Kyle Rittenhouse Trial: Jurors Wrap Second Day Of Deliberations Without Verdict After Watching Videos Of Shootings; Defense Calls For Mistrial Again
by Mugo Odigwe, Charlie De Mar, and Marie Saavedra
KENOSHA, Wis. (CBS)-- Jurors in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial completed a second day of deliberations on Wednesday without reaching a verdict, but spent about 45 minutes reviewing video evidence from the case.
Meanwhile, issues surrounding the video prompted the defense to call for a mistrial again.
The jury will resume their deliberations at 9 a.m. Thursday. They have been deliberating approximately 16 hours over the past two days so far.
About two hours into their second day of deliberations on Wednesday, the jury asked the judge to view some of the videos that were presented at trial.
Prosecutors said jurors should be able to watch any of the videos of the shootings as many times as they want, but defense attorneys objected to allowing the jury to view drone video of Rittenhouse shooting and killing Joseph Rosenbaum, and the defense team is seeking a mistrial over that video, claiming prosecutors provided them with a lower quality version of the video, which was improper.
"We got a compressed version, which was not of the quality that they had," said defense attorney Corey Chirafisi. "That doesn't strike me as fair."
This was the second call for a mistrial, which prosecutors rebuffed and called "inappropriate."
However, prosecutors said they sent the defense the same version of the video they received, and believe because it was being transferred from a prosecutor's Apple phone to a defense attorney's Android phone, the file was compressed during transfer. When both sides later learned the defense had received a lower quality version of the video, prosecutors provided the defense with the higher-quality version.
Schroeder said he would let jurors watch the drone video if they want to see it, but he also wants to hear from expert witnesses outside the presence of the jury regarding the dispute over the quality of the video the defense team received, and if there are problems with the handling of the video, it could cause the case to fall apart in the event of an appeal.
"I was queasy about this from the beginning, and even more so now," Schroeder said.
CBS 2 legal analyst Irv Miller agreed.
"That could easily lead to the demise of this case on a legal basis. This evidence has to be legit. The jury, to consider it, has to have faith in it," Miller said.
Former federal prosecutor Phil Turner also said the complaint about the video is a fair issue.
"Videos make a big difference in all kinds of cases," Turner said. "Parties want to make sure that they're able to point out where the video falls short."
After much wrangling over the logistics of how jurors would view any videos they wanted to see, Schroeder arranged for the videos to be loaded onto a computer the jurors would use to watch the footage they requested in the courtroom, without anyone else in the room.
Along with the drone video, the jury has requested to re-watch several videos of the night Rittenhosue shot three people, killing two of them.
"To me, that is a significant sign that there is disagreement in that jury room, and they're trying to convince one another that their side is right," Miller said.
Jurors spent about 45 minutes watching the videos, and then later were dismissed for the day around 4:30 p.m. They will resume deliberations Thursday morning.
Turner said the jury's request to see the video again shows how seriously they take their task.
"The jury is doing what it is supposed to do - and that is scrutinize the evidence very closely to determine whether the prosecution has proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt," Turner said.
The jury deliberated for a full day on Tuesday without reaching a verdict. Schroeder also has not ruled on the defense's request for a mistrial, saying he first wants to allow the prosecution to file a formal response to the defense's motion.
Before deliberations began Tuesday morning, the field of 18 jurors was winnowed down to 12, after their numbers were placed on pieces of paper in a lottery tumbler in the courtroom, and Rittenhouse himself picked six pieces of paper that were used to identify the alternate jurors.
The alternate jurors are three white males and three white females, leaving the lone person of color still on the jury of seven women and five men who will decide the verdict.
Jurors heard from more than 30 witnesses during two weeks of testimony.
Rittenhouse, 18, faces five felony charges in the August 2020 shootings that killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, during a chaotic night of protests in Kenosha over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Rittenhouse was 17 at the time of the shootings.
A total of 500 National Guard troops are standing by in case of possible unrest once a verdict is reached.