Prosecutors drop all charges against Jussie Smollett

[jkjk]

Chicago prosecutors dropped all charges against Jussie Smollett, and the judge sealed the case, after Smollett agreed to forfeit his bond and conducted community service.

 

[TuxAme]

There's one court and outcome for the common man, and another for the rich and famous. If I staged such an attack against myself and lied to the police about it, I would see a very different outcome.

 

[GoldenBoy89]

Lol.

 

[bhsmte]

Interesting.

I dont think they would have charged him without some evidence, but maybe a key witness or two doesnt want to testify or something, who knows?

 

[JosephZ]

There's different courts and outcomes for the common man, and another for the rich and famous. If I staged such an attack against myself and lied to the police about it, I would see a very different outcome.

I don't think privilege has anything to do with it in this case. This article from last month pretty much spells it out.

"Empire" star Smollett is charged with a Class 4 felony count of disorderly conduct/filing a false police report. A Class 4 is the lowest kind of felony, and in Illinois carries a maximum of 1 to 3 years in prison. It could also result in a fine of up to $25,000.

"Almost nobody would go to prison on a class 4," Andrew Weisberg, a former prosecutor in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office who now works as a defense attorney, told TheWrap. "I would be surprised if he got [prison] time."

Another Chicago defense attorney agreed Smollett was unlikely to spend time behind bars.

"My guess is that he would likely get probation if convicted," said James E. Fabbrini, of Fabbrini Law Group.

Why Jussie Smollett Probably Won't Get Prison Time

Why go through the long expensive legal process and inconvenience the lives of multiple witnesses, legal professionals, and law enforcement officers for an extended period of time when the outcome would likely be the same either way? A penalty of a large fine and/or probation at the most.

 

[Goonie]

I don't think privilege has anything to do with it in this case. This article from last month pretty much spells it out.

"Empire" star Smollett is charged with a Class 4 felony count of disorderly conduct/filing a false police report. A Class 4 is the lowest kind of felony, and in Illinois carries a maximum of 1 to 3 years in prison. It could also result in a fine of up to $25,000.

"Almost nobody would go to prison on a class 4," Andrew Weisberg, a former prosecutor in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office who now works as a defense attorney, told TheWrap. "I would be surprised if he got [prison] time."

Another Chicago defense attorney agreed Smollett was unlikely to spend time behind bars.

"My guess is that he would likely get probation if convicted," said James E. Fabbrini, of Fabbrini Law Group.

Why Jussie Smollett Probably Won't Get Prison Time

Why go through the long expensive legal process and inconvenience the lives of multiple witnesses, legal professionals, and law enforcement officers for an extended period of time when the outcome would likely be the same either way? A penalty of a large fine and/or probation at the most.

Because it would set an example. If he faked an attack on himself prosecution would definitely be in the public interest. It is more likely that the prosecution had doubts about the reliability of their witnesses, ie the alleged assailants.

 

[JosephZ]

Because it would set an example. If he faked an attack on himself prosecution would definitely be in the public interest. It is more likely that the prosecution had doubts about the reliability of their witnesses, ie the alleged assailants.

Plea bargains are very common and whole lot of criminal cases never go to trial. Chances are if this wasn't a case involving a celebrity, very few would have ever known about it. In fact, there are thousands of hate crimes a year committed in the US, and most go unnoticed. This was an expensive lesson for Smollett, and the prosecution walked away with a substantial bond forfeiture.

 

[SeventyOne]

Makes one wonder if there was nothing there, then why would he ever agree to let them keep his $100,000 bond?

 

[cow451]

I don't think privilege has anything to do with it in this case. This article from last month pretty much spells it out.

"Empire" star Smollett is charged with a Class 4 felony count of disorderly conduct/filing a false police report. A Class 4 is the lowest kind of felony, and in Illinois carries a maximum of 1 to 3 years in prison. It could also result in a fine of up to $25,000.

"Almost nobody would go to prison on a class 4," Andrew Weisberg, a former prosecutor in the Cook County State's Attorney's Office who now works as a defense attorney, told TheWrap. "I would be surprised if he got [prison] time."

Another Chicago defense attorney agreed Smollett was unlikely to spend time behind bars.

"My guess is that he would likely get probation if convicted," said James E. Fabbrini, of Fabbrini Law Group.

Why Jussie Smollett Probably Won't Get Prison Time

Why go through the long expensive legal process and inconvenience the lives of multiple witnesses, legal professionals, and law enforcement officers for an extended period of time when the outcome would likely be the same either way? A penalty of a large fine and/or probation at the most.

There’s a big league difference between getting probation or a first offender diversion and getting a pass.

 

[JosephZ]

Makes one wonder if there was nothing there, then why would he ever agree to let them keep his $100,000 bond?

He's only out $10,000. He was only required to put up 10% of the total bond amount.

There’s a big league difference between getting probation or a first offender diversion and getting a pass.

He lost $10,000 which is pretty significant and not exactly a pass. There is also an ongoing federal investigation into the letter that was sent to the studio he worked at, so he's not in the clear just yet.

 

[cow451]

He's only out $10,000. He was only required to put up 10% of the total bond amount.


He lost $10,000 which is pretty significant and not exactly a pass. There is also an ongoing federal investigation into the letter that was sent to the studio he worked at, so he's not in the clear just yet.

That a possible felony? Two felonies might get us average folk a little jail time.

 

[St. Helens]

MOD HAT ON

MOD HAT OFF​

 

[SeventyOne]

He's only out $10,000. He was only required to put up 10% of the total bond amount.

Yup. I see that now. Thanks.

 

[JosephZ]

That a possible felony? Two felonies might get us average folk a little jail time.

When I was younger I used to find myself on the wrong side of the law quite often, I have been charged with far worse than disorderly conduct and filing a false police report as Smollett was, yet I have no felony convictions on my record. Let's not forget that Smollett still claims he is innocent and has yet to be found guilty in a court of law, so speculating that he got away with anything or that we may have gotten jail time if we were to find ourselves in a similar situation are premature.

 

[VCR-2000]

My opinion, if rich and famous people can be "empowered" to do get away with anything without being accountable, then common people like me should be allowed to feel the same way. I don't care about what Jesus or others in the Bible may have said about it.

 

[bhsmte]

Something is smelly here. Both the mayor and police super, are furious charges were dropped.

Quite certain, much more to this story.

 

[MyOwnSockPuppet]

Let's not forget that Smollett still claims he is innocent and has yet to be found guilty in a court of law, so speculating that he got away with anything or that we may have gotten jail time if we were to find ourselves in a similar situation are premature.

I think the way to look at it is that something distasteful has gone on, one way or the other, but establishing who and what beyond all reasonable doubt has proved impossible.

 

[JosephZ]

Something is smelly here. Both the mayor and police super, are furious charges were dropped.

Quite certain, much more to this story.

The mayor and police department have no say in whether or not an accused criminal goes to trial, that rests solely with the prosecutor. There may be some politics involved with this case, but let's not forget that cases get dropped everyday in the US, so it's not unusual. Just the same, police officials will often get upset when a case they work on gets dropped. What's making this case newsworthy is Smollett's celebrity status and the media's coverage of this alleged crime.

 

[Ana the Ist]

Interesting.

I dont think they would have charged him without some evidence, but maybe a key witness or two doesnt want to testify or something, who knows?

I think the police screwed up....

I remember reading an article where his attorney said they were going after the police for "leaking" details to the public. My guess is that some court orders revealed the leak, it was probably in the police department, and they decided that convicting him wasn't worth the embarrassment of that kind of unprofessional behavior being exposed.

The case was sealed, right? So there's probably something embarrassing in there for the police as well as Jussie. They dropped the ball here.

I'm just curious about how this will affect his career now.

 

[Darkhorse]

Something is smelly here. Both the mayor and police super, are furious charges were dropped.

Quite certain, much more to this story.

Is anyone surprised? It's Chicago!