There is quite the convergence at the moment of race and justice as cases featuring white male defendants accused of everything from murder to insurrection dominate news coverage.

There is a virtual pageant of privilege as the country waits to see if our system of justice will deal as severely and unsparingly with these men as it has with others who were not white men.

...

In the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot three protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, killing two and injuring the third, the judge has acted more like a protective guardian watching over the accused than a dispassionate magistrate.

When the jury was selected, for instance, the judge denied requests to send questionnaires to the jury pool. He then wrapped up jury selection in a single day, even though what appears to be only one person of color had been selected. And he decreed that the men killed could not be called “victims” in his courtroom but could potentially be called “rioters” or “looters.” ...

More at :THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

The prosecution strengthened their case to get a conviction against Kyle Rittenhouse following their convincing closing arguments in the trial, a legal expert has said.

...

In his closing argument, lead prosecutor Thomas Binger accused Rittenhouse of being a "chaos tourist" who traveled to Kenosha from his hometown of Antioch, Illinois, in order to initiate violence, noting how he was the only person to shoot anyone during the protests.

"You cannot claim self-defense against a danger you create. If you're the one threatening others, you lose the right to claim self-defense." Binger told the jury.

"The prosecution scored major points in closing arguments by emphasizing that each of the four shots Rittenhouse fired to kill Joseph Rosenbaum had to be in self-defense," DeSimone said.

"Once Rittenhouse's shot fractured Rosenbaum's pelvis, there was no threat to Rittenhouse at all. The defense's excuse that the bullets were fired rapidly is no excuse and Rittenhouse's lawyer really lost an opportunity by barely mentioning 'reasonable doubt.'
...

Binger also suggested that after Rittenhouse repeatedly shot the unarmed Rosenbaum, others who were in Kenosha that night had the right to defend themselves from what they reasonably thought was an active shooter.

In November, Coco's Heart Dog Rescue took in four canine brothers who had been roaming free in North Dakota. Numerous scars and injuries served as proof that each dog had been living outside for quite some time.

"They clearly didn't have humans who treated them well," said Lauren Byrd. She opened her home to foster Hobbes, one of the dogs

...

On Dec. 11, Byrd drove Hobbes to the home of a family in Northfield, where he began his new life — until he ran away.

Hobbes' new family enlisted the Retrievers, a volunteer group based in Minneapolis that helps find lost and missing dogs. Tara Morrison, a volunteer with the Retrievers, became Hobbes' case manager.

Morrison and her team tried using food, scent trails of liquid smoke as well as blankets and towels used by the Byrd family to draw Hobbes in. When temperatures dropped, bringing Hobbes home became even more urgent. That, combined with the fact that Hobbes began returning to the same location several times, was enough to convince Morrison and her team to try using a humane kennel to capture him. ...