An Illinois appeals court upheld actor Jussie Smollett’s conviction for a staged hate crime in an opinion filed Friday.
The decision was 2-1, with Justice David Navarro and Justice Mary Ellen Coghlan agreeing. Judge Freddrenna Lyle dissented, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital.
Smollett’s legal team will file an appeal with the Supreme Court.
“We wish to highlight that the decision was divided, with Justice Lyle offering a detailed analysis in favor of Smollett,” his rep Holly Baird told Fox News Digital.”We are preparing to escalate this matter to the Supreme Court, armed with a substantial body of evidence.”
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Jussie Smollett lost his appeal of his hate crime hoax conviction Friday. (Nuccio DiNuzzo)
Special Prosecutor Dan. K. Webb shared a statement following the appellate court’s decision to uphold the conviction.
“As the appellate court noted, Mr. Smollett ‘challenge[d] virtually every aspect of’ the prosecution, and the appellate court correctly rejected each and every one of those challenges,” Webb said. “Today’s decision is a validation of Winston & Strawn’s tireless work on this matter and a resounding victory for justice. We are proud to have prevailed in a case that, we believe, can help restore the public’s confidence in the Cook County justice system.”
A jury previously found Smollett guilty on five of the six charges of disorderly conduct after a nearly two-week trial in 2021. Smollett, who is Black and gay, reported to Chicago Police that he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack by two men wearing ski masks in January 2019.
Jussie Smollett maintained his innocence during his sentencing hearing. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool)
The manhunt for the attackers soon turned into an investigation of Smollett and his subsequent arrest on charges he’d orchestrated the attack and lied to police about it.
Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail following the conviction. The actor was also sentenced to 30 months felony probation, restitution to the city of Chicago in the amount of $120,106 and a fine of $25,000.
During the sentencing hearing, Smollett maintained his innocence. “I did not do this, and I am not suicidal, and if anything happens to me when I go there, I did not do it to myself, and you must all know that,” Smollett said.
Jussie Smollett is led out of the courtroom after being sentenced on March 10, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Brian Cassella-Pool/Getty Images)
Smollett reported to jail on March 10, 2022, and was released just six days later pending his appeal.
After Smollett’s team files for another appeal, the Illinois Supreme Court will decide whether to hear the case. If the actor’s conviction is not overturned, he will be required to serve out the rest of his 150-day jail sentence.
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In this courtroom sketch, actor Jussie Smollett stands in a Leighton Criminal Courthouse courtroom on Dec. 9, 2021 as a jury finds him guilty on five of six charges he staged a racist, anti-gay attack on himself and lied to police about it. (AP Photo/Cheryl Cook)
The “Empire” actor’s legal team filed the appeal in March 2023.
In documents obtained by Fox News Digital at the time, Smollett’s legal team argued the “renewed prosecution” violated Smollet’s due process rights. In addition, the “circuit court judge improperly denied the defense motion for substitution of judge for cause because of his explicit bias towards Mr. Smollett, rendering every subsequent ruling and action in this case null and void.”
Smollett’s lawyers also argued “inappropriate comments” made during cross-examination impacted the jury’s ability to provide an unbiased verdict.
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This booking photo provided by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office shows Jussie Smollett. (Cook County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
His legal team had planned to appeal the verdict since the December 2021 trial.
“The verdict is inconsistent,” attorney Nenye Uche said during a press conference at the time. “You can’t say Jussie is lying and say Jussie is not lying for the same exact incident.”
Jussie Smollett was charged with disorderly conduct and filing a false police report in February 2019, after he was accused of orchestrating a fake hate crime. After being found not guilty in March 2019, he was charged with six new counts of lying to the police in February 2020. (Photo by Chicago Police Department via Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital’s Tracy Wright contributed to this report.
