Jussie Smollett Returns To Court To Appeal Conviction For Lying About Hate Crime

The disgraced former “Empire” star Jussie Smollett returned to court on Tuesday to appeal his convictions for staging a racist and homophobic hate crime against himself back in 2019 and then lying to police about it.

Smollett Back In Court

The Associated Press reported that Smollett, 41, showed up to court wearing a casual beige jacket and blue jeans. He appeared to be listening intently as he sat on a spectator bench for the hour-long oral arguments before the three-judge panel on the Chicago-based First District Appellate Court.

“Public outrage against the defendant cannot overrule the rule of law,” Nenye Uche, one of Smollett’s lawyers, argued in front of the panel. This appeared to be a reference to Smollett already being convicted in the court of public opinion, as the vast majority of Americans have come to the conclusion that he did in fact stage this hate crime.

Uche went on to say that when it comes to the appeal and Smollett’s prosecution, it all comes down to the question: “Is it fair?”

Smollett didn’t speak to reporters after the hearing, and he was seen wearing a hat and a different coat as he left the courthouse through an alley.

Find out more about this in the video below.

Related: 45 Times Democrats And Media Blindly Pushed The Jussie Smollett Hate Crime Hoax

Smollett’s Appeal

Should Smollett’s appeal fail, he will be required to finish the 150-day stint in jail that a judge had sentenced him to last year. He spent just six days behind bars before he was released pending an outcome of his appeal. It is believed that this ruling could take several weeks. 

Smollett’s lawyers are arguing in the appeal that chief prosecutor Kim Foxx’s office had used proper discretion when dropping the original charges against him four years ago.

“If Mr. Smollett’s convictions are allowed to stand, this case will set a dangerous precedent by giving prosecutors a second bite at the apple any time there is dissatisfaction with another prosecutor’s exercise of discretion,” they stated.

Sean Wieber, an attorney representing the special prosecutor, fired back in court by saying that the way that Foxx’s office went about dismissing the charges left the door open to recharging Smollett in the future without double jeopardy coming into play. He pointed out that if a defendant hasn’t gone to trial and has never pleaded guilty, it’s typically not double jeopardy if the defendant is then given the same charges for a second time.

“Illinois law is crystal clear. … It’s Law School 101,” Wieber said, going on to point out that Smollett has never pleaded guilty and “has never made any statement that he accepts guilt.”

Related: Trump Calls Jussie Smollett A ‘Con Man’ Who ‘Wanted To Try And Get Sympathy So He Could Have His Contract Renewed’

Smollett’s Claims

Smollett claimed in January of 2019 that he was jumped by two men who hurled racial and homophobic slurs at him while also shouting “this is MAGA country.” After investigating his claims, however, police concluded that Smollett had allegedly staged the attack to secure himself a higher salary on his show “Empire.”

In 2021, a jury convicted Smollett on five felony counts of disorderly conduct, which is the charge that a person is hit with when they lie to police. Despite this and the mountain of evidence against him, Smollett continues to claim that he is completely innocent.

Find out more about this in the video below.

Many feel that in allegedly staging his hate crime, Smollett tried to play off the racial and political tensions in this country for his own personal gain. This majority of Americans will undoubtedly be very pleased if Smollett has to carry out the rest of his sentence behind bars.