Jussie Smollett is calling for a retrial
Actor Jussie Smollett speaks with Judge James Linn after his sentence was read at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Thursday March 10, 2022. (Image via Brian Cassella/Pool/Chicago Tribune.)
Actor Jussie Smollett on Wednesday filed court documents to request a retrial in his conviction for orchestrating a fake hate crime attack.
In an argument in the Illinois First District Appellate Court, the defense argued that trial judge James Linn was biased against them, sandbagged their work during cross-examination, and allowed prosecutors to beat out a disproportionate number of potential black jurors and one gay juror.
The defense accused Linn of going overboard in the sentencing and of “using a personal retaliatory tone based on speculative information” that the case law could not account for.
Smollett, who is black and gay, claimed he was attacked in Chicago in early 2019 by assailants who put a noose on him, doused him in bleach and yelled, “This is MAGA country.”
However, police said he fabricated the incident with the help of black brothers Abel Osundairo and Ola Osundairo. The motive was that the actor was disappointed with his fee on the show “Empire” as a publicity stunt.
Smollett initially settled the case with Cook County prosecutors in 2019, who dropped the charges in exchange for community service.
However, Judge Michael Toomin appointed a special prosecutor to handle the case, citing “unprecedented irregularities” such as prosecutor Kim Foxx’s involvement in the inquiry, although she said she had withdrawn.
Smollett was convicted of disorderly conduct. He was also sentenced to two years probation. An Illinois appeals court ordered his parole shortly after the verdict was announced, saying his appeal would last longer than his 150-day sentence.
The defense argued that Toomin was biased toward Smollett and unreasonably denied a defense motion for a new judge in his place.
“Since the beginning of the District Court’s order appointing a special prosecutor, Judge Toomin has expressly, unequivocally, and improperly held that Mr. Smollett was in fact guilty of a charge which a) Mr. Smollett expressly asserted not guilty and b) the as of duly dismissed at the time of appointment,” the filing reads.
The defense said Linn made a mistake in noting that the Chicago Police Department could get a refund for overtime investigating the attack.
“More importantly, the Illinois courts have repeatedly ruled that a police department or other governmental agency is not considered a ‘victim’ for purposes of restitution law,” the documents read.
The public prosecutor’s office also allegedly failed to document the hours worked.
They claimed the relevant overtime should have taken place as police searched for Smollett’s attackers before he was charged.
As for Linn, the defense argued that he made an inappropriate comment and hampered the defense’s attempts to show that the detectives were both hasty in reaching a verdict and failed to properly investigate Smollett’s claims that he was the victim of an actual homophobic attack .
Read the file:
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https://lawandcrime.com/live-trials/live-trials-current/jussie-smollett/jussie-smollett-demands-retrial-for-2019-hate-crime-hoax-argues-trial-judge-was-prejudiced-against-him/ Jussie Smollett is calling for a retrial
