Jussie Smollett’s appeal of his felony conviction will now be reviewed by the Illinois Supreme Court.
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His appeal to the State Supreme Court has been approved, and the Supreme Court justices will hear his case once and for all.
Jussie has been appealing his conviction since a jury found him guilty of lying to police about a hate crime he claimed he was the victim of. He was belligerent after the decision was announced, and while he was sentenced to 150 days in jail, he only served 6 days before being released while his appeal was processed through the legal system.
When he first requested an Illinois appeals court to review the case, he lost, with a three-judge panel affirming the conviction and concluding that the jury’s decision was appropriate.
Jussie appealed that ruling, hoping that the Illinois Supreme Court would hear him out, and they have recently indicated that they are willing to do so.
Jussie’s whole argument for why his conviction should be overturned is centred on his assertion that he struck an agreement with the prosecutors who were initially handling his case that specifically indicated he would not be charged if he agreed to their terms.
The special prosecutor, however, said the deal Jussie thought he’d struck with the previous team did not, in fact, protect him from further charges and he also argued double jeopardy doesn’t apply in this case. It’s all very technical, but the special prosecutor is asking the State Supreme Court to reject his bid.