It’s been reported that the defense team for Kyle Rittenhouse submitted a request for a mistrial late on Wednesday.Earlier this week, the defense had motioned for a mistrial with prejudice alleging that the prosecution withheld drone footage from the night Rittenhouse killed two men and injured another in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
It’s been reported that defense lawyer Corey Chirafisi made a separate request late on Wednesday for a mistrial.about:blank
“We didn’t have the quality of evidence that the state had until the case had been closed,” he told Judge Bruce Schroeder.
The Times reported the defense is now “asking for a mistrial ‘without prejudice’ — meaning that prosecutors could refile charges — arguing that they did not have access to a high-quality video that most fully captures the first of the three shootings.”
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the defense originally received a lower quality version of the drone footage and says they were not given the high-definition version until Saturday.
“On Friday, the parties had rested, and we were going to open our closings on Monday,” Chirafisi said. “We’ve talked to Mr. Rittenhouse, and I’m going to be asking the court for a mistrial.”
“We watched the video. I can tell you what we think, but it doesn’t matter what we think, because we don’t get to present that to the jury anymore,” Chirafisi said. “And I think if we’re going to try to do this in a way that is free from anybody hiding anything, anybody not having the same evidence as everybody else has … we have to ask for this, and I’m asking for it.”
