Kyle Rittenhouse trial judge refuses to issue questionnaires to prospective jurors

The judge overseeing the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse refused to send questionnaires to potential jurors to detect for bias in the politically charged murder case.

Judge Bruce Schroeder told attorneys that picking 20 jurors from a pool of 150 prospects could be accomplished in a day, but he won't speed up the process by quizzing them about their knowledge of the case, reported the Chicago Sun-Times.

"The judge said he disliked questionnaires in general because he was afraid most people won't fill them out or that it would tip them off that they may be on the Rittenhouse case, increasing the chances they would discuss it with friends and family," the newspaper reported.

Schroeder will allow each side to strike seven people to reach a total of 20 jurors, but he hasn't said how many would serve as alternates in a trial that's expected to last two to three weeks.

William Hanrahan, a veteran prosecutor and former Wisconsin circuit judge, said he rarely allowed questionnaires and didn't believe they would make much difference in this case.

Rittenhouse was chased by Joseph Rosenbaum before he fatally shot the unarmed 36-year-old during an Aug. 25, 2020, protest in Kenosha over the police shooting of Jacob Blake. He then shot and killed 26-year-old Anthony Huber and wounded 27-year-old Gaige Grosskreutz while fleeing.

Defense attorneys have said Rittenhouse, then 17, fired the shots in self defense.