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The misdemeanor charge of illegally possessing a dangerous weapon as a minor was the least serious one Mr. Rittenhouse faced and carried a relatively short sentence. But jurors might have settled on the charge, said Steven Wright, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, if they balked at the more serious counts but wanted to convict Mr. Rittenhouse of something.

“A jury, perhaps inclined toward compromise, won’t have the gun charge as an option,” Mr. Wright wrote in an email.

Michael O’Hear, a law professor at Marquette University Law School, wrote in an email that the dismissal of the gun possession charge could make the jury perceive that the prosecution had generally overreached with its charges.

Judge Schroeder told jurors on Monday that they could consider some less serious charges than the ones Mr. Rittenhouse has faced all along. For instance, jurors could opt to convict him of second-degree intentional homicide instead of the higher charge of first-degree intentional homicide.

It is legal for adults to openly carry firearms in Wisconsin, but state law prohibits minors from possessing firearms except in limited circumstances.