Jussie Smollett conviction upheld by appeals court

An Illinois appeals court has upheld actor Jussie Smollett’s disorderly conduct conviction in an opinion filed Friday.

A three-panel judge affirmed Smollett’s conviction in a 2-1 ruling. His lawyers could appeal the decision and bring it to the state Supreme Court.

If the Illinois Supreme Court does take up or reverse the appellate court’s decision, the actor must serve the sentence that was handed down in March 2022.

The appeals court panel heard arguments from Smollett’s attorneys in September, who said his conviction should be thrown out.

In 2019, Smollett claimed he was the victim of a hate crime in Chicago. The actor, known for his role on the TV series “Empire,” is Black and gay.

He claimed he was attacked on the street by two men in Chicago who yelled racist, homophobic and pro-Trump remarks and put a noose around his neck. It turned out that Smollett had paid two brothers, Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, to stage the attack, prosecutors said.

He was later charged with 16 felonies; those charges were dropped, but he was found guilty on five separate counts of felony disorderly conduct in December 2021.

Several of the actor’s friends and family members appeared in court to plead for leniency in the case.

He was sentenced to 150 days in jail by a Chicago judge and ordered to pay a $250,000 fine and more than $120,000 in restitution to the city of Chicago.

He served six days behind bars after the initial sentence before he was released while appealing the decision.

His attorneys, requesting a new trial with a different judge, argued that trial proceedings violated Smollett’s Fifth Amendment protections against double jeopardy, but in the ruling released Friday, the appeals court said the actor was not denied due process.

The panel wrote that it affirms “the judgement of the circuit court of Cook County.”