KENOSHA — The trial against Kyle Rittenhouse may be over, but cases stemming from the unrest that erupted in Kenosha last year still loom, and others are just getting started.
"There are plenty of hearings to come," said attorney Jillian Scheidegger with Cafferty & Scheidegger, S.C.
A familiar face who testified in the Rittenhouse trial will be back in court next week, but this time the focus will be on him. Dominick Black admitted to buying Rittenhouse the AR-15 used in the shootings, and now faces two charges of intentionally giving a dangerous weapon to a person under 18, causing death. But some legal experts aren't sure if the charges will stick after judge Bruce Schroeder dropped the weapons charge against Rittenhouse.
"Their issue was that he was lawfully able to do that, and the judge agreed, and Mr. Black's case is in front of the same judge so it's quite possible that the issue may resolve itself," said Scheidegger.
Early next year, judge Schroeder will see Joshua Ziminski in court. Ziminski is the man attorneys say fired a shot seconds before Rittenhouse killed Joseph Rosenbaum. He faces a number of charges including arson and disorderly conduct.
"For Mr. Ziminski, you're going to be looking at, relative to the disorderly conduct while armed, is there a defense there," asked Jane Christopherson, a criminal defense lawyer with Mawicke & Goisman, S.C.
Meanwhile, there are some lingering lawsuits. Jacob Blake filed a federal lawsuit against the officer who shot him, Rusten Sheskey. He is demanding a jury trial. However, Blake's family says they aren't aware of any updates on that lawsuit at the moment.
A civil lawsuit has also been filed by Gaige Grosskreutz and the parents of Anthony Huber. Both men were shot by Rittenhouse and Huber died. They're suing Kenosha law enforcement.
"We are waiting for court dates. We just filed it a few weeks ago and so that's going to go through the federal Eastern Wisconsin process," said attorney Kim Motley.
Huber's parents attorney says they're considering another lawsuit against Rittenhouse themselves.
"The idea was the criminal process would produce some accountability for Mr. Rittenhouse. That hasn't happened. And, so, the family is considering its options," said attorney Anand Swaminathan.
Legal experts add that despite their predictions, there's no exact way of knowing how these cases will play out, and everyone will just have to wait and see.