CHICAGO (CBS) — The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday overturned former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction for orchestrating a hate crime hoax.
Smollett was convicted of five counts of disorderly conduct and sentenced to 150 days in jail, but was released after only six days behind bars while he appealed his case.
Defense attorneys had argued his trial violated his Fifth Amendment protections against double jeopardy, after Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office agreed to drop the original charges against him.
A special prosecutor was later assigned to reinvestigate the case, and brought a new indictment against him, but Smollett’s attorneys have argued that the special prosecutor never should have been allowed to bring new charges.
On Thursday, the state’s highest court sided with Smollett’s attorneys, reversing his conviction, and ordering the case against him dismissed.
“Today we resolve a question about the State’s responsibility to honor the agreements it makes with defendants. Specifically, we address whether a dismissal of a case by nolle prosequi allows the State to bring a second prosecution when the dismissal was entered as part of an agreement with the defendant and the defendant has performed his part of the bargain. We hold that a second prosecution under these circumstances is a due process violation, and we therefore reverse defendant’s conviction,” Justice Elizabeth Rochford wrote in the court’s ruling.
This is a developing story.
