Nearly a year after being sentenced to five months in jail for disorderly conduct related to an attack he staged—although he was released on bond just days later—actor Jussie Smollett has filed his appeal.
The Chicago Tribune reported that Smollett claimed his indictment by a special prosecutor was invalid because of double-jeopardy concerns and bias by Cook County Judge James Linn.
In December 2021, a jury convicted the onetime co-star of the Fox show Empire of paying two acquaintances to fake a racist and homophobic attack on him in January 2019 to get exposure and boost his career.
Smollett’s attorney, Nenye Uche, alleged in the filing that Smollett’s rights against being re-prosecuted for the same crime were violated when special prosecutor Dan Webb filed disorderly conduct charges against him, even though Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office had agreed to dismiss nearly identical claims in 2020.