Judge starts Rittenhouse trial with trivia and lectures

By TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin judge presiding over Kyle Rittenhouse’s homicide trial opened jury selection with a round of “Jeopardy!”-like trivia, assuring potential jurors he doesn’t have COVID-19 and reaching back to the fall of the Roman Empire to emphasize the gravity of their duty. Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder drew laughs in the courtroom Monday — and some cringes on social media — as he peppered potential jurors with trivia questions, and offered his own commentary. When the answer to one was the film “Psycho,” the 75-year-old Schroeder quipped: “You’ve heard of it.” Schroeder is handling the biggest trial of his career. Rittenhouse shot three people during a protest against police brutality in August 2020, killing two of them.