Thomas Binger, Assistant District Attorney, has made many mistakes, but he is not content with making opening statements. He has also been closing arguments, and he literally has gotten in the mud, before getting back up.
My colleagues Nick Arama and Jim Thompson are working attorneys, and just don’t play ones on TV. They have provided great analysis, along with other contributors who have covered Kenosha shooting victim Kyle Rittenhouse’s trial.
From Jim Thompson’s analysis:
Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger’s opening statement sounded more like a closing argument and I think, could be turned on its head by the defense. Binger claimed that Rittenhouse wasn’t pursued by Rosenbaum — rather, Rittenhouse was the pursuer. That’s a significant claim. In an opening statement, you’re supposed to address what the evidence will show. Rittenhouse could have been the one who pursued Rittenhouse and that would be sufficient to justify murder charges. But, he wasn’t a pursuer. None of the video supports that – in fact, just the opposite.
Thompson and Arama pointed out the fact Binger was intently arguing for defense by his behaviour as well as his questions to witnesses.
From Nick Arama’s analysis:
Binger was trying to get the Daily Caller’s Richie McGinniss to say that Rosenbaum was already falling to the ground when he was shot. Keep in mind — McGinniss is supposed to be the prosecution’s witness. McGinniss said that wasn’t his testimony, maintaining that Rosenbaum was “lunging” at Rittenhouse.
This is how weak their case is — their own witnesses are providing golden evidence that helps the defense. Binger ought to have ended that embarrassing situation. But he didn’t. He then did the one thing that lawyers are taught never to do — never ask a question to which you don’t know the answer.
Prosecutor – You don’t know what Rosenbaum thought or did.@RichieMcGinnis?: He said “Fuck You” and then reached for [Kyle Rittenhouse’s] weapon.”
This will continue to be taught at law school for many decades. This is what the prosecutor wanted to do. pic.twitter.com/qh1iqE3brw
— David Hookstead (@dhookstead) November 4, 2021
It Daily Mail UK reported that the case was deliberately thrown into Binger’s lap because Kenosha County District Attorney Mike Graveley knew it was a weak case and he didn’t want the stain on his rock star record.
For the selection of a prosecutor Kyle Rittenhouse‘s murder case could be a precise pointer as to how little confidence the County District Attorney had in securing a conviction.
Mike Graveley is the Kenosha County DA. However, he instead passed the case to Thomas Binger as assistant DA. Thomas presented the case. Wisconsin has been marked with missteps and clashes with Judge Bruce Schroeder.
‘Binger was set up for failure,’ one Kenosha legal insider told Dailymail.com. ‘Graveley is the superstar and he knew this one was sure to tarnish it.’
Binger is determined to take advantage of every minute of his time, even despite all the stink from his shoes and designer pants.
Binger appears to not have any problem with telling the truth to jurors. Fox News reports that Binger was content to slander Judge Bruce Schroeder in more than one case.
Thomas Binger, Assistant District Attorney, asked out-of-bounds or implied unethical conduct during cross-examination.
Rittenhouse’s attorney also accused Binger of commenting on his client’s right to remain silent about the case, to which Binger responded that the defendant was tailoring his testimony to details already introduced in court.
That also angered Schroeder, who called it a “grave constitutional violation” to talk about the defendant’s silence and warning him that he “better stop.”
“That’s basically, it’s been basic law in this country for 40 years, 50 years,” Schroeder said. “I have no idea why you would do something like that.”
It Daily Mail UKBinger also reported on an incident that was not admissible by Judge Schroeder:
Schroeder during the trial reprimanded Binger for bringing up information that had previously been barred from the court about Rittenhouse’s history with an AR-15 rifle. Two weeks before the shootings, Rittenhouse was talking about shoplifting and was captured on camera.
Schroeder already declared video unadmissible.
‘You’re an experienced trial attorney and you’re telling me when the judge says, ‘I’m excluding this’ you decide to bring it in because you think you’ve found a way around it,’ Schroeder asked. ‘Come on!’
Binger replied: ‘You can yell at me if you want. I was acting in good faith.’
Judge Schroeder responded: ‘I don’t believe you. When you say you were acting in good faith, I don’t believe you. There better not be another incident.’
It is still a matter of speculation whether Binger was trying to force a mistrial, or if he simply wanted to go on a “chaotic quest” to challenge the right to armed self-defense, as Rittenhouse’s attorney Mark Richards contended in the pre-trial hearings.
“The government can go off on their chaotic quest but the evidence is clear,” Richards said.
The Kyle Rittenhouse trial is not the first time that Binger has brought such charges, where those charges failed to stand up under scrutiny, and where the state ended up being, well… without hip waders.
Wisconsin attempted to prosecute a commercial truck driver for carrying a concealed firearm without a permit.
Starting August 30, 2017. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article:
One case which might have clarified whether Wisconsin residents can drive with guns in Wisconsin was dropped Monday. It was due to be tried on Monday.
You need to know if you’re allowed to drive with your loaded handgun in reach.
Guy A. Smith is a Merrill 52-year old commercial truck driver. He believes that it’s possible to do so, just like a gun rights group. That’s why he said he made no effort to hide his revolver when inspectors entered his big rig at a weigh station in Pleasant Prairie in June 2016.
It was visible on Smith’s cab floor via an overhead camera. Smith was then approached by inspectors who cited Smith for having a concealed weapon. This is a misdemeanor and the gun was seized.
John Monroe from Georgia represented Smith. Attorney who has successfully defended many gun rights advocates, including those charged with openly carrying guns before Wisconsin’s passage of Act 35, which first allowed for concealed carry with a license.
The organization Wisconsin Carry Inc. was paying for Smith’s defense because it thought it might eliminate some law enforcement confusion about the statutes.
“The charge should never have been filed because in 2011 the Legislature changed the law to allow handguns in cars to be unencased and loaded,” Monroe said in an email Monday. “Carrying a concealed weapon is no longer a crime applicable to handguns in vehicles.
The state dropped all charges in this instance before the case went to trial.
“We are pleased the state came to its senses before wasting the taxpayers’ money on a trial,” Monroe said, “even if the state did not afford us the courtesy of telling us it would dismiss the case before we prepared for a trial and traveled to Kenosha.”
The assistant district Attorney at November’s hearing, Thomas BingerSmith might have been able to obtain a conceal carry permit, according to Smith.
After that hearing, Smith said he didn’t get one because he didn’t need to.
“I’m just a trucker trying to stay alive,” he said. “I want my gun back, and I don’t want a record, and I’m not paying a fine. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Binger was in court Tuesday and could not immediately be reached for comment.
Binger appears to prefer to make case law according to his gun-control beliefs, over case law that is based on existing precedent. It seems that Binger believes that the best legal strategy is to waste taxpayers’ time and money, and not be fatal.
Binger is no stranger to the legal field. He graduated 25 years ago from Michigan Law School and has over 12 years of experience in the state’s prosecutorial offices. Binger served in the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office from 1999-2005, where he rose through the ranks to become assistant district attorney.
Strangely, he left the Milwaukee County DA in 2005 to become the director of litigation at DeMark, Kolbe & Brodek Law. He stayed at this firm until 2014, then went back to “public service” when he joined the Kenosha County District Attorney’s office.
Based on another Daily Mail UKArticle: In 2016, Binger was a Democrat running for the District Attorney in Racine County. However, he lost.
It was amazing to see his trial performance. I am now wondering how he got up the ranks of assistant district attorney. However, when you’re a Democrat, failing up seems to be part of the program.
I’ve met countless prosecutors like Thomas Binger over the last 15 years. These prosecutors are among the most dangerous in the criminal justice system. Small, pathetic losers who couldn’t make a dime in private practice but by virtue of their office, are afforded a massive degree of power.
— Eric Matheny 🎙 (@EricMMatheny) November 12, 2021
It is possible that Binger believed this would help him get a better job and a higher ranking in the company. He is just as incompetent as his career strategy if that’s what he has decided to do. You should be fired for poor judgment and handling a large trial.
Many details will emerge when the jury verdict has been rendered.
About Post Author
