Jussie Smollett

Former “Empire” star Jussie Smollett left a Chicago jail Wednesday, and his legal team and family celebrated latest victory in the protracted case.

In dissent, the third appeals judge wrote only that she would “deny this motion.” The Associated Press reported that his lawyers said Smollett was the target of a racist justice system and people playing politics. He was placed under protective custody in jail, but his lawyers and family said he faced threats while behind bars — an issue Smollett alluded to during his sentencing outburst. The case is bogus against him,” Uche said in the video. Smollett, who has maintained his innocence since the 2019 saga began and who asserted that he was “not suicidal” during a courthouse outburst last week, silently left the jail around 8 p.m. local time. The 39-year-old actor walked out of the Cook County Jail in Chicago, where he had been housed immediately after a sensational sentencing hearing on March 10.

Jussie Smollett was granted a stay on his 150-day jail sentence as his team appeals the ruling related to reporting a false hate crime.

Jussie Smollett has maintained his innocence throughout the trial and has a number of supporters, including Jurnee Smollett, who posted on Instagram for Cook County Jail to #FreeJussie following her brother's sentencing. A police investigation later led to questions about the validity of the attack and suggested that Smollett hired and paid two men to conduct the attack on him. Jussie’s brother Jocqui Smollett previously posted on Instagram that Jussie was being held in the psych ward and was reported to be at risk of self-harm, despite the actor’s insistence at his sentencing that “I am not suicidal!”

Jussie Smollett has been released from jail after serving just six days of his 150-day sentence. The Empire alum was able to post bail of $150,000 according to the court order obtained by E! News. The actor's lawyer is filing an appeal on his case, ...

The first five counts were for filing a false report to authorities on Jan. 29, 2019. Jurors found the Empire actor guilty of 5 of the 6 felony counts against him. After his release, Smollett did not speak to reporters but the actor’s lawyer, Nenye Uche said, “We’ve been complaining about the disparate treatment of African Americans in the judicial system regardless of what you think about this case.

Jussie Smollett, centre, leaves the Cook County Jail Wednesday, March 16, 2022, after an appeals court agreed with his lawyers that he should be released pending the appeal of his conviction for lying to police about a racist and homophobic attack in ...

The manhunt for the attackers soon turned into an investigation of Smollett himself and his arrest on charges that he’d orchestrated the attack and lied to police about it. Authorities said Smollett paid two men he knew from work on the TV show Empire to stage the attack. In an outburst immediately after the sentence was handed down, Smollett proclaimed his innocence and said “I am not suicidal. “His conduct denigrated hate crimes,” Webb said after the hearing. He did not comment as he got into an awaiting SUV, but his lawyers said Smollett, who is Black and gay, was the target of a racist justice system and people playing politics. He also called Judge James Linn’s sentence excessive for a low-level felony, adding that the appellate court doesn’t “play politics.”

The Illinois appellate court that ordered Mr. Smollett's release from jail often takes months, even years, to rule on cases, according to experts.

The defense argued that Mr. Smollett should not be incarcerated because his offense was the kind of low-level, nonviolent felony that often results in sentences of probation or community service. The defense argued that the brothers were lying and seeking to protect themselves from prosecution. Ultimately, judges have the discretion to decide these matters on a case-by-case basis. “There are a lot of cases — it’s always been that way,” said Joseph Lopez, a criminal defense attorney who has represented high-profile defendants like Drew Peterson, who was convicted of murdering his third wife. There is also typically a backlog of cases waiting to be heard. - His Sentence: The actorwas sentenced to five months in jailafter pleas for leniencyfrom supporters. Several experts said proceedings of all sorts at the court typically take about a year or two years. Analysts say it could take years for the case to come to an end. “And it’s falling right here, right now.” Two key arguments the defense is expected to make are that the appointment of a special prosecutor to reassess the case was never valid and that Mr. Smollett was subjected to double jeopardy because he surrendered his $10,000 bond and performed some community service in 2019. The appellate court in Illinois, which ordered Mr. Smollett’s release, is not built for speed, and it was the anticipated delay in hearing his appeal that led the court order that Mr. Smollett should be free while it deliberates whether he was wrongly convicted of staging a fake hate crime. Whether or not Mr. Smollett is forced to return to the jail in Chicago to complete his sentence is a question that is not likely to be answered for months — and possibly years.

The former “Empire” actor was freed on bond while his appeal is pending, and experts say he might avoid more jail time even if the ruling in his case ...

And, Smollett’s case —despite the massive public attention devoted to it —is unlikely to get the kind of attention from appellate judges that would put it on a fast track to a ruling, Decker said. It’s possible the court could find against Smollett on some or all of his case, and send the case back to Linn and allow the judge to extend Smollett’s sentence and re-impose jail time, but that would likely trigger another appeal, Richards said. “This is not the most important case facing the court.” Asked if Smollett would be subject to the random visits to his home by probation officers or periodic drug testing, Allen said such conditions were dependent on the probation office’s decisions about what was appropriate for the actor. Smollett was released on an appeal bond just six days after he was led from Judge James Linn’s courtroom for a five-month stint in the jail that was to be the start of a 30-month probation sentence. “But generally, if you appeal your case, you can’t get more time.”