The judge presiding over Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial scolded the prosecutor during a fiery exchange on Wednesday during cross-examination.
"Don’t get brazen with me," Judge Bruce Schroeder told prosecutor Thomas Binger in the courtroom.
Kyle Rittenhouse breaks down on the stand as he testifies about his encounter with the late Joseph Rosenbaum during his trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021. Rittenhouse is accused of killing two people and wounding a third during a protest over police brutality in Kenosha, last year. (Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool)
The exchange came after Binger asked Rittenhouse a series of questions regarding whether he knows that deadly force can not be used to protect property.
The judge soon asked the jury to exit the courtroom.
Schroeder accused Binger of improperly trying to introduce testimony that he had earlier said he was not inclined to include. Rittenhouse attorney Mark Richards also suggested Binger might be attempting to provoke a mistrial.
"I was astonished when you began your examination by commenting on the defendant’s post-arrest silence. That's basic law. It's been basic law in this country for 40 years. 50 years. I have no idea why you would do something like that," Schroeder told Binger.
Mark Richards, lead attorney for Kyle Rittenhouse, cross-examines Dr. Douglas Kelley, a forensic pathologist with the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office, during Rittenhouse's trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse on November 9, 2021 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse is accused of shooting three demonstrators, killing two of them, during a night of unrest that erupted in Kenosha after a police officer shot Jacob Blake seven times in the back while being arrested in August 2020. Rittenhouse, from Antioch, Illinois, was 17 at the time of the shooting and armed with an assault rifle. He faces counts of felony homicide and felony attempted homicide.
"You know very well that an attorney can't go into these types of areas when the judge has already ruled without asking outside the presence of the jury to do so. So don't give me that. That's number one," the judge added to Binger.
KYLE RITTENHOUSE TRIAL: SHOOTING VICTIM GAIGE GROSSKREUTZ SAYS HE WAS POINTING HIS GUN AT YOUNG MAN
"Number two. This is propensity evidence. I said at the time that I made by ruling and I'll repeat again now for you. I see no similarity between talking about wishing you had your AR gun, which you don't have, so that you can take … fire fire rounds with these thought-to-be shoplifters and the incidence in these cases."
Mark Richards, Kyle Rittenhouse's lead attorney, left, talks with Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger, center, during a break in Rittenhouse's trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wis., on Wednesday, Nov. 3 2021. Rittenhouse is accused of killing two people and wounding a third during a protest over police brutality in Kenosha, last year. (Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool) (Sean Krajacic/The Kenosha News via AP, Pool)
Rittenhouse is on trial on charges of killing two men and wounding a third during riot in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year. He was charged with two counts of homicide, one count of attempted homicide, recklessly endangering safety and illegal possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18.
He took the stand for the first time on Wednesday, where he sobbed at one point, but was composed otherwise.
New York-based criminal defense attorney Julie Rendelman, a former prosecutor, spoke to Fox News Digital by phone during the lunch break on Wednesday to react to Kyle Rittenhouse's testimony so far.
Rendelman, who has been following the trial, said Rittenhouse "seems very prepared," but added, "the big test is the cross-examination."
Kyle Rittenhouse's mother tears up as he testifies at Kyle Rittenhouse trial at the Kenosha County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, November 10, 2021. Mark Hertzberg/Pool via REUTERS (Mark Hertzberg/Pool via REUTERS)
She does not think the prosecution is so far "doing an effective job."
"I think they are literally stepping all over the Constitution and I don't get it," she continued. "They've broken like three rules already."
"Let me be clear, I don't support Kyle Rittenhouse. I don't support what he did. But when you're asking me questions about whether or not this individual will be found guilty based on the facts and based on the law, that's a whole other issue," Rendelman explained. "When you have a prosecutor asking questions that they darn well know they're not permitted to ask, then of course you're going to raise the judge's ire about it."
Rendelman explained what she saw as the three missteps by the prosecution.
"The first comments by the prosecutor was, 'This is the first time you're giving this, this version of events.'" Rendelman recalled. "A defendant has a right to remain silent. And so you cannot bring up or question the defendant in front of the jury about the fact that he chose not to speak in the past."
The second misstep by the prosecution, Rendelman said, was that Binger "commented on the fact that the defendant tailored his testimony after listening to all the witnesses, which you can't comment on because a defendant has a right to be present during a trial."
"You can't raise that as a basis for saying that he's not credible, saying 'Oh, you sat through the trial' -- which of course he's sitting through the trial, he's the defendant -- and then say, 'Oh, that's the reason you're testifying the way you did.'"
The third problem Rendelman pointed to is when the prosecution asked Rittenhouse questions related to statements he had previously made regarding how he wanted to use the rifle.
"Prior to trial, the judge said that's not coming in," Rendelman explained, referring to the details regarding those statements. "And the only way it would come in is if they open the door."
Rendelman said she would do "everything" in her power "to stay away from angering the judge."
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"If the jury respects the judge and the judge is not liking the behavior of the prosecutor, that will impact the jury's decision," she explained. "That's the first thing I care about is toeing the line with my behavior."
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