Illinois Supreme Court Overturns Jussie Smollett’s Conviction for Staged Hate Crime

The Illinois Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of former ‘Empire‘ actor Jussie Smollett, who was accused of orchestrating a hate crime hoax in 2019. The court’s decision, issued on Thursday, November 21, 2024, reverses Smollett’s conviction on five counts of disorderly conduct and orders the case against him dismissed.

Smollett had claimed he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack near his Streeterville apartment in January 2019. However, police investigations later focused on Smollett himself, leading to charges that he had staged the attack with the help of brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo. Despite his conviction and a sentence of 150 days in jail, Smollett maintained his innocence and was released after serving only six days while he appealed his case.

The Illinois Supreme Court’s ruling was based on the argument that Smollett’s trial violated his Fifth Amendment protections against double jeopardy. In 2019, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx’s office had dropped the original charges against Smollett in exchange for him forfeiting his $10,000 bond and performing 16 hours of community service. However, a special prosecutor was later appointed and brought new charges against him, which Smollett’s attorneys argued was a violation of the initial non-prosecution agreement.

In their ruling, the justices stated that the special prosecutor’s decision to file new charges after the original case was dropped and Smollett had fulfilled his part of the agreement was a due process violation. The court emphasized the importance of honoring prosecutorial agreements, citing that “a deal’s a deal” and that it would be unjust for the state to renege on such agreements.