3:45pm Wed 11/17/2021
Rittenhouse defense requests mistrial as spar over drone video intensifies in court: LIVE UPDATES (foxnews.com) <-- LINK
Defense says they will motion for mistrial without prejudice over drone video
Defense attorney Corey Chirafisi told Judge Bruce Schroeder on Wednesday afternoon that the defense will ask for a mistrial without prejudice over a dispute about a drone video, meaning that the state would be able to retry the case.
Kyle Rittenhouse’s attorneys originally motioned for a mistrial with prejudice on Monday, arguing that the "prosecution gave the defense a compressed version of the video” that "was not as clear as the video kept by the state.”
Assistant District Attorney James Kraus attributed the difference in videos to a technological glitch, saying that the video was compressed because it was transferred from an iPhone to an Android phone.
Regardless, the defense said that they have spoken with Rittenhouse and will be asking for a mistrial because they would have approached the trial differently if they had the higher-quality video.
"We didn’t have the quality of evidence that the state had until the case had been closed,” Chirafisi told the judge.
“To not get that until the evidence has been closed, that doesn’t strike me as fair,” he continued. “This is a potential life sentence here.”
Judge Schroeder did not immediately rule on the mistrial request.
Meanwhile, the jury has requested to see the drone video. The prosecution and defense are currently discussing how the video should be played for the jury.