Judge Bruce Schroeder stole the show.
Judge Schroeder, who has presided over Kyle Rittenhouse’s highly scrutinized trial, commanded media attention by sparring with prosecutors and offering historical commentary.
Judge Schroeder, 75, is the longest-serving trial court judge in Wisconsin and claims he has overseen more homicide trials than any other judge in the state.
Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges last month, but questions remain whether the judge was fair in his conduct of the trial.
Steven Wright, a clinical law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has commented on Schroeder’s unconventional approach to the trial. “Anytime a judge opens his or her mouth while on the bench, that’s just another opportunity for an appellate attorney to use that down the line as evidence of the judge making a mistake,” he said.
Julius Kim, a defense lawyer and former prosecutor in Milwaukee, disagreed with some of the critiques of Schroeder: “I can tell you that I’ve seen rulings both in favor of the state and for the defense, and against the state and defense, in this case.”
