Actor Jussie Smollett's conviction, stemming from accusations that he orchestrated a racist and homophobic attack upon himself in downtown Chicago in 2019 and subsequently misled the police, was overturned on Thursday by the Illinois Supreme Court due to prosecutorial irregularities. The ruling failed to address Smollett's assertions of innocence.
The state's highest judicial authority determined that a special prosecutor's intervention was unwarranted after the Cook County State's Attorney initially dismissed charges against Smollett in exchange for his forfeiture of a $10,000 bond and community service. Smollett, who is Black and gay, alleged that two men attacked him, hurled racial and homophobic epithets, and draped a noose around his neck, prompting an extensive search by Chicago police detectives and sparking international outrage. Smollett, known for his role in the television drama "Empire" filmed in Chicago, was accused of staging the attack due to his dissatisfaction with the studio's response to hate mail he received.
Justice Elizabeth Rochford, in the court's unanimous 5-0 opinion, acknowledged, "We are mindful that this case has garnered immense public scrutiny and that many perceived the original outcome as unjust. However, a greater injustice would be for this court to uphold a decision that undermines agreements upon which individuals have relied adversely."
Smollett's legal team contended that the case was closed when the Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's office dropped the initial 16 counts of disorderly conduct. This move ignited immediate backlash, with then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel deeming it a "miscarriage of justice." A special prosecutor was subsequently appointed, and a grand jury reinstated the charges, leading to Smollett's 2021 conviction on five counts of disorderly conduct.
"This was not a prosecution grounded in facts; it was a retaliatory pursuit, which has no place in our criminal justice system," declared Smollett's attorney, Nenye Uche, in a statement. Uche hailed the court for "restoring order to Illinois' criminal law jurisprudence," emphasizing that "the rule of law emerged victorious today."
The special prosecutor, Dan Webb, disagreed with the court's ruling but clarified that it "bears no relation to Smollett's innocence." "The Illinois Supreme Court did not identify any flaws in the compelling evidence presented during the trial that Smollett orchestrated a false hate crime and reported it to the Chicago Police Department as genuine, nor did it question the jury's unanimous verdict convicting Smollett of five counts of felony disorderly conduct," Webb stated.
A spokesperson indicated that Foxx would provide her comments later in the day. Meanwhile, Eileen O'Neill Burke, the incoming Cook County State's Attorney elected this month to succeed Foxx, declined to offer her views.
Trial testimony revealed that Smollett paid $3,500 to two individuals he knew from "Empire" to execute the attack. Prosecutors claimed he instructed them on the slurs to shout and to yell that Smollett was in "MAGA country," a phrase apparently referencing Donald Trump's presidential campaign slogan.
Smollett insisted that "there was no hoax" and that he was a victim of a hate crime in his downtown Chicago neighborhood. He was sentenced to 150 days in jail, serving six days before being released pending appeal, and ordered to pay approximately $130,000 in restitution. Webb noted that Chicago officials could still pursue a civil case against Smollett to recoup the $130,000, which police claimed was spent on overtime in pursuit of Smollett's accusations.
Smollett, a child actor who featured in the 1992 film "The Mighty Ducks," credited his role as a singer in the hip-hop drama "Empire" for significantly boosting his career. This year, he starred in the movie "The Lost Holiday" alongside Vivica A. Fox. Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis and Justice Joy Cunningham did not participate in Thursday's decision.
