Ed White | The Associated Press
Jussie Smollett was released from county jail pending appeal
Jussie Smollett was released from prison on Wednesday after an appeals court agreed with his lawyers that he should remain free pending an appeal of his conviction for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack. (March 16)
AP
An appeals court on Friday upheld the disorderly conduct conviction of actor Jussie Smollett, who was accused of staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and lying about it to Chicago police.
Smollett, appearing on the TV show “Empire,” questioned the role of a special prosecutor, jury selection, evidence and many other aspects of the case. But all were dismissed in a 2-1 ruling by the Illinois Court of Appeals.
Smollett reported to police that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack by two men wearing ski masks. The search for the attackers soon led to an investigation into Smollett himself, which led to his arrest on charges that he had orchestrated the whole thing.
Authorities said he paid off two men he knew from working on “Empire,” which was filmed in Chicago. Prosecutors said Smollett told the men what insults they should shout and that they should shout that he was in “MAGA Country,” a reference to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign slogan.
“I was on the rise”: Jussie Smollett is denying claims that he staged hate crimes to become famous
A jury convicted Smollett in 2021 of five felony counts of disorderly conduct, a charge that can be filed in Illinois when a person lies to police.
He must now serve a 150-day sentence, which was part of his sentence. Smollett spent just six days in jail while his appeal was pending.
Lawyers for Smollett, who is black and gay, have publicly claimed he is the target of a racist justice system and people playing politics.
“We are preparing to refer this matter to the Supreme Court,” Smollett spokeswoman Holly Baird said, referring to Illinois’ highest court. She also pointed out that the appeal court’s opinion was not unanimous.
Appeal Judge Freddrenna Lyle would have overturned the convictions. She said it was “fundamentally unfair” to appoint a special prosecutor and charge Smollett even though he had already completed community service as part of a 2019 agreement with Cook County prosecutors to drop the case.
“It was common sense for Smollett to seek a complete resolution of the matter and not just a temporary one,” Lyle said.
More: Jussie Smollett was found guilty on five counts of carrying out a racist, anti-gay attack in Chicago and lying to police
Special prosecutor Dan Webb has been assigned to investigate the reasons for the case being dropped. A grand jury subsequently reinstated the indictment against Smollett in 2020, and Webb concluded that there had been “significant abuses of discretion” in the prosecution’s earlier round.
Smollett is not immune from a new round of charges, appeals judges David Navarro and Mary Ellen Coghlan said in the majority opinion.
“The record contains no evidence that (prosecutors) agreed that Smollett would not be further prosecuted in exchange for forfeiting his bail and performing community service,” they said.
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