An Illinois appellate court heard Tuesday it should toss the disgraced former Empire star Jussie Smollett’s convictions for staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and then lying about it to Chicago police.
Judges heard arguments for less than an hour contesting Smollett’s 2021 convictions with the actor’s legal counsel proposing anger over the case led to properly dismissed charges being improperly restored.
AP reports Smollett slipped into court for the hour-long oral arguments and sat on spectator benches. He reportedly watched proceedings intently, leaning forward to follow the debate before the three-judge panel.
Smollett, 41, didn’t speak to reporters after the hearing.
“Public outrage against the defendant cannot overrule the rule of law,” one of his lawyers, Nenye Uche, told the panel — referring to how public perception of Smollett turned after police said he created a crime and wasn’t a victim of one.
Uche added many of the issues surrounding the appeal and Smollett’s prosecution boil down to the question: “Is it fair?”
File/Jussie Smollett, middle, leaves the Cook County Jail in Chicago on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, after he was ordered release pending his appeal. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
As Breitbart News reported, in 2021 Smollett was convicted on five counts of disorderly conduct, sentenced to 150 days in jail, 30 months felony probation and restitution. It’s believed his courtroom statements caused Judge James Linn to give Smollett a harsh sentence.
Smollett has always maintained his innocence on all charges, blaming mysterious MAGA forces for the alleged assault and was widely supported by a host of celebrity elites at the time.