Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder is seen as a tough jurist.
During today’s inquiry, schroeder Kyle Rittenhouse’s cross-examination of prosecutor Thomas Binger was halted in order to negate the prosecutor’s line of questioning.
The two had a heated argument after the judge asked the jury to leave the courtroom.
Schroeder made headlines last month for repeating his longtime rule of not allowing prosecutors to refer to people as “victims” before a jury in his courtroom.
At the same time, Schroeder said in a pre-trial hearing that those who were shot could be described as “robbers” or “rioters” if the defense could show that they were one after the other. were involved in such activity during the protests. In August 2020, a police officer shot Jacob Blake, leaving Blake paralyzed.
His decision immediately sparked debate and in some cases outrage in legal circles and once again thrust Judge Schroeder, the longest-serving judge on Wisconsin’s trial court. Spotlight.
“His word is final and he is not afraid to make tough decisions,” said Dan Adams, a Wisconsin criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor.
Schroeder, 75, has come under scrutiny several times during his nearly 40 years on the bench: From a 2018 conviction — thrown up on appeal — a convicted shopper is required to tell store managers he is overseeing retail theft. sex workers in the late 1980s for ordering AIDS testing.
“What he believes is the right thing to do and he has a reputation for being an independent thinker,” said William Lynch, a retired attorney who served on the board of the ACLU of Wisconsin at the time of Schroeder’s decision about AIDS trials.
Lynch said, “And this is his courtroom. He doesn’t like to be pushed around by any party. So he has a sense of his own influence in the courtroom.”
CNN has sought comment from Schroeder.
A veteran Southeast Wisconsin attorney, who has appeared before Schroeder several times, described the judge as “someone who has studied the Constitution and enumerated rights for criminal defendants and … respects.”
“He’s a super old school boy,” said the lawyer, who asked not to be named as he still appears before Schroeder.
“And that doesn’t mean he’s old. I mean he’s 75, which is older than most judges, but he’s just an old school guy. He still keeps his courtroom looking like 1980 operates.”
Schroeder will be 80 when his current term ends in 2026.
The Wisconsin defense attorney, who asked not to be identified, said Schroeder’s sharp tongue and sometimes belligerent manner had become “sweetened” over the years.
“That barks a few and, for young lawyers, they’re very sensitive to that sort of thing. ‘Oh, the judge yelled at me.'” the lawyer said. “Like, toughen up, Buttercup. This is a felony court. The old lawyer is like, ‘Okay, he yelled at me. And then I saw him in the hallway and he asked me how my son’s basketball game was.’ That’s just his style.”
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