Attorneys for Kyle Rittenhouse may oppose his extradition from Illinois to Wisconsin, where he will face homicide charges for the shooting deaths of two men during protests in Kenosha.
Rittenhouse’s attorney, L. Lin Wood, said Thursday that Rittenhouse plans to fight extradition.
“The present plan is to oppose extradition at this time,” Wood said in an email. “There are several legal issues which need to be addressed with respect to the issue of extradition.”
Rittenhouse, 17, of Antioch, is alleged to have come to Kenosha during protests on Aug. 25 to act as a “militia” member, armed with an AR-15.
The teen is charged with first-degree reckless homicide for killing Joseph Rosenbaum, first-degree intentional homicide for killing Anthony Huber and attempted first-degree intentional homicide for shooting and injuring Gaige Grosskreutz.
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Rosenbaum, a 36-year-old Kenosha resident, and Huber, 26, of Silver Lake, had been regular participants in Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha throughout the summer, according to a local organizer.
Grosskreutz, 26, of West Allis, had been active in protests in the Milwaukee area, volunteering as a medic. The shootings were captured on video.
His attorneys plan to argue that Rittenhouse was defending himself when he shot the three men.
Rittenhouse’s case has become a cause for some conservative commentators and gun activists, with prominent conservative attorneys Wood and John Pierce signing on to represent him while Wood’s foundation and a Christian organization are raising money for his defense.
Rittenhouse was taken into custody in Antioch the day after the shooting and is in custody in Lake County. He is being held on a $2 million warrant from Kenosha County and will have an extradition status hearing in Waukegan, Ill., on Sept. 25.
Extradition is the legal process that allows the transfer of a person held in one state to another state where they have been charged with a crime. The Constitution addresses the issue, stating that any person charged with a “treason, felony or other crimes” found in one state “shall on demand of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime.”
Because Kenosha shares a border with Illinois, extradition cases are common. In the vast majority of cases, the defendant waives extradition and returns voluntarily to face charges.
Keith Findley, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, said there is a good reason so few people fight extradition.
“It’s pretty rare because there are very few defenses,” Findley said.
Essentially, Findley said, as long as documents are in order, the identity of the defendant is assured and the person has actually been charged with a crime, a court will order extradition. While Wood raised questions about Rittenhouse’s safety, Findley said that is not something he believes could be raised in an extradition case.
“There have been some suggestions that perhaps the court can refuse extradition if there was not probable cause for the arrest, and maybe that’s what they are going to argue, but I don’t know,” Findley said.
Findley said that while Rittenhouse has an argument for self defense at trial, probable cause for charges is a relatively low bar.
“Prosecutors have enormous discretion in charging anything, but when you have a case when someone is walking the streets with a high-powered weapon and ends up shooting three people, a prosecutor would be hard-pressed not to charge,” Findley said. “The only real issue in the case is going to be the issue of self defense, and that is the kind of thing we have juries decide.”
Rittenhouse will be represented in the extradition case by Pierce, who is based in California, and Chicago-based attorney Michael Baker. Out-of-state lawyers must seek permission to practice in the state they will represent a client through a “pro hac vice attorney admission” and must have an attorney licensed in the state represent the client as well.
Wood said they are still seeking a local attorney to join Rittenhouse’s defense in Wisconsin.
“We have been interviewing several very highly qualified Wisconsin lawyers, and I believe we will be making a decision on Wisconsin counsel in the next few days,” Wood said.
He said he expects Baker to remain part of the defense team and said attorney “Marina Medvin is another invaluable asset to the team, which is led by John in both Illinois and Wisconsin.”
Medvin, based in Virginia, is a criminal defense attorney and conservative columnist.
The lead prosecutor for the case in Kenosha is Assistant District Attorney Tom Binger.