The fifty-leventh time’s the allure, proper?
Supply: Chicago Tribune / Getty
Jussie Smollett could be heading again into courtroom after demanding a brand new trial. Two months after the actor was discovered responsible on 5 of the 6 felony counts in opposition to him for submitting a false police report about his 2019 assault, his attorneys filed a petition for a second likelihood in courtroom. TMZ experiences Jussie claims his constitutional rights have been violated throughout the jury choice course of. Does he have (one more) case?
The Empire star’s authorized workforce stated the courtroom “made quite a few trial errors main as much as the trial and throughout the pendency of the trial.” His attorneys said that regardless of having such a controversial shopper in a nationally lined case that might simply taint potential jurors, they weren’t allowed to immediately query the jury pool for biases and “questionable impartiality.”
Based on NBC Information, the submitting additionally said that the proof introduced by the prosecution was “inadequate and inconsistent in order that no cheap trier of reality may have discovered Mr. Smollett responsible past an inexpensive doubt and thus there’s proof that the jury verdict was opposite to the manifest weight of the proof.
“As such, the Defendant now respectfully requests that his convictions be vacated or within the different, that the Court docket grant the Defendant a brand new trial.”
If the 39-year-old can’t get a brand new trial, he’s searching for to have his conviction overturned for the 5 felony counts of disorderly conduct. Jussie’s workforce additionally asserted that prosecutors pressured witnesses to provide false testimony in opposition to him. Chicago’s police and courtroom methods aren’t identified for being neutral, particularly on the subject of Black males, so Jussie’s workforce might have loads of legitimate factors about how this case was (mis)dealt with.
The cameras will likely be prepared for Jussie’s close-up on March 10 at his sentencing after Choose James Linn‘s ruling on Friday that “there isn’t any good trigger to proceed to disclaim prolonged media protection for post-trial proceedings.” He’s at the moment going through a most sentence of three years, which is much less time than he’s already spent in courtroom over this reported hate crime.
If violent criminals like Kim Potter can get tears and a slap on the wrist, does Jussie deserve a second likelihood at justice?
