Way back in January 2019, TV actor Jussie Smollett became entangled in a web of lies in his detestable hoax in which he pretended to have been racially targeted and assaulted.
In a very long-lasting Cook County judicial process, Smollett ended up charged and convicted (in 2021) of five counts of disorderly conduct – and his conviction was later confirmed by an Illinois appellate court.
But the story is not over because the disgraced actor is taking his fight to the Illinois Supreme Court.
Prosecutor Dan Webb has responded to Smollett’s appeal, and of course it got leaked to the media.
TMZ reported:
“Jussie Smollett doesn’t understand the law, and he’s barking up the wrong tree with the Illinois Supreme Court… at least that’s how the special prosecutor views the actor’s appeal.
Special prosecutor Dan Webb — who convicted Jussie for lying to cops about the hate crime hoax — is responding to Jussie’s motion to have the IL Supreme Court review his case and overturn the conviction … and says JS’s claim he had an agreement in place to avoid prosecution simply doesn’t hold water.”
Jussie Smollett claims he had an (unsigned) deal with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, in which he would do volunteer community service and forfeit his bond – and in return, prosecutors would drop the charges.
“However, Webb says that ‘agreement’ was ‘imaginary’ on Smollett’s part, and it did not insulate him from facing charges at a later date. Webb also shoots down Jussie’s claim he’s a victim of double jeopardy — pointing out the legal term doesn’t apply in this case.
In docs, obtained by TMZ, the special prosecutor says protection from double jeopardy is ‘triggered only after the accused has been subjected to the hazards of trial and possible conviction’.”
The initial charges were dropped before there was any jury impaneled, any witnesses sworn in, or any evidence produced.
“Special prosecutor Webb’s overall point… Jussie’s case isn’t worthy of an IL Supreme Court review. Webb would like to see the high court reject his bid for appeal, opening the door for Jussie to complete his 150-day sentence … of which he’s only served 6, so far.”
The actor works to exhaust all his appeal options after a jury in 2021 convicted him on five of six counts of disorderly conduct.
His sentence was 150 days in jail, 30 months of probation, and $130,160 in restitution.
AOL reported:
“Smollett’s attorneys filed the petition to the high court […] arguing that the questions raised by the case have the ‘potential for wide-reaching implications’ across Illinois. The court has the discretion to decide whether to take the case, or leave the appellate court’s decision in effect.
[…] Smollett’s petition to the Supreme Court argues that the lower court’s opinion ‘threatens to upend all informal and formal deferred prosecution agreements’.
‘What should have been a straightforward case has been complicated by the intersection of politics and public outrage’, the petition says.”