3ENExfw\u00a0\u2026— TutuGigi (@TutuGigi) 1637084877
he's drawing papers out of a raffle drum so it's mostly just the judge doing an open "fuck you" to anyone who thinks he's being too preferential to Rittenhouse, rubbing it in
— Max (@ApplyNoRules) November 16, 2021
A \u201cgame\u201d at a homicide trial - where the defendant appears as the contestant and reaches into a raffle barrel - deserves an explanation:\nHow the Rittenhouse jury was narrowed #kylerittenhouse #rittenhouse #homicide #homicidetrialhttps://apnews.com/article/kyle-rittenhouse-trial-kenosha-alernate-jurors-6083818efa5b6888d8059d97b17f85b7\u00a0\u2026— Todd McDermott (@Todd McDermott) 1637083917
not the Judge allowing Kyle Rittenhouse to choose jurors by raffle\u2026 this whole case is a mess.— kharizma. (@kharizma.) 1637080288
Next: Judge Schroder lets Kyle Rittenhouse choose his fate from a raffle drum marked with verdicts ranging from "Not Guilty" to "Innocent as Hell."https://apnews.com/article/kyle-rittenhouse-trial-kenosha-alernate-jurors-6083818efa5b6888d8059d97b17f85b7?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP&utm_campaign=SocialFlow\u00a0\u2026— Vs. (@Vs.) 1637080081
