{"id":1066216,"date":"2021-11-29T20:44:35","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T01:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1066216"},"modified":"2021-11-29T20:45:35","modified_gmt":"2021-11-30T01:45:35","slug":"jussie-smollett-trial-jury-sworn-in-disgraced-actor-could-face-up-to-three-years-in-jail-if-found-guilty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jussie-smollett-trial-jury-sworn-in-disgraced-actor-could-face-up-to-three-years-in-jail-if-found-guilty\/","title":{"rendered":"Jussie Smollett Trial: Jury Sworn in, Disgraced Actor Could Face Up to Three Years in Jail If Found Guilty"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjussie-smollett-trial-jury-sworn-in-disgraced-actor-could-face-up-to-three-years-in-jail-if-found-guilty%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1066216&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\">CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 Two brothers stand at the center of the case that prosecutors will lay before jurors during the trial of Jussie Smollett this week.<\/p>\n<p>The former \u201cEmpire\u201d actor <a class=\"x5l\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/entertainment-ap-top-news-us-news-tv-chicago-5979b83326c045f59a8823294c38e9c7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">contends he was the victim of a racist and homophobic assault <\/a>in downtown Chicago on a frigid night in January 2019. The siblings, who worked with him on the TV show, <a class=\"x5l\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/jussie-smollett-north-america-us-news-ap-top-news-college-football-656df396b0284006b6ca9c18ca7b3fa2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">say he paid them $3,500 to pose as his attackers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>A jury was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/entertainment\/2021\/11\/28\/jussie-smollett-trial-jury-selection-begins-this-week\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sworn in<\/a> Monday in the Chicago courtroom, though an unknown number of alternate jurors were still being selected late afternoon. Judge James Linn, who said he expects the trial to take about one week, was asking potential jurors if they have been the victim of a hate crime, if they have watched \u201cEmpire\u201d or TMZ, a program and website about celebrities, or if they belong to any civil rights or pro-police organizations. Cameras are not allowed inside the courtroom and the proceedings are not being livestreamed, unlike in other recent high-profile trials.<\/p>\n<p>Jussie Smollett, who arrived at the courthouse with his mother and other family members, is accused of lying to police about the alleged attack and has been charged with felony disorderly conduct. A class 4 felony, the crime carries a prison sentence of up to three years but experts have said it is more likely that if Smollett is convicted he would be placed on probation and perhaps ordered to perform community service.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18938234\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" readability=\"32\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/GettyImages-1356197509.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18938234\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/GettyImages-1356197509.jpg\" alt width=\"1920\" height=\"1281\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><em>(Scott Olson\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Whether Jussie Smollett, who is Black and gay, testifies remains an open question. But the siblings, Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, will take the witness stand where they are expected to repeat what they have told police officers and prosecutors: that they carried out the attack at Smollett\u2019s behest.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>Jurors also may see <a class=\"x5l\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/jussie-smollett-north-america-ap-top-news-business-wire-technology-ca-state-wire-ca0fabcc072d4fc4881237772ef25176\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">surveillance video from more than four dozen cameras<\/a> that police reviewed to trace the brothers\u2019 movements before and after the reported attack, as well as a video showing the brothers purchasing a red hat, ski masks and gloves from a beauty supply shop hours earlier.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Watch below:&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Smollett\u2019s attorneys have not spelled out how they will confront that evidence and the lead attorney, Nenye Uche, declined to comment ahead of this week\u2019s proceedings. But there are clues as to how they might during the trial.<\/p>\n<p>Buried in nearly 500 pages of Chicago Police Department reports is a statement from an area resident who says she saw a white man with \u201creddish brown hair\u201d who appeared to be waiting for someone that night.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B3\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>She told a detective that when the man turned away from her, she \u201ccould see hanging out from underneath his jacket what appeared to be a rope.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her comments could back up Smollett\u2019s contention that his attackers draped a makeshift noose around his neck. Further, if she testified that the man was white, it would support Smollett\u2019s statements \u2014 widely ridiculed because the brothers, who come from Nigeria, are Black \u2014 that he saw pale or white skin around the eyes of one of his masked attackers.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>Given there is so much evidence, including the brothers\u2019 own statements, that they participated in the attack, it is unlikely that Smollett\u2019s attorneys will try to prove they did not take part. That could perhaps lead the defense to contend that Smollett was the victim of a very real attack at the hands of the brothers, perhaps with the help of others, who now are only implicating the actor so they won\u2019t be charged, too.<\/p>\n<p>The $3,500 check could be key, although Smollett says he wrote it to pay one of the brothers to work as his personal trainer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI would assume the defense is going to zero in on that,\u201d said Joe Lopez, a prominent defense attorney not involved with the case.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B4\" class=\"a8d adSo\"><\/figure>\n<p>What they will almost certainly do is attack the brothers\u2019 credibility, reminding jurors that they are not facing the same criminal charges as Smollett, despite admitting they took part in the staged attack.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEverything Smollett is responsible for, they are responsible for,\u201d said David Erickson, a former state appellate judge who teaches at Chicago Kent College of Law and is not involved in the case.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Smollett\u2019s career could take center stage. Prosecutors could make the same point that <a class=\"x5l\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/jussie-smollett-music-police-us-news-eddie-johnson-fac8abf87fa4431aaf0e0abce6f67c22\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">then-Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson made when he announced Smollett\u2019s arrest in 2019: that Smollett thought the attack<\/a> would win him more fame and a pay raise.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Watch below:&nbsp;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" readability=\"9.7368421052632\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#8220;Mr. Smollett is the one that orchestrated this crime,&#8221; police say. &#8220;He has to be accountable for what he did.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Smollett maintains his innocence. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TuRvyKbBqp\">pic.twitter.com\/TuRvyKbBqp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dcexaminer\/status\/1098607586276970499?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 21, 2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But Lopez said the defense attorneys might ask the jury the same question he asked himself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow would that help him with anything?\u201d he asked. \u201cHe\u2019s already a star.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CHICAGO (AP) \u2014 Two brothers stand at the center of the case that prosecutors will lay before jurors during the trial of Jussie Smollett this week. The former \u201cEmpire\u201d actor &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1066216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1066216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1066216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1066216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1066216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1066216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1066216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}