Nearly a year after being sentenced to 150 days in jail for lying to police about orchestrating a hate crime against himself, former ‘Empire’ star Jussie Smollett officially appealed his conviction in December 2021.
The 40-year-old actor’s attorneys filed a preliminary injunction and plaintiff’s argument with the Illinois Circuit 1 Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday to allow Smollett a new trial with a new judge, arguing that the court has a ” reversible error” had committed while working on his case and was “exaggerated” in his sentencing.
His attorneys, Nenye E. Uche and Heather A. Widell, argued that the retrial, a second charge against Smollett, and an additional sentence violated the actor’s right to due process, in part because a “binding” agreement was not enforced without dispute. , and that Smollett was doubly vulnerable. They also clashed over the controversial appointment of a special prosecutor in the case.
“If Mr. Smollett’s convictions hold, this case will set a dangerous precedent by giving prosecutors a second bite of the apple when they are dissatisfied with another prosecutor’s discretion,” his lawyers said in writing and Reasoning was published online at the Court of Appeal. website.
Smollett’s legal team also cited several other counts in the 102-page document alleging prosecutors arbitrarily forced questioning of the defense, aimed at finding homophobia in the case at trial, black and fired would-be gay jurors turned down. and should not have allowed Smollett’s bombshell “Good Morning America” ​​interview to be played during jury deliberations.
Last year, Smollett, who is gay and black, was released early after serving six days of his 150-day sentence pending appeal. His appeal was due to be filed last August, but his lawyers granted five extensions to that deadline, CNN reports.
After a nearly two-week trial during the pandemic, Smollett was convicted in late 2021 of carrying out an anti-gay, racist attack on himself on a cold night in January 2019 and lying about it to Chicago police, the actor- singer protested his innocence at trial, telling the court that “there was no fraud”.
He was convicted of five of six charges of disorderly conduct — one charge for each time he allegedly lied to police in the days immediately following the hate crime charge. He was acquitted of the sixth charge. Smollett claimed to police that two assailants beat him, tied a rope around his neck and doused him with a liquid chemical.
It was initially believed that the Olabinjo brothers and Abimbola Osundairo were the attackers; However, they claimed that Smollett, who knew one of the brothers from work, paid them $3,500 to stage the attack.
The trial included testimony from five Chicago police officers, the Osundairo brothers and Smollett himself, and six of his witnesses.
Smollett was not arrested at the December 2021 sentencing hearing, but remained at large pending his March 2022 sentencing. Cook County Judge James Linn called Smollett a “charlatan” who “craved attention” during the hearing, and Smollett rejected the verdict and maintained his innocence.
“If I’ve done that, it means I’ve destroyed the fears of Black Americans in this country for over 400 years. And the fears of the LGBT community,” Smollett said at the hearing.
“Your Honor, I respect you and I respect the jury, but I didn’t,” he added. “And I’m not suicidal. And if something happens to me when I go in there, I didn’t do it to myself and you all need to know that.”
The sentence imposed would be part of Smollett’s first 30 months of felony probation. Linn also issued an injunction requiring Smollett to pay more than $120,000 in damages to the City of Chicago and a maximum fine of $25,000.
Source: LA Times
Thomas Summerville is an author and entertainment journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of the entertainment industry and a passion for keeping readers informed about the latest trends and happenings in the world of film, music, and pop culture.
