Jussie Smollett’s lawyers have slammed a judge’s decision to appoint a special prosecutor to re-investigate the case against him.
The ‘Empire’ star had been accused of having orchestrated a racist and homophobic attack on himself back in January, and although he had the case against him dropped in March, last month Judge Michael Toomin appointed a special prosecutor who could still bring new criminal charges against him and Jussie’s lawyers are furious.
According to the New York Post’s Page Six, Tina Glandian and Mark J. Geragos said in court: "This case has been a travesty of justice and an unprecedented deprivation of Mr. Smollett’s constitutional rights, including the presumption of innocence and right to a fair trial. Not only have the media and the public failed to critically look at the evidence (and lack thereof) against Mr. Smollett, but now, the court has accepted false media reports to presume Mr. Smollett guilty of charges which he pled not guilty to and which were dismissed against him.
"If the court’s conclusions were to be accepted, the City of Chicago has committed an egregious violation of Mr. Smollett’s civil rights by depriving him of his liberty and property without due process of law in violation of the Fourth Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution."
When announcing plans to appoint a new special prosecutor last month, the judge said in his order: "If reasonable grounds exist to further prosecute Smollett, in the interest of justice the special prosecutor may take such action."
According to reports at the time, the judge also said "unprecedented irregularities identified in this case" warrants the appointment of a special prosecutor.
Jussie was previously indicted on 16 felony counts of lying to police, after he alleged he was attacked by two men who beat him and put a rope around his next while yelling racial and homophobic slurs.
The actor had all charges against him dropped in March, but the decision prompted the City of Chicago to demand he hand over a whopping $130,000 to compensate for the overtime pay for police who investigated his case.
In April, after he refused to pay, the City decided to file a lawsuit against him, which could see him face a trial for allegedly staging the attack.
Jussie Smollett’s lawyers blast judge
