Law, Political Commentary, Popular Culture

The Chicago Way

18 Comments

The charges against Smollett have been dropped. Same with my jaw.

[Update a while later]

[Update mid-afternoon]

“This has never been about justice. It’s been about social justice.”

18 thoughts on “The Chicago Way”

  1. So… “he was only going to get community service anyway, and he’s already done that”. WTF.

    Sure hope the FBI has enough intestinal fortitude to at least say “not so fast”. You’d think in the wake of Varsity Blues they wouldn’t find that too hard to do.

  2. From all I’ve gathered, “all charges dropped”, but also doing community service (on … no charge?), and … forfeited his bond?

    None of that makes sense, as a group, so I don’t know WTAF is going on.

  3. He’s rich, black and a devious crook. So are many of Chicago’s Aldermen. Professional courtesy would be my guess.

  4. His attorney is claiming vindication by criticizing a “rush to judgment.” Fox News is reporting that forfeit of a bond was “part of the arrangement.” That to me indicates Mr. Smollett is admitting to some level of participation in this matter.

    It is reported that the “case fell apart” because the $3500 check really was for gym training.

    Yeah right, like the memo section was going to say “for staging a hate crime” as some had quipped. The brothers had claimed all along that the check was for services as a gym trainer but there was an oral agreement this would include a “special favor.”

    Case fell apart? You enter the check in evidence and put the brothers on the stand to give their side of the story as to what they understood they were doing in return for this money. You establish the personal connection between the brothers and the actor. You show the security camera video of the brothers in the hardware store. Is this new to Cook County juries?

  6. This just goes to show folks that race, gender, etc don’t matter that much in these types of situations. Money does.

    The number of zeros to the left of the decimal point determine how ‘justice’ is meted out.

  7. Now, now . . . I’m sure if Roseanne Barr had concocted a tale about being attacked by two Black guys wearing “Booker for President” t-shirts, the court would be equally compassionate and understanding.

      1. Not that I can see at my Yahoo account, just lots of e-mails generated by Twitter updates.

  9. I might. Last year I was working 10 to 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, but so far this year I’m just lounging around.

  10. Generally; I’d say this make sense. The Prosecutor is right that not all crimes need to be prosecuted, and non-violent crimes should be prioritized lower than violent crimes. Chicago certainly has a lot of violent crimes to prosecute, so I’m sure they are busy.

    That said; the Smollett case is definitely not just a “non-violent” crime issue. It may be an issue of filing a “false report”, but the report was about a violent crime, and such a crime that could have prompted more violence across Chicago and the country. Indeed; I’d suspect at least some retaliatory crimes were committed, because Chicago has a recent history of racially motivated crimes going both ways.

    I also accept that Smollett’s charges were dropped faster because of his privileged status as a TV star. The real punishment ought to be enough scorn that Smollett needs to find another, less profitable career. Maybe he can learn to code.

    1. Also in the news; the Democrat Congressional aide, that doxed the home address of Republicans during the Kavanaugh hearing in an effort to get people to protest and intentionally scare children of Senators, is also getting charges dismissed under a plea deal with no penalty.

      Oh, and 20th Century Fox is accepting Smollett’s side view of being innocent. 20th Century Fox is now owned by Disney.

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