Illinois Supreme Court Overturns Jussie Smollett Conviction, Allows Trump Tower Defamation Suit

The court ruled that Smollett's prosecution violated a prior agreement, while a defamation case against the Chicago Sun-Times will proceed.

The Illinois Supreme Court dismissed Jussie Smollett's criminal convictions, citing a prior non-prosecution agreement with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The court determined that retrying Smollett after the initial case dismissal constituted a violation of his due process rights.
Special prosecutor Dan K. Webb criticized the decision as unprecedented but acknowledged it was based on legal technicalities rather than the hoax allegations themselves.
In a separate case, the court ruled that a defamation lawsuit filed by Mauro Glorioso, a former Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board chair, against the Chicago Sun-Times can move forward.
The Sun-Times had sought to dismiss the lawsuit under the state's Citizen Participation Act, but the court found the law did not apply to the newspaper’s reporting in this instance.