By David K. Li -
NBC News
In a final twist before the trial against Kyle Rittenhouse was seen for sentencing, the judge asked the defendant to extract some pieces of paper from a container to form the final jury that will decide whether to end up in jail or go free.
The 18-year-old
thus randomly chose
the 12 people who will determine if he is criminally responsible for killing two men during protests against police brutality and racism that took place last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Kyle Rittenhouse pulls a number out of a hype to select the final jurors during his trial in a court in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021.Sean Krajacic / The Kenosha News via AP
Throughout the two weeks of trial, 18 potential jurors heard the testimony and arguments presented by the defense and the prosecution, in accordance with the custom of Wisconsin courts to include more people before choosing the 12 in charge of reaching a verdict, different lawyers explained Tuesday.
After concluding the closing arguments, Rittenhouse
drew six numbers from a hype corresponding to the six jurors that were eliminated
.
The panel was made up of seven women and five men, who this Tuesday face the second day of deliberations to agree on a verdict.
[The judge dismisses the accusation against Kyle Rittenhouse for carrying the AR-15 rifle with which he killed two men in Kenosha]
John P. Gross, director of the Public Defenders Project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, acknowledged that so far he had only seen judges make this selection.
However, it did not seem wrong to him that the defendant took charge of this process.
"It's completely random and whoever chooses, chooses," Gross said.
"
It was an interesting theatrical moment
that the judge invited the defendant to do the drawing," he added.
Ion Meyn, who is also a law professor at UW-Madison, said the action took him by surprise, since the court clerk always handles the jury selection.
"I know it is a random selection, but it worries me. For me, from an optical point of view, it does not make sense. I do not think it was a good idea," he stressed.
Trial against Kyle Rittenhouse reaches key point for jury to decide if he committed murder
Nov. 15, 202101: 43
Michael D. Cicchini, who practices criminal law in Kenosha, agreed that he has always seen the judges or sheriffs make the selection.
But it was no problem for the young man to remove the papers.
"
It is not very consistent
. Everything is random," said Cicchini, "I do not see anything unusual in it. I mean, it is the trial of the accused."
For Michael O'Hear, who teaches Criminal Law at Marquette University, the judge's decision did not upset him either: "
As long as the process is random, whose hand that enters that glass does not matter,
" he stressed, "perhaps optically seems unbalanced, but that's getting into minutiae ”.
[Kyle Rittenhouse bursts into tears and justifies killing two people at the Kenosha protest: "I was defending myself!"]
Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder has been a front-runner in the trial from the start for a series of courtroom rulings and outbursts that have drawn attention.
Does it have any legal significance that Rittenhouse conducted the giveaway?
"No," Gross replied.
But, he added, "for this case, with this judge, is it a proper ending? Yes."
