PERSON: Mark Richards
Employer
Richards, Watson & Gershon
Position
Partner
Biography
The lead lawyer representing Kyle Rittenhouse is Mark Richards, 59, a veteran defense lawyer and former prosecutor who has spent his career in Kenosha and Racine, Wis., primarily representing people accused of drug crimes and murder.
He joined Mr. Rittenhouse’s legal team in September 2020, but took charge of the defense in January 2021, replacing John Pierce, a lawyer who had helped Mr. Rittenhouse raise money for his case and counts members of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers militia among his clients.
Mr. Richards, a Wisconsin native, has worked as a lawyer for 34 years, first as a prosecutor in the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office, then in Racine. According to his biography, he has tried more than 100 jury trials.
The notable defendants he has represented include Tyler Huffhines, who was arrested in 2019 and accused of running a black-market vaping operation in Kenosha County with his brother. In 1999, Mr. Richards defended a Racine jail inmate who was accused of choking his cellmate to death. The case against the defendant, Kurtis King, was dismissed after a separate investigation found evidence of misconduct by the prison guards.
He also successfully defended Jaime Rojas, a Racine resident who was accused of murdering his wife. Mr. Rojas insisted that his wife, who suffered from depression, had shot herself; Mr. Richards and an investigator found a bullet embedded in an attic floor that detectives had missed. The evidence forced Racine prosecutors to drop charges against Mr. Rojas.
Another lawyer on the legal team for Mr. Rittenhouse, Corey Chirafisi, is based in Madison, Wis. Mr. Chirafisi met Mr. Richards years ago when they faced off in court: Mr. Chirafisi was prosecuting a man accused of robbing a bank, and Mr. Richards was defending him. Mr. Chirafisi prevailed, and the defendant was found guilty.
>> The New York Times
He joined Mr. Rittenhouse’s legal team in September 2020, but took charge of the defense in January 2021, replacing John Pierce, a lawyer who had helped Mr. Rittenhouse raise money for his case and counts members of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers militia among his clients.
Mr. Richards, a Wisconsin native, has worked as a lawyer for 34 years, first as a prosecutor in the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office, then in Racine. According to his biography, he has tried more than 100 jury trials.
The notable defendants he has represented include Tyler Huffhines, who was arrested in 2019 and accused of running a black-market vaping operation in Kenosha County with his brother. In 1999, Mr. Richards defended a Racine jail inmate who was accused of choking his cellmate to death. The case against the defendant, Kurtis King, was dismissed after a separate investigation found evidence of misconduct by the prison guards.
He also successfully defended Jaime Rojas, a Racine resident who was accused of murdering his wife. Mr. Rojas insisted that his wife, who suffered from depression, had shot herself; Mr. Richards and an investigator found a bullet embedded in an attic floor that detectives had missed. The evidence forced Racine prosecutors to drop charges against Mr. Rojas.
Another lawyer on the legal team for Mr. Rittenhouse, Corey Chirafisi, is based in Madison, Wis. Mr. Chirafisi met Mr. Richards years ago when they faced off in court: Mr. Chirafisi was prosecuting a man accused of robbing a bank, and Mr. Richards was defending him. Mr. Chirafisi prevailed, and the defendant was found guilty.
>> The New York Times
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