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Prosecutor Indicates There Could Be More Trouble for Jussie Smollett Because of Lying to Jury – Opinion

By Pluralist / December 9, 2021

The drama lastly got here to an finish with the decision within the Jussie Smollett case in the present day.

The jury discovered Smollett responsible on 5 felony counts of disorderly conduct associated to the false reporting to the police. He was discovered not responsible on one of many expenses. Each of the charges might get him three years in jail, nevertheless it was anticipated by some that he would get much less, extra alongside the strains of probation.

Smollett arrived late and with a giant entourage, in a closing egotistical flourish. He had been instructed that he wanted to get again into court docket if a verdict got here in inside thirty minutes, and he was late — which says one thing proper there about how a lot respect he has for the court docket.

Smollett’s lawyer indicated that they’d enchantment. In the event that they suppose that’s getting overturned — when pigs fly.

Particular Prosecutor Dan Webb skewered Smollett after the decision got here in, saying that Smollett compounded the hurt that he had already performed by mendacity to the jury. He mentioned the jury implicitly concluded that by their verdict, rejecting Smollett’s claims that there wasn’t a hoax.

Smollett is used to taking part in to an viewers. You may mislead the media and get away with it. You may even have them take up for you within the course of, as they did with Jussie Smollett. However you’ll be able to’t lie underneath oath.

That raises a few potentialities. Now they may theoretically go after Smollett on a perjury cost.

However one other extra instant and fewer problematic means of addressing the mendacity could be for the prosecution to argue it as an aggravating issue on this current case on sentencing. Webb mentioned, “We’ll let the decide resolve what to do,” indicating he was prone to plumb that query on sentencing.

As former prosecutor Andrew McCarthy explains:

Illinois has sentencing pointers, which mirror the federal sentencing pointers in lots of necessary particulars. Beneath the federal pointers, a defendant’s sentence could also be enhanced by the trial decide for “obstructing or impeding the administration of justice.” One instance of such obstruction is trial perjury. (See part 3C1.1, utility notes, instance (c) underneath “Examples of Coated Conduct.”) Illinois’s pointers usually are not laid out with the readability of the federal guide, however there are many state instances holding that it’s correct for a decide to boost a sentence primarily based on a discovering {that a} defendant dedicated perjury on the trial.

So whereas he could be no actual time due to no actual, prior report, he might have simply purchased himself some, with the annoying issue of mendacity.

Maybe the funniest however the actual response from the foremost gamers within the case got here from Ola Osundairo. Whereas Smollett may need had the larger entourage, Ola received within the final phrase. He type of mocked the media’s tackle Ola and his brother for referring to them as “Nigerians,” saying he ought to have introduced his “Nigerian accent.” Whereas they’re of Nigerian descent, they have been each born and raised in Chicago.

Ola wished his brother luck on his boxing match tonight, after which mentioned “Nigerian-American lives matter.” A pleasant rebuke of Smollett and the BLM who confirmed assist him.

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