Disgraced actor Jussie Smollett could soon be headed back to prison when an appeals court upheld his 2019 hate crime fraud conviction on Friday.
The “Empire” star, 41, was convicted in 2021 of five counts of criminal disorderly conduct related to alleged racist, homophobic attacks and sentenced to 150 days in jail.
He only served a six-day sentence pending an appeal.
Smollett challenged the role of the special prosecutor, jury selection, evidence and other aspects of the case against him – but the conviction was ultimately upheld in a 2-1 opinion from the Illinois Court of Appeals.
The California native – who made his big screen debut in 1992’s “The MIighty Ducks” – made headlines in 2019 when he reported to Chicago police that he was the victim of homophobic and racist attacks by two men wearing ski masks.
The search for the attacker quickly supported the investigation of Smollett, and resulted in his arrest on charges that he paid two men he knew from “Empire” to help him arrange the incident.
Lawyers for Smollett claim that he is a victim of a racist and political justice system.
Appeals Judge Freddrenna Lyle said Friday that she would throw out Smollett’s conviction on the grounds that it was “fundamentally unfair” to appoint a special prosecutor and charge the actor when he had already completed community service as part of a previous deal with Cook County prosecutors. .
An appeals court on Friday upheld actor Jussie Smollett’s lewd conduct conviction. AP
“It is reasonable that Smollett is bargaining for a complete settlement of the matter, not just a temporary one,” he argued.
Special prosecutor Dan Webb, however, told TMZ that the verdict was a “resounding and profound victory.”
“Having a dissenting voice in the decision is not normal. The decision of the appeal court is final,” he stressed.
“What happens next is that Mr. Smollett can file a petition for a higher appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court,” Webb continued.
“This is purely discretionary which means the court does not need to hear this appeal. He lost all legal rights to appeal today’s decision. If the Supreme Court decides to hear his appeal, there will be briefs filed and a hearing date set. If not, then the case goes back to the trial court, which will execute the sentence.”
Smollett’s team vowed to continue to fight the court’s decision.
“We want to emphasize that the verdict was split, with Justice Lyle offering a detailed analysis in Smollett’s favor,” the actor’s rep told TMZ.
“We are preparing to advance this matter to the Supreme Court, armed with considerable evidence.”
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
