Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion

The closing statements are now done in the Rittenhouse trial, and the jury will now begin deliberations—although not until tomorrow morning.  That means, of course, that we’ll be launching or VERDICT WATCH blog post in the morning at Legal Insurrection, so keep your eyes there for breaking news on a verdict. And with that, let's dive into the unpleasant task of noting the poor closing argument presented by the defense in this case.

The Rittenhouse trial has paused for lunch, so I’m taking this opportunity to provide a quick update. The morning began without the jury in the courtroom, with a meeting to finalize the instructions to be given to the jury. The defense came away with three big wins as a result of these discussions, and one that did not go their way.

Welcome back to our ongoing live coverage of the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse. Kyle is charged with a variety of felonies, including first-degree murder, for shooting three men, two fatally, as well as for alleged reckless conduct on the night of August 25, 2020, in riot-torn Kenosha WI. Today the court will instruct the jury, explaining to them how to apply the law to the facts of the case as they determine those facts to have been proven or disproven.  This will be followed by the State's closing argument, the defense closing argument, and the State rebuttal.  At that point, the jury will begin its deliberations. Once the jury goes into deliberations, we will go into VERDICT WATCH mode, so keep your eyes right here for breaking news and analysis of the final verdict(s) in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial.

Monday, November 15, 2021, is the final day of argument in the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, and by day’s end the jury will have begun their deliberations of whether the child who successfully fought off serial murderous attacks by rioting adults is to be found guilty of crimes carrying sentences as severe as life in prison.