Jussie Smollett verdict: 'Being a celebrity backfired,' says legal expert
The 'Empire' alum, who claimed to be attacked in Chicago in 2019, was found guilty on 5 of 6 charges
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Late Thursday night Jussie Smollett's fate was decided during his hate crime hoax trial in Chicago.
After a contentious week of witness testimony, counsel arguments and deliberation, the jury found the former "Empire" actor guilty on the first five counts, and he was acquitted on a sixth count of lying to a detective weeks after Smollett said he was attacked.
Lara Yeretsian, a criminal defense attorney who didn't work on the case, told Fox News she wasn't surprised by the verdict and doesn't believe Smollett's celebrity status helped him at all.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Not a surprising decision by the jury, but what a waste of taxpayers’ money! Pretrial diversion was a fair disposition in this case. Unfortunately, being a celebrity backfired in this case," she said.
JUSSIE SMOLLETT CONVICTED OF STAGING HATE CRIME, LYING TO COPS
"Now that he’s been found guilty of five felony charges, he’ll most likely get a probationary sentence in light of his lack of prior record. So what did the prosecution really gain? They used the criminal justice system and taxpayers’ money to punish Smollett for wasting taxpayers’ money!" Yeretsian concluded.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The 39-year-old was charged with six counts of disorderly conduct related to false statements to Chicago police officers about a 2019 hate crime against him. In 2019, he claimed that two men attacked him due to his skin color and sexual orientation.
Jussie Smollett arrives with his mother Janet Smollett (L) at the Leighton Criminal Court Building for his trial on disorderly conduct charges. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
He was found guilty of telling a police officer he was a hate crime victim, telling an officer he was a battery victim, telling a detective he was a hate crime victim, telling a detective he was a battery victim and then telling a detective again he was battery victim. He was not found guilty on a sixth charge of telling a second detective he was an aggravated battery victim.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Count 1 accused him of telling responding Chicago Police Officer Muhammed Baig at around 2:45 a.m., some 45 minutes after the purported attack, that he was the victim of a hate crime. He said two attackers put a rope around his neck. Count 2 referred to Smollett telling the same officer he was a victim of a battery, describing attackers beating and pouring bleach on him.
In this courtroom sketch, actor Jussie Smollett stands in a Leighton Criminal Courthouse courtroom Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Cheryl Cook)
Counts 3 and 4 stemmed from Smollett making the same claims but to a different officer, Kimberly Murray, later that morning, just before 6 a.m.
Count 5 accused Smollett of again telling Murray at around 7:15 p.m. that he was the victim of a battery. Count 6 referred to Smollett reporting on Feb. 14, 2019, to detective Robert Graves that he’d been a victim of an aggravated battery.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former U.S. attorney Neama Rahmani, who also didn't work on the case, told Fox News, Smollett "cried wolf."
JUSSIE SMOLLETT'S GUILTY VERDICTS HAVE KILLED HIS CAREER, EXPERTS SAY
"Smollett directed and performed in one of the most shameful courtroom displays in recent memory. Despite overwhelming video and cellular evidence of his guilt, Smollett took the stand, committed perjury, and give a ridiculous, fictional account of the purported attack against him," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Instead of accepting responsibility for misconduct like any rational person would, Smollett stacked lie on top of lie during his trial. Maybe he thought he could get away with it because of his acting skills or because State Attorney Kim Foxx refused to prosecute him, but former U.S. Attorney and special prosecutor Dan Webb eviscerated Smollett on cross-examination and the jury saw right through Smollett’s web of deceit," Rahmani continued. "Smollett should have pled guilty to salvage his acting career and get probation. But instead, his career is over, his entertainment and politician friends have turned their backs on him, and Judge Linn may sentence him to prison."
A jury convicted actor Jussie Smollett of five counts of disorderly conduct for staging a racist, anti-gay attack in Chicago and lying to police. (AP Graphic)
Following the guilty verdict, special prosecutor Dan Webb addressed the media and told reporters that his message to the jury was that Smollett "faked a hate crime and then lied to the police about it and then compounded his crimes by lying to the jury during the course of this trial and insulting their intelligence."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Webb also delved into the man hours that he believes went into investigating Smollett’s hoax attack, telling media members that "26 Chicago police officers spent 3000 hours of time, costing the city well over $100,000 for a fake crime that never occurred."
The charges are Class 4 felonies that carry a prison sentence of up to three years, but experts have said Smollett would likely be placed on probation and ordered to perform community service if convicted.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Smollett's attorney, Nenye Uche, said on Thursday following the conclusion of the trial that Smollett would be appealing the guilty verdicts.
He said Smollett’s team is confident "he’s going to be cleared of all, all accusations on all charges. The verdict is inconsistent… You can’t say Jussie is lying and say Jussie is not lying for the same exact incident."
Fox News' Julius Young, Nate Day, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.