The Kyle Rittenhouse case has dominated a large swath of major media this week. And why wouldn’t it? The case is not only important (Do civilians get to hunt protestors deemed rioters, too?), but it is also almost symbolically perfect, representing the political divide in this country. With respect to this matter, the divide arose out of the protests of the George Floyd murder, which led to protests about other incidents of racially biased policing and more general, protests. Trump fought the movement with a dripping, palpable, disdain and spite for those wanting to be heard, even going so far as looking into whether he could call out the military.
Given that the case was born out of political and cultural biases, including racism, it was probably wrong to ever hope that the court could lift itself above the fray and provide both sides (especially the prosecution) a real chance to make their case.
But the agonizing rulings against the prosecution started early in evidentiary matters, particularly one regarding statements Rittenhouse made to friends, about wanting to shoot looters. Furthermore, the judge won’t allow the deceased to be called “victims” because the judge says it implies they did nothing wrong, it’s too “loaded” a word., But the judge did allow the defense to introduce a picture in which the police were friendly toward Rittenhouse after the incident.
The ongoing concerns rose dramatically yesterday when the judge sent the jury out of the courtroom to warn the prosecution that it was getting very close to a prohibited area. (Prior statements about shooting looters). Some even believe that the prosecution might be trying to make a “mistake” so big that the judge must call a mistral and prosecutors can start all over… with a different judge., and a better-organized case – some of this is on them.
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Rittenhouse “cried” so hard that the judge had to interrupt the trial for ten minutes, despite the fact Rittenhouse was composed at every other point. The left is suspicious that the outburst was anything more than a poor attempt at manipulation without sincerity.
But yesterday also saw a truly bizarre development, one that is so odd that no one really knew what to make of it, much less whether to do anything about it or what one even could do about it if one believed it really mattered.
The Judge’s phone went off in the middle of a discussion with the defense during the trial. Judges can toss people from the courtroom, with humiliating snarls if a phone rings among those attending. Lawyers get a warning and the consequences rise from there. Most judges won’t even bring their phones into the courtroom out of fear of looking like the world’s biggest hypocrite. Those that do, check their “silent” function multiple times and generally keep the phone out of sight. But as said, the judge’s phone went off and the ringtone was Lee Greenwood’s song “Proud to Be an American.”
The words to the song are politically neutral, but every American knows that it has become the anthem of the Right. One will almost never it played at a Democratic campaign function, and one cannot avoid it at a Republican-MAGA event, especially a Trump rally. So the phone rings, it plays a snippet of Trump’s campaign anthem, and – while ringing, the phone happened to be sitting on the judge’s bench desk, right near his microphone.
It is all probably a coincidence. But it is just so odd that maybe it is irresponsible to not consider the possibility it might have been intentional. Most people simply focused on the music itself and the Trump association, what the judge’s allegiances meant for the trial. Most did not concern themselves with asking if there’s any chance the message was intentional. Watch below:
The judge in the Rittenhouse trial had his cellphone ring during the trial, and the ring tone is a Trump campaign theme song 🤦ðŸ»â€â™€ï¸ðŸ¤¦ðŸ»â€â™€ï¸ pic.twitter.com/QOHFEdDr1g
— Amy Siskind ðŸ³ï¸â€ðŸŒˆ (@Amy_Siskind) November 11, 2021
We cannot know why that phone was sitting on the desk, near the microphone. Nor can we know why it wasn’t silent, We don’t even know why a judge would pick what has become a polarizing song as his ringtone.. We only know it happened and it is yet another ominous sign for a prosecution that was fighting uphill from the beginning..What if it was a message?
Progressives did not begin with high expectations. Now, given all the rulings, some made weeks ago, some yesterday, all coming from a judge that seems almost disdainful of the prosecutors, makes it very difficult to have faith that the verdict is just, no matter what the jury finds. In a case this tough, a jury could legitimately find Rittenhouse “Not Guilty” based on the evidence and burden of proof. But given the case’s direction and almost undeniable bias? A not guilty verdict would be impossible to trust.
And that phone… so odd….
@JasonMiciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teen and college years in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He now enjoys life as a single dad of a young girl, writing from the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves crafting his flower pots, cooking, and currently studies philosophy of science, religion, and non-math principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please feel free to contact with any concerns.