The Illinois Supreme Court overturned actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction Thursday for staging a fake hate crime, ruling that prosecutors violated his due process rights by pursuing charges after a previous plea agreement, in a decision that referenced the Bill Cosby case as precedent.
“Today we resolve a question about the State’s responsibility to honor the agreements it makes with defendants,” the court stated in its ruling, determining that Smollett’s second prosecution violated constitutional principles after he had fulfilled terms of an initial 2019 agreement.
The reversal marks a stunning turn in a case that began January 29, 2019, when Smollett, 42, reported to Chicago police that two men had attacked him outside his apartment building, using racial and homophobic slurs while placing a noose around his neck and declaring “This is MAGA country.” Investigators later concluded he had paid brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo $3,500 to stage the assault to advance his career.
While initially charged with filing false police reports in February 2019, Smollett reached a deal with prosecutors to forfeit his $10,000 bond and complete 16 hours of community service. Questions about favoritism in that agreement prompted Cook County District Attorney Kim Foxx to appoint a special investigator, leading to new charges and Smollett’s eventual conviction on five felony counts in December 2021.
The state’s highest court drew parallels to Bill Cosby’s case in Pennsylvania, where that state’s supreme court overturned his sexual assault conviction based on an earlier non-prosecution agreement. “It cannot be gainsaid that society holds a strong interest in the prosecution of crimes,” the Illinois court wrote. “It is also true that no such interest, however important, ever can eclipse society’s interest in ensuring that the constitutional rights of the people are vindicated.”
Smollett, who starred in the television series “Empire,” served just six days of his 150-day jail sentence in 2022 before being released pending appeal. The original charges stemmed from a police investigation that determined he had fabricated the attack claim, allegedly to boost his public profile.
The Illinois Supreme Court overturned actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction Thursday for staging a fake hate crime, ruling that prosecutors violated his due process rights by pursuing charges after a previous plea agreement, in a decision that referenced the Bill Cosby case as precedent.
“Today we resolve a question about the State’s responsibility to honor the agreements it makes with defendants,” the court stated in its ruling, determining that Smollett’s second prosecution violated constitutional principles after he had fulfilled terms of an initial 2019 agreement.
The reversal marks a stunning turn in a case that began January 29, 2019, when Smollett, 42, reported to Chicago police that two men had attacked him outside his apartment building, using racial and homophobic slurs while placing a noose around his neck and declaring “This is MAGA country.” Investigators later concluded he had paid brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo $3,500 to stage the assault to advance his career.
While initially charged with filing false police reports in February 2019, Smollett reached a deal with prosecutors to forfeit his $10,000 bond and complete 16 hours of community service. Questions about favoritism in that agreement prompted Cook County District Attorney Kim Foxx to appoint a special investigator, leading to new charges and Smollett’s eventual conviction on five felony counts in December 2021.
The state’s highest court drew parallels to Bill Cosby’s case in Pennsylvania, where that state’s supreme court overturned his sexual assault conviction based on an earlier non-prosecution agreement. “It cannot be gainsaid that society holds a strong interest in the prosecution of crimes,” the Illinois court wrote. “It is also true that no such interest, however important, ever can eclipse society’s interest in ensuring that the constitutional rights of the people are vindicated.”
Smollett, who starred in the television series “Empire,” served just six days of his 150-day jail sentence in 2022 before being released pending appeal. The original charges stemmed from a police investigation that determined he had fabricated the attack claim, allegedly to boost his public profile.
