Area Prosecutor Among Those Considered to Prosecute Jussie Smollett Case

An area prosecutor is among those being considered to prosecute the case of actor Jussie Smollett.

 

Clay County State's Attorney Andrew Koester is among those who could be named to prosecute the case.

Smollett is an actor who was appearing on the FOX-TV show, "Empire", when he told Chicago police he was attacked by two people who were "yelling out racial and homophobic slurs."

There were allegations later that Smollett and two associates had staged the attack to raise his profile and salary on the "Empire" show. Chicago police said they had considerable evidence against Smollett alleging disorderly conduct and staging a phony hate crime.

Smollett was later indicted by a grand jury on 16 counts of disorderly conduct, but Cook County prosecutors later dropped the case in exchange for community service and forfeiture of his $10,000 bond payment.

That decision followed Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's decision to recuse herself from the case and appoint an associate to prosecute the case.

A judge, though, later ruled that Foxx deviated from state law when not turning the case over to an independent arbiter, and ordered a new investigation into the case.

That brings us to the current status of the case. Sheila O'Brien, a retired Appellate Court Judge, petitioned for the appointment of a Special Prosecutor. Judge Michael Toomin granted the petition on June 21. In Toomin's ruling, he wrote "a special prosecutor be appointed to conduct an independent investigation of the actions of any person or office involved in all aspects of the case." The judge also asked for a determination whether reasonable grounds exist to further prosecute Smollett.

The Court noted in its Order that "the unprecedented irregularities identified in this case warrants the appointment of independent counsel to restore the public's confidence in the integrity of our criminal justice system."

(CLAY COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY ANDREW KOESTER)

Koester was notified Monday that he was being requested to assume the prosecution of Smollett. He said a handful of other state's attorneys have also been contacted about the appointment. He said by phone Tuesday that he wants to talk the matter over with some folks in Clay County and will try to make the best decision for the people of Clay County. If additional charges were filed, Koester assumes the case would be prosecuted in Cook County.

No decision has been made at this time.