Jussie Smollett attorneys cannot call prosecutor to testify

A judge has ruled that Jussie Smollett’s attorneys cannot call as a witness the Chicago prosecutor whose office dropped initial charges accusing the actor of staging a racist, anti-gay attack on himself in 2019

Jussie Smollett’s attorneys cannot call as a witness the Chicago prosecutor whose office dropped initial charges accusing the actor of staging a racist, anti-gay attack on himself in 2019, a judge ruled Thursday.

Smollett's attorneys also cannot mention various lawsuits linked to his case, Cook County Judge James Linn said. But Linn said they can tell jurors about an AR-15 and other guns that were discovered after police searched the home of two brothers whom prosecutors said Smollett hired to carry out the attack, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The AR-15 was legally owned and has since been returned to its owner, the judge noted.

Smollett is accused of lying to police when he reported that two masked men attacked him in downtown Chicago in January 2019. At the time, he was starring in the TV show “Empire ” which was filmed in Chicago.

After initial charges against him were dropped by Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's office, a special prosecutor was appointed and charged him with felony counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly filing false police reports about what happened. The actor has denied the allegations and has pleaded not guilty.

While Foxx came under criticism for her handling of the case. The special prosecutor concluded she and her office did nothing criminal but did abuse their discretion and made false statements about the case.

No trial date for Smollett has been set.

Register for free to continue reading

Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism

By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists

Please enter a valid email
Please enter a valid email
Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number
Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number
Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number
Please enter your first name
Special characters aren’t allowed
Please enter a name between 1 and 40 characters
Please enter your last name
Special characters aren’t allowed
Please enter a name between 1 and 40 characters
You must be over 18 years old to register
You must be over 18 years old to register
Opt-out-policy
You can opt-out at any time by signing in to your account to manage your preferences. Each email has a link to unsubscribe.

By clicking ‘Create my account’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Already have an account? sign in

By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Register for free to continue reading

Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism

By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists

Already have an account? sign in

By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in