The Illinois Supreme Court has reversed the judgments of lower courts and overturned the conviction of embattled LGBTQ+ actor Jussie Smollett.
On Nov. 21, the court stated, “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.”
In addition, the court mentioned Bill Cosby’s case (Commonwealth v. Cosby) in stating, “We are aware that this case has generated significant public interest and that many people were dissatisfied with the resolution of the original case and believed it to be unjust. Nevertheless, what would be more unjust than the resolution of any one criminal case would be a holding from this court that the State was not bound to honor agreements upon which people have detrimentally relied.”
During the actor’s trial, special prosecutors accused Smollett of staging the 2019 attack in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood because he was unhappy with his salary for his role on the hit television show Empire and was attempting to launch a music career. The jury found Smollett guilty of five counts of disorderly conduct, and he was sentenced to 30 months of probation, with the first 150 days to be served at Cook County Jail. (According to WGN, he served six days of that sentence.)
In 2023, a appellate court panel affirmed the actor’s conviction in a two-to-one decision after considering similar arguments.
The Illinois Supreme Court noted that Chief Justice Mary Jane Theis and Justice Joy Cunningham did not take part in the consideration or decision of Smollett’s case. Justice Elizabeth M. Rochford delivered the opinion, with four others concurring.
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