Jussie Smollett, the former star of “Empire,” has officially filed his appeal against his conviction for orchestrating a hate crime and lying to the police. He has been sentenced to nearly a year in jail, with an additional 150 days.
The attorneys for the 40-year-old actor filed an appellant’s argument and brief on Wednesday, arguing that there was a reversible error committed in the trial and the processing of his case, and requesting a new trial with a new judge in the 1st District Illinois Appellate Court in order to grant Smollett a new trial.
The contentious selection of a special investigator in the matter was also a concern they raised. Smollett experienced dual jeopardy and a “binding” non-prosecution deal was not upheld, partly due to the actor’s violated due process rights from the renewed prosecution, a subsequent indictment of Smollett, and added penalties, as argued by his attorneys Nenye E. Uche and Heather A. Widell.
The argument and brief, which attorneys wrote in the appellate court’s website, expressed their dissatisfaction with another exercise of the prosecutor’s discretion. They stated that allowing prosecutors to give second chances to offenders like Mr. Smollett would set a dangerous precedent in this case.
During the trial, the defense team alleged that the prosecution was dismissive of the questioning that sought to establish homophobia in the case. The 102-page document also cited several other issues, such as the arbitrary enforcement of COVID-19 protocols and the potential dismissal of gay and Black jurors during the jury selection process for “Good Morning America’s” bombshell interview with Smollett.
CNN reported that his lawyers have received five extensions to that due date, but his appeal was supposed to be submitted in August of last year. Smollett, who identifies as homosexual and African American, was released ahead of schedule from custody after completing six days out of his 150-day sentence while waiting for his appeal.
The actor-singer maintained his innocence throughout the court testimony in the said case, and it was not a hoax. After a nearly two-week trial during the pandemic in late 2021, Smollett was convicted on charges that he staged a racist, anti-gay attack on himself on a frigid January night in 2019, then lied to the Chicago police about it.
Smollett claimed to the police that two assailants beat him, splashed a chemical liquid on his neck, and put a rope around him. He was acquitted on the sixth count. However, he was found guilty on five counts of conduct disorderly, as he allegedly lied to the police immediately after the alleged hate crime, each time for one count.
Initially, it was suspected that Osundairo Abimbola and Olabinjo Brothers, who were known acquaintances of Smollett, staged the attack to extort $3,500 from him.
Smollett personally, together with the Osundairo siblings, along with six of his witnesses, gave testimony during the trial, alongside five officers from the Chicago Police Department.
In March 2022, he remained free until he was sentenced, but in December 2021, when the verdict was returned, Smollett was not taken into custody. Smollett re-asserted his innocence and rejected the sentence, while Judge James Linn of Cook County called Smollett a “fraud” who “sought attention” during the sentencing hearing.
During the proceeding, Smollett expressed, “Moreover, if I carried out this action, it implies that I inserted my hand into the concerns of Black Americans in this nation for more than four centuries.”
“That, you must all be aware of,” he added, “and you did not act in that manner towards me when I enter that place in case any incident occurs. Furthermore, I am not inclined towards self-destruction. However, I did not commit this act,” he added, “and I hold the jury and Your Honor in high esteem.”
Smollett’s initial 30 months of criminal probation were intended to constitute a portion of the prison term imposed. Linn additionally imposed a requirement for Smollett to reimburse the city of Chicago with over $120,000 in restitution and a potential penalty of up to $25,000.