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While addressing the jury before closing arguments began Monday morning, Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed count six of the indictment against Kyle Rittenhouse. Count six was a misdemeanor charge for possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18.
The charge was punishable by up to nine months in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Judge Schroeder said the Wisconsin law was poorly written and that the shorter barrel size of the rifle Rittenhouse carried meant he didn’t violate that law.
“No longer part of your consideration”
Rittenhouse still faces five felony charges from the events of August 25, 2020. If the jury convicts him of the most serious charge against him, he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. Rittenhouse has pleaded not guilty to all five charges.
Judge Schroeder has begun reading instructions to the jury ahead of closing arguments from the prosecution and defense.
The judge and attorneys estimate the reading of the instructions will take about an hour, with 36 pages of jury instructions.
The judge is pushing for a full acquittal. No partial conviction can be allowed. He’s obviously guilty of the gun charge so the best strategy is to rule that the law is “poorly written”. Huh? and the barrel is too short? Sawed off barrels are a crime everywhere. No he didn’t want the jury to be able to settle on any conviction.