Jussie Smollet | Wikimedia Commons / Dominick D
Jussie Smollet | Wikimedia Commons / Dominick D
The Illinois Appellate Court upheld Jussie Smollett's 2021 conviction and sentence to 150 days in Cook County Jail and 30 months of felony probation for reporting a fake hate crime to police.
Smollett told police he was attacked by two men in ski masks who shouted homophobic slurs and say the openly gay actor was in "MAGA country," a reference to one of former President Donald Trump's campaign slogans. An investigation found that Smollett orchestrated the attack himself.
In February 2019, Smollett, the former "Empire" actor, was arrested and charged with felony disorderly conduct in connection to claims he filed a false police report about being the victim of a hate crime in downtown Chicago.
On March 26, 2019, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's office moved to dismiss the charges as part of a deal that included Smollett forfeiting his $10,000 bond and completion of community service.
On June 21, 2019, a Cook County judge ordered a special prosecutor to investigate the case against Smollett. Ultimately, that investigation led to a grand jury's indictment of Smollett on six charges of felony disorderly conduct.
The three justice panel voted 2-1 to deny Smollett's appeal of "virtually every aspect" of his trial and conviction, upholding the trial court's decision. The ruling disagreed with Smollett's argument that he should not have been charged by the special prosecutor with the same crimes that had been dismissed by Foxx's office. The majority of the appellate court panel also ruled that Smollett's sentence was "within the statutory sentencing range and, thus, presumed to be proper."
Smollett will not be required to serve 150 days in Cook County jail. According to published reports, Smollett's attorney's plan to appeal the decision to state Supreme Court.
Appellate Court Justice Freddrenna Lyle, a former Chicago alderwoman, cast a dissenting vote.
She said it was "fundamentally unfair" to appoint a special prosecutor after the initial charges against Smollett had been dropped by the Foxx's office. Lyle said she believes court documents show that there was a "verbal agreement" between the State's Attorney's Office and Smollett, which should have barred the actor from being charged with the same crimes a second time.
“It was common sense that Smollett was bargaining for a complete resolution of the matter, not simply a temporary one,” Justice Lyle wrote.
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