Rittenhouse's lawyers are arguing he was engaging in "legal hunting" on the streets of Kenosha.

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:
Scott Hechinger
@ScottHech
My god. Kyle Rittenhouse's lawyers are arguing he was engaging in "legal hunting" on the streets of Kenosha. His attorneys should make every good faith argument in service of zealous advocacy. This is neither good faith nor zealous. It's vile & ineffective.

Hunting laws allowed Kyle Rittenhouse to carry weapon, lawyers say
Prosecutor Thomas Binger dismissed the defense argument and said Rittenhouse's attorneys should tell a jury he was "hunting on the streets" in Kenosha.
nbcnews.com
10:11 AM · Oct 8, 2021

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/hunting-laws-allowed-kyle-rittenhouse-carry-weapon-during-fatal-shootings-n1280950?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma

Attorneys for Kyle Rittenhouse, who is charged with fatally shooting two people during a protest in Wisconsin last year, argued that hunting laws allowed him to carry the assault-style weapon used during the shootings.

Wisconsin law prohibits anyone under age 18 from being armed, but Rittenhouse’s attorneys argued that state laws only forbid minors to carry short-barreled rifles and shotguns. The other prohibitions pertaining to children fall under hunting laws, which say children under age 12 can’t hunt with guns, Rittenhouse’s attorneys said at a hearing Tuesday.

Rittenhouse, of Antioch, Illinois, was 17 on Aug. 25, 2020, when he fatally shot two men and wounded another man while carrying an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle at a protest prompted by a police shooting of a Black man, prosecutors have said.

“There appears to be an exception for 17-year-olds,” defense attorney Corey Chirafisi said, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger responded that if the defense wants to tell a jury that Rittenhouse was only hunting, it should do so.

*snip*

[BlueJac]

1. Sure.

[Effete Snob]

2. Word in statutes are whatever they are defined to be

If, in Wisconsin, (a) "hunting" is legal and if (b) "hunting" is defined as "walking around with a gun", then you end up with things like this.

They are not arguing that it is legal to hunt people. They are arguing that he wasn't committing some other offense up to the point of shooting people, which might have an impact on the degree of criminal homicide with which he is charged.

Or, to put it simply, if "walking around with a gun" is otherwise an offense, and if he killed someone in the process of already committing an offense, then, in some states, that kind of thing can bump a lower level of criminal homicide up to a relatively high one.

But if "walking around with a gun" is otherwise legal "hunting" in Wisconsin, then you end up with arguments that, yeah, sound bizarre in the context of just what he was up to that night.

[Jim__]

3. Does he need a license to hunt in Wisconsin? If so, did he have one?

IIRC, he got the gun specifically to take it to the protest. What was he hunting?

[Retired Engineer Bob]

39. What was he hunting?

Dark skinned and liberal folks of course. That’s legal in Trumplandia, ain’t it?

[Vinca]

4. And what exactly was he hunting on city streets?

[Skittles]

42. animals

what he - and his lawyer, think are animals

[yonder]

5. I'm pretty sure most states don't allow "hunting" at night.

[Sneederbunk]

6. And then the authorities came hunting for Kyle.

[Iggo]

7. Prosecutor: "Hey! That's our theory! Get your own!"

[Lars39]

8. Yeah, I'm sure lil ole

Last edited Fri Oct 8, 2021, 04:17 PM - Edit history (1)

Kyle “General Zaroff” Rittenhouse was just a-hunting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Most_Dangerous_Game

[unblock]

9. The framing of this is that it maybe technically correct but a bad look

My problem with this is that my impression is that it's not just a bad look; I think hunting humans is exactly what he intended to do and exactly what he did.

[H2O Man]

10. Recommended.

I recently watched film of one of the pre-trial hearings. The defense has an "expert witness" who seeks to testify that Rittenhouse was justified in killing his victim. What I found most important is that this fellow "trains" people -- from military to law enforcement to militias -- on "self defense." The significance is extreme.

[ProfessorGAC]

43. +1

Self-defense defined by the killer. How convenient.

[jpak]

11. What hunting season is open at night in August

In Wisconsin.

Also did have WI hunting license?

His lawyers are morans

Yup

[Cuthbert Allgood]

13. I'm sure he would gladly pay the fines for those offenses if the defense works.

[underpants]

26. That was the first thing I thought of - does he have a WI license?

Out of state licenses can be expensive.

I guess getting him on a hunting violation is their goal. Seems almost insulting to the court.

[sdfernando]

12. The lawyers are just trying to confuse the jury

that murderous kid knew he couldn't buy that gun legally so he had a friend buy it for him...straw purchase...illegal gun. He even predicated life behind bars after his murderous rampage. I'm all for that!

I don't know what the laws are there but I'm sure you still cannot go "hunting" with an illegal gun.

[jpak]

14. And I'm pretty sure WI has magazine limits on hunting rifles

A 30 round magazine is illegal in most if not all states

On edit you can use a 30 round magazine to hunt deer on WI

Yikes

[ret5hd]

25. Those people were "dear" to someone.

[Baitball Blogger]

19. If he gets away with this, we'll see another entitled George Zimmerman on the streets.

[localroger]

15. Isn't the season for legally hunting humans only one day long?

I seem to remember that from some documentary called The Purge.

[Baitball Blogger]

18. The death rate in America would improve if we could collapse all the murders into one day.

At least our school kids and innocent bystanders would have a chance -- assuming home invasions were forbidden.

[leftyladyfrommo]

30. You have to get a special license for human hunting. nt

[orleans]

16. "legal hunting?" insanity! nt

[Baitball Blogger]

17. Like, in an open season for Liberals?

[LiberalFighter]

20. I don't know of any state that allows hunting people.

[nuxvomica]

21. Reminds me of "The Most Dangerous Game"

In that story, the villain was hunting people so if they want to portray their client as the villain maybe it's a Hail-Mary attempt to establish grounds for appeal based on incompetence of counsel.

[Lars39]

34. Yup, General Zaroff.

Russian aristocrat. Irony in there somehow.

[femmedem]

22. Not a completely accurate representation according to the article.

Yes, his attorney is arguing that the illegal weapons charge should be dismissed because hunting laws allow him to carry.

But it was the prosecutors who pointed out the ridiculousness of that argument by pointing out what it really means.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger responded that if the defense wants to tell a jury that Rittenhouse was only hunting, it should do so.

“They can submit evidence that the defendant had a certificate to hunt and he was engaged in legal hunting on the streets of Kenosha that night,” Binger said, according to the newspaper.

[GoCubsGo]

23. I wish I could say I was shocked.

But, very little shocks me at this point, this included. Sadly, it won't shock me if the jury buys this bullshit, too.

[jmowreader]

24. Wisconsin Act 71 allows urban hunting...

...but the only legal weapons are bows and crossbows.

I can see ADA Binger's thoughts on this: Rittenhouse has exactly zero defense on this one. He was underage, he came in from out of state, he was carrying an illegally purchased gun AND he killed two people. So if the defense wants to completely destroy itself by claiming Rittenhouse was just a hunter, he's going to let them go for it.

[sarisataka]

27. So his lawyers want the charges increased?

Because if he was "hunting" with a gun, the goal is to shoot and kill whatever you are hunting. Since he was there 'to protect property' the particular varmint that would cause damage was homo sapiens.

Therefore the logical conclusion is that he was there to hunt people which in legalese is termed premeditated murder.

[LanternWaste]

37. Inaccurate inference rather than logical conclusion.

[spanone]

31. So it was human hunting season? WTF are they talking about?

[milestogo]

32. Hunting liberals with an assault weapon.

A sport for Wisconsin teenagers...

[madinmaryland]

33. Hunting humans is legal? Who the fuck knew!

[DFW]

36. Legal hunting in the midwest is just like "legitimate rape."

They saw that old Western spoof from 1967, where rape was justified as "assault with a friendly weapon."

Republicans are very creative when excusing felonies committed by Republicans.

[RANDYWILDMAN]

35. Hey Ricky Schroeder

You paid for this idiot to walk free the last few months and his defense is basically that he is a white free man and has every right to defend himself from scary brown people.....fuck you, you fucking fucks !

[Mr. Ected]

38. I think putting the term "hunting" in a juror's mind when the offense is cold-blooded murder

Might not be the most effective argument to use.

Therefore, I hope they persist in using it.

[keithbvadu2]

41. What was he hunting in the city that required such a weapon?

What was he hunting in the city that required such a weapon?

Bears? Boars? Wolves? Mountain lions?

[Takket]

44. what is the relevence of that?

if you use a gun to murder someone why does it matter if you were allowed to carry it or not? the moment you kill someone a crime has been committed.