EXPLAINER: What’s behind Rittenhouse mistrial requests?

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MADISON, Wis. — Attorneys for Kyle Rittenhouse have requested a mistrial based on several issues, including claims that prosecutors acted in bad faith and that the state gave them an inferior copy of video that may be a key piece of evidence in the case.

The defense says some of the issues should result in a mistrial with no chance for a retrial, while one could give prosecutors the option to try Rittenhouse again.

Here’s a look at the mistrial requests and what they mean:

MISTRIAL WITH PREJUDICE

The defense made its first request for a mistrial last week and followed up on Monday with a written motion, seeking a mistrial with prejudice based on three issues.

Among them, Rittenhouse’s attorneys argued that prosecutors brought up a prior incident the judge had previously ruled could not be raised at trial. It involved a video that showed Rittenhouse witnessing possible shoplifting and saying if he had a gun he would shoot the people.

Judge Bruce Schroeder admonished prosecutor Thomas Binger when he tried to raise it in front of the jury.

The judge also chided Binger, during cross-examination of Rittenhouse, for a line of questioning that the judge said was a commentary on Rittenhouse’s constitutional right to invoke silence after his arrest. Binger said he was trying to establish that the testimony Rittenhouse heard during the trial influenced what he said on the stand when telling his story for the first time publicly.

“This is a grave constitutional violation for you to talk about the defendant’s silence,” Schroeder told the prosecutor. “You’re right on the borderline. And you may be over. But it better stop.”

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Article URL : https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/explainer-rittenhouse-mistrial-requests-81243887