That's just gonna cause poor Jussie to have more night terrors
lost in melb. (04-23-2019), Muddy (04-24-2019)
RBP (04-24-2019)
The Associated Press
CHICAGO — Chicago’s top prosecutor is fighting a push to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate her office’s handling of the case against actor Jussie Smollett.
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx says she’d welcome an independent probe into her office’s dismissal of felony disorderly conduct charges that accused Smollett of staging a racist and anti-gay attack on himself. But the Chicago Sun- Times reports she filed a motion Tuesday opposing retired appellate judge Sheila O’Brien’s demand for a special prosecutor.
In another motion, Foxx seeks to quash O’Brien’s subpoenas for her and a top assistant to appear in court Thursday.
Foxx is also seeking permission to allow her office and the county’s inspector general access to records in the case that were sealed last month when the charges were dropped.
'Empire' Renewed for Season 6, 'No Plans' for Jussie Smollett to Return
Empire is coming back, but Jussie Smollett's return is less likely.
Fox has renewed the music drama for a sixth season, the network announced Tuesday, but it will likely be without Smollett, whose future on the show remains less clear. While Fox made no mention of Smollett in its announcement, it appears there are "no plans" to bring his character, Jamal Lyon, back at this time.
“By mutual agreement, the studio has negotiated an extension to Jussie Smollett’s option for season six, but at this time there are no plans for the character of Jamal to return to Empire," Fox Entertainment and 20th Century Fox TV said in a joint statement to ET.
“We've been told that Jussie will not be on Empire in the beginning of the season but he appreciates they have extended his contract to keep Jamal’s future open," Smollett's personal rep told ET in a statement. "Most importantly he is grateful to Fox and Empire leadership, cast, crew and fans for their unwavering support!”
Full story: https://www.etonline.com/empire-rene...-return-124340
I wanted to be a Monk, but I never got the chants.
Hal-9000 (05-01-2019)
Difficult to act when you're in jail
RBP (05-01-2019)
RBP (05-01-2019)
I wanted to be a Monk, but I never got the chants.
By Emily Zanotti - The Daily Wire
On Thursday, a Chicago judge ruled in favor of a collection of media outlets who requested court documents and investigation records related to "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett's alleged fake hate crime, unsealing Smollett's case file and granting reporters access to the full trove.
The Chicago Sun-Times — one of the papers requesting access to the Smollett file — reported that the Cook County judge, Steven Watkins, ordered the documents unsealed because Smollett and his attorneys had “not shown good cause to rebut the public presumption of access."
Smollett's case files were sealed in the same hearing where the Cook County States Attorney announced that they would drop 17 felony counts against the "Empire" actor in return for approximately 16 hours of community service and a $10,000 check — the "down payment" Smollett left with the court when he was let out on bond.
Smollett was, of course, not required to admit that he was guilty of orchestrating an alleged "hate attack" on himself that took place in the early hours of January 29. The 17 charges stem from two interactions Smollett had with police following the attack, and Smollett was hit with one felony count of obstructing justice for each statement made to investigators that a grand jury believed was a lie.
It's Smollett's actions in the wake of the "deal" with prosecutors that seem to have convinced Judge Watkins to allow the Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, and others access to the full case file, including an interview Smollett gave proclaiming his own innocence, shortly after his appearance in court.
“Smollett voluntarily appeared on national television speaking about the incident in detail,” Watkins said. “After the March dismissal, he stood in front of numerous cameras... in the courthouse lobby speaking about the case.”
“These are not the actions of a person seeking simply to maintain his privacy or simply to be let alone," Watkins added.
Watkins did not accept Smollett's attorneys' arguments that their client was entitled to a "right to privacy," adding that the public interest, in this case, outweighed the need to keep the documents sealed.
The court did not give a timeline, Thursday, for when the Smollett case files would be released or what they would contain. The Chicago Police Department has already released a number of documents related to their investigation into whether Smollett was involved in his own attack, but the court file will likely cover what was given to the prosecutor's office and contain documents filed in relation to Smollett's alleged "plea deal."
Although the actor himself has sort of faded from the limelight since the case concluded — the show "Empire" will run for one more season, but Smollett's character will not return — the Smollett case exposed a series of bizarre policies at work inside the Cook County State's Attorney's office. In addition to what appears to be preferred treatment given to Smollett, a celebrity, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx is now accused of agreeing to lenient sentences in a variety of cases, in the name of a more "progressive" approach to justice.
In one case, Foxx's office appears to have allowed a violent offender to end his own probation and house arrest simply by disabling his ankle monitor. That offender then went on to murder an off-duty Chicago police officer and severely wound another.
DemonGeminiX (05-24-2019), RBP (05-24-2019)
I wanted to be a Monk, but I never got the chants.
Hal-9000 (05-24-2019)
RBP (05-27-2019)
RBP (05-27-2019)
"In one case, Foxx's office appears to have allowed a violent offender to end his own probation and house arrest simply by disabling his ankle monitor. That offender then went on to murder an off-duty Chicago police officer and severely wound another. "
I've been trying to understand what the initial decision was driven by when they released him. Was the prosecution influenced by someone in power to make this go away?
Two possible outcomes. They charge him, let the trial play out and the world sees an attempt to undermine the right by a bad actor. Left looks bad.
or
They release him without explanation and seal the records, causing the public to forever suspect the actor staged the event to undermine the right and something shifty happened.
It's bad for him either way
RBP (05-27-2019)
oh wow... i bet this thread was amazing
RBP (05-28-2019)