Kyle Rittenhouse's attorney Mark D. Richards has been practicing criminal defense law for more than 30 years, according to his biography with Richards & Dimmer Criminal Defense Attorneys. The firm is based in Racine.
Richards is leading Rittenhouse’s defense. He served as an assistant district attorney in Racine and Kenosha counties in the 1980s. He opened his own firm in 1990, specializing in criminal defense, according to the Associated Press.
Richards has worked on more than 100 jury trials. In 1999, he had Racine County prosecutors drop first-degree intentional homicide charges against Kurtis King, who was accused of strangling his cellmate at the Racine Correctional Institution, the AP reports.
Richards' has a focus in cases involving homicide, drug charges, sexual assault, burglary and theft, domestic violence and white collar crime. Richards has tried over 100 jury trials, with charges ranging from operating while intoxicated, homicide, and drug conspiracy, according to the website.
Richards earned his law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison in 1987.
Rittenhouse’s other defense attorney, Corey Chirafisi, has been practicing law in Wisconsin for over 20 years, according to his biography with Chirafisi & Verhoff Law Office. His law practice is based in Madison.
Chirafisi is a former assistant district attorney in Kenosha County, and later became a private defense attorney. His career is based around criminal defense, according to the website, and he has defended clients charged with drug offenses, drunk driving offenses, and sexual assault, among others.
Chirafisi earned his law degree from the City University of New York School of Law, and started practicing law in Wisconsin in 1998.