Jussie Smollett criminal case: Atty. Tina Glandian says former 'Empire' actor hurt by conviction overturned by IL supreme court

CHICAGO — Jussie SmollettThe actor “suffered significant harm” after the incident, his lawyer said Found guilty of lying about 2019 hate crime somehow Interview with “GMA3” after his conviction was overturned.

Illinois Supreme Court Vacates former “Empire” actor’s conviction in a decision made Thursday after concluding the state’s investigation was unfair because of a deal that initially dropped the charges.

Smollett was originally charged with 16 felonies for filing a false police report, but Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx agreed to drop the charges if he paid $10,000 and performed community service. A special prosecutor later indicted him again, leading to his trial and conviction.

In Thursday’s ruling, the court said the state could not file a second lawsuit against Smollett after the initial charges were dismissed, and that reneging on the agreement “would be arbitrary, unreasonable, fundamentally unfair, and a violation of the defendant’s rights.” transaction rights.”

Smollett’s attorney, Tina Glandian, told “GMA3” on Friday that they opposed the second investigation from the beginning as “completely illegal.”

“It violates many constitutional provisions,” he said. “We’ve expressed this many times before in various courts. And finally yesterday, the Illinois Supreme Court agreed with us and said the second investigation was dismissed because there was an agreement in place and the state would honor its promise.”

The case began when the openly gay actor told police that he was attacked by two men while walking on the street near his Chicago apartment in the early hours of January 29, 2019. The attackers allegedly poured an “unknown chemical” on him, yelling racist and homophobic slurs before hitting him. He put a substance on it and wrapped a rope around his neck.

Chicago police said Smollett’s story that he was the victim of an assault began to unravel when investigators tracked down two men, brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo. They said they were seen on security video near where Smollett claimed he was attacked. supposedly occurred. The Osundairo brothers told police that the actor paid them $3,500 to help organize and stage the crime.

A jury convicted Smollett in December 2021 on five of six felony counts of filing a false police report and lying to police, and police spent more than $130,000 investigating his allegations.

Dan Webb, who was appointed by a Cook County judge to continue reviewing the case after the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office initially dropped all charges against the actor, said he was “disappointed” in the court’s decision and noted that the decision “contains nothing.” It’s about Mr. Smollett’s innocence.”

“The Illinois Supreme Court found no error in the overwhelming evidence presented at trial that Mr. Smollett faked a hate crime and reported it to the Chicago Police Department as an actual hate crime, or in the jury’s unanimous verdict that Mr. Smollett was charged with five felonies.” “I am guilty of disorderly conduct,” he said.

Glandian said Smollett continues to maintain his innocence and “vehemently denies” any involvement in a hoax.

“We believe there was not a fair trial and the jury did not hear all the necessary evidence.” (happened) “It was heard that some things were improperly excluded, that the jury panel was not assembled properly,” he said. “The Supreme Court did not delve into this issue yesterday. They said this was legally invalid. This violated his due process, and they vacated his conviction based on that. However, we still argue that he did not receive a fair trial.”

He said after the lawsuit that Smollett was releasing music and “continuing to do what he does best.”

The video in the player above is from a previous report.

“Hopefully this can only help matters because he’s been hugely damaged after what happened and of course the convictions and the sentence,” he said.

Despite the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision, the city of Chicago is still able to pursue its ongoing civil lawsuit against Smollett to recoup the costs of the investigation, Webb said.

Glandian said he hopes the city “does the right thing” and dismisses the lawsuit.

“He incurred significant attorney fees. He spent six days in jail; all of which has now been said to be completely unconstitutional by the highest court in Illinois,” Glandian said. he said. “So we’ll see what they do to help the city move forward. But I hope they dismiss this case immediately.”

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