Perez Hilton, a pop culture expert and crime buff, said the Illinois Supreme Court's Jussie Smollett decision did not challenge the charges against him when he was released from prison. That's just a technical decision.
And it may not help revive the “sinking” career of the disgraced actor.
“Unfortunately for Jussie Smollett, this isn't going to be very good for him,” Hilton said. “It kept him out of jail, which was literally good for him in that sense, but he's not going to spend that much time locked up anyway.” There was no.”
Smollett, who is black and gay, initially told Chicago police he was the victim. racist and homophobic attacks In January 2019, an assault incident occurred by two men wearing ski masks. Two brothers, Olabinjo and Abimbola Osundairo, then claimed they were the masked men and helped Mr. Smollett in the hoax.
Jussie Smollett's conviction overturned by Illinois Supreme Court
Mr. Smollett was found guilty on five of six charges of disorderly conduct. (Nuccio DiNuzzo)
Kim Foxx, the progressive Democratic district attorney who oversaw the original case, dropped the trumped-up charges against Smollett as part of an agreement in which he was ordered to forfeit his bail and perform community service. However, he was subsequently indicted, tried, and convicted by a grand jury in conjunction with a special prosecutor in the case.
People will see the headlines, gloss over the details and continue to form opinions about him, Hilton said.
Special Counsel Dan K. Webb slammed the court's decision, calling it “unprecedented.”
Mr. Hilton, like Mr. Webb, said the court did not take up allegations that Mr. Smollett made things up to cause Chicago police to waste limited resources trying to solve hate crimes that never occurred, and the court also threw out evidence. He pointed out that there was not.
Hear more from Perez Hilton about Jussie Smollett's decision.
Despite maintaining his innocence in hate crime hoax, Jussie Smollett's career hit 'rock bottom': expert
“Today’s decision was made possible because of the unprecedented resolution of Mr. Smollett’s original case by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO) in March 2019, and the Illinois Supreme Court held that Mr. Smollett “We have decided to prohibit further prosecution of the defendant,'' Webb said. In a statement.
“The Illinois Supreme Court reached this decision despite the fact that the CCSAO had originally dismissed Mr. Smollett's case through a statutory process that did not preclude re-prosecution under Illinois law, and Mr. Smollett's own attorneys “There was no agreement” with CCSAO in the first case in March 2019, he told the public shortly after the dismissal. ”
This booking photo provided by the Cook County Sheriff's Office shows Jussie Smollett. (Cook County Sheriff's Office, via AP/File)
Some legal experts agreed with the court's findings.
James Scozzari, a Michigan defense attorney who has litigated cases in several Midwestern states, said the case is similar to what happened when disgraced actor Bill Cosby was released from a Pennsylvania prison on similar grounds. spoke.
Cosby had entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the Philadelphia district attorney, but another prosecutor ended up indicting him on the same charges.
Brothers Olabinjo Osundairo (right) and Abimbola Osundairo appear outside the Layton Criminal Courthouse on February 24, 2020 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
“Similar to the Cosby reversal, the DA's office initially agreed to a no-prosecution plea in exchange for Mr. Smollett to waive bail,” Scozzari told Fox News Digital. “Refiling this case violates that agreement and involves double jeopardy.”
Smollett's lawyer, Mark Geragos, said the question ultimately comes down to whether the state has a responsibility to honor the agreement in court.
“We find that a second prosecution under these circumstances constitutes a violation of due process, and we therefore vacate the defendant's conviction.”
Please read ruling:
Bill Cosby's lawyer asks Supreme Court not to reopen his sexual assault case
“Justin Smollett's career is in the doldrums, and I don't think this result will change that,” he said.
Still, Hilton said people shouldn't be canceled “forever.”
He shared some advice for Smollett if he has the work ethic to commit to it.
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“He doesn't need a lot of money,” Hilton said. “All he needs is a work ethic and an idea and with that he can make things happen.”
But, he added, it's wise to let others be the face of your project.
“He should make these projects for other people to appear in, not as a means for himself,” he added. “So my suggestion is to do some creative work behind the scenes so that, hopefully, it can still be rewarding and profitable.”
Fox News' Lauryn Overhultz and Matt Finn contributed to this report.
