Illinois Prosecutors Bar Assoc. statement of Smollett’s case dismissal
#1
Their statement regarding the dismissal and sealing of the case in the Jussie Smollett case.  They should lock that lying bitch of a DA up and throw away the key..

Quote:IPBA STATEMENT ON JUSSIE SMOLLETT CASE DISMISSAL




















28 Mar 2019 2:49 PM | Anonymous













The Illinois Prosecutors Bar Association serves as the voice for nearly 1,000 front line prosecutors across the State who work tirelessly towards the pursuit of justice.  The events of the past few days regarding the Cook County State’s Attorney’s handling of the Jussie Smollett case is not condoned by the IPBA, nor is it representative of the honest ethical work prosecutors provide to the citizens of the State of Illinois on a daily basis.
The manner in which this case was dismissed was abnormal and unfamiliar to those who practice law in criminal courthouses across the State.  Prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges alike do not recognize the arrangement Mr. Smollett received.  Even more problematic, the State’s Attorney and her representatives have fundamentally misled the public on the law and circumstances surrounding the dismissal. 
The public has the right to know the truth, and we set out to do that here. 
When an elected State’s Attorney recuses herself from a prosecution, Illinois law provides that the court shall appoint a special prosecutor.  See 55 ILCS 5/3-9008(a-15).  Typically, the special prosecutor is a neighboring State’s Attorney, the Attorney General, or the State Appellate Prosecutor.  Here, the State’s Attorney kept the case within her office and thus never actually recused herself as a matter of law.
Additionally, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office falsely informed the public that the uncontested sealing of the criminal court case was “mandatory” under Illinois law.  This statement is not accurate.  To the extent the case was even eligible for an immediate seal, that action was discretionary, not mandatory, and only upon the proper filing of a petition to seal.  See 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(g)(2).  For seals not subject to Section 5.2(g)(2), the process employed in this case by the State’s Attorney effectively denied law enforcement agencies of legally required Notice (See 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(d)(4)) and the legal opportunity to object to the sealing of the file (See 20 ILCS 2630/5.2(d)(5)).  The State’s Attorney not only declined to fight the sealing of this case in court, but then provided false information to the public regarding it.
The appearance of impropriety here is compounded by the fact that this case was not on the regularly scheduled court call, the public had no reasonable notice or opportunity to view these proceedings, and the dismissal was done abruptly at what has been called an “emergency” hearing.  To date, the nature of the purported emergency has not been publicly disclosed.  The sealing of a court case immediately following a hearing where there was no reasonable notice or opportunity for the public to attend is a matter of grave public concern and undermines the very foundation of our public court system. 
Lastly, the State’s Attorney has claimed this arrangement is “available to all defendants” and “not a new or unusual practice.”  There has even been an implication it was done in accordance with a statutory diversion program.  These statements are plainly misleading and inaccurate.  This action was highly unusual, not a statutory diversion program, and not in accordance with well accepted practices of State’s Attorney initiated diversionary programs.  The IPBA supports diversion programs, and recognizes the many benefits they provide to the community, the defendant and to the prosecuting agency.  Central to any diversion program, however, is that the defendant must accept responsibility.  To be clear here, this simply was not a deferred prosecution. 
Prosecutors must be held to the highest standard of legal ethics in the pursuit of justice.  The actions of the Cook County State’s Attorney have fallen woefully short of this expectation.  Through the repeated misleading and deceptive statements to the public on Illinois law and circumstances surrounding the Smollett dismissal, the State’s Attorney has failed in her most fundamental ethical obligations to the public.  The IPBA condemns these actions.
This irregular arrangement was an affront to prosecutors across the State, the Chicago Police Department, victims of hate crimes, and the people of the City of Chicago and Cook County.  We strongly encourage our members and the public to review the National District Attorneys Associations statement on prosecutorial best practices in high profile cases.
Best Regards,

Lee Roupas
President,
Illinois Prosecutor’s Bar Association

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#2
This is going to get uglier and uglier.
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#3
So, gotta get to the bottom of a city/ county “crime” but are elated at Barr’s coverup.
Makes perfect sense.
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#4
What i would like to know more then anything else is, what does SFL really think about all this?


Dry
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#5
(03-29-2019, 03:13 PM)GCG Wrote: This is going to get uglier and uglier.
It should get ugly until that POS gets prosecuted.
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#6
(03-29-2019, 05:32 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(03-29-2019, 03:13 PM)GCG Wrote: This is going to get uglier and uglier.
It should get ugly until that POS gets prosecuted.

Honestly, I'm more interested that the corruption be exposed.
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#7
(03-29-2019, 06:39 PM)GCG Wrote:
(03-29-2019, 05:32 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(03-29-2019, 03:13 PM)GCG Wrote: This is going to get uglier and uglier.
It should get ugly until that POS gets prosecuted.

Honestly, I'm more interested that the corruption be exposed.
If you mean the corruption behind why he was not prosecuted? I have no clue what's going on.
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#8
(03-29-2019, 07:26 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(03-29-2019, 06:39 PM)GCG Wrote:
(03-29-2019, 05:32 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(03-29-2019, 03:13 PM)GCG Wrote: This is going to get uglier and uglier.
It should get ugly until that POS gets prosecuted.

Honestly, I'm more interested that the corruption be exposed.
If you mean the corruption behind why he was not prosecuted? I have no clue what's going on.
No one has any clue. But if he is innocent, why aren't the originally accused brothers under arrest? It seems clear to me that some sort of horseshit deal was made and the public is being left in the dark about it.

Now this morning I see this:

Jussie Smollett is nominated for an NAACP Award, and host Anthony Anderson hopes he wins

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/peop...298234002/
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#9
Originally, I stood up for Smollett. It was just beyond me... why he would do it.
But things got so strange... the story just got more and more weird.
Something stinks about this whole thing!

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#10
(03-30-2019, 05:43 AM)GCG Wrote:
(03-29-2019, 07:26 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(03-29-2019, 06:39 PM)GCG Wrote:
(03-29-2019, 05:32 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(03-29-2019, 03:13 PM)GCG Wrote: This is going to get uglier and uglier.
It should get ugly until that POS gets prosecuted.

Honestly, I'm more interested that the corruption be exposed.
If you mean the corruption behind why he was not prosecuted? I have no clue what's going on.
No one has any clue. But if he is innocent, why aren't the originally accused brothers under arrest? It seems clear to me that some sort of horseshit deal was made and the public is being left in the dark about it.

Now this morning I see this:

Jussie Smollett is nominated for an NAACP Award, and host Anthony Anderson hopes he wins

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/peop...298234002/

But if he is innocent, why aren't the originally accused brothers under arrest?

Yep that's EXACTLY what I was wondering?
IMO it's because he's not innocent. Because there are only two logical answers to what makes sense.

He is guilty and he hired the two bros. Or the two bros really did beat him up and do all that stuff to him.

But using logic we ALL know the second scenario is not true.
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#11
(03-30-2019, 08:16 AM)Scrapper Wrote: Originally, I stood up for Smollett. It was just beyond me... why he would do it.
But things got so strange... the story just got more and more weird.
Something stinks about this whole thing!

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 I have no clue. From where I sit he is obviously guilty. How or why a prosecutor could simply drop the charges is beyond me.
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#12
(03-30-2019, 05:43 AM)GCG Wrote:
(03-29-2019, 07:26 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(03-29-2019, 06:39 PM)GCG Wrote:
(03-29-2019, 05:32 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(03-29-2019, 03:13 PM)GCG Wrote: This is going to get uglier and uglier.
It should get ugly until that POS gets prosecuted.

Honestly, I'm more interested that the corruption be exposed.
If you mean the corruption behind why he was not prosecuted? I have no clue what's going on.
No one has any clue. But if he is innocent, why aren't the originally accused brothers under arrest? It seems clear to me that some sort of horseshit deal was made and the public is being left in the dark about it.

Now this morning I see this:

Jussie Smollett is nominated for an NAACP Award, and host Anthony Anderson hopes he wins

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/peop...298234002/

Well he didn't win


Jussie Smollett loses NAACP award, skips out on awards dinner


Harvey Levin had some words......
TMZ's Harvey Levin says Jussie Smollett is being treated differently than any celebrity: 'Never seen anything like this'
TMZ founder Harvey Levin is just as confused as everyone about the bombshell dismissal of charges against actor Jussie Smollett, but says the reversal may have something to do with the two brothers accused of helping the "Empire" star stage the attack.
During an appearance on "America's Newsroom" on Wednesday, Levin added Smollett's case was being treated differently than any celebrity he'd ever encountered.
"I've never seen anything quite like this in my entire career," he said. "No one knows what really happened except for a few people in the State's Attorney's office. It's bizarre, it makes no sense... they don't even believe what they're saying."
JUSSIE SMOLLETT HOAX CHARGES DROPPED, BUT FEDERAL INVESTIGATION, LAWSUITS COULD BE NEXT
[Image: 694940094001_6018164807001_6018162023001-vs.jpg]Video
On Tuesday, it was revealed that Smollet had been granted a nolle pros, which essentially means the case was dropped and that he would no longer be prosecuted for the alleged crime.
The "attack" sent shock waves through the entertainment community when Smollett claimed to have been beaten by two men who threw a substance on him, beat him, and screamed "MAGA country." It was later claimed, however, that Smollett allegedly coordinated with two Nigerian brothers, Abel and Ola Osundairo, to stage the attack.
Levin believes that the decision to no longer pursue charges against Smollett may have had something to do with the fact the brothers' lawyer, Gloria Schmidt, "walked away" from representing them.
"They told police, 'We staged this with Jussie, he asked us to do it, we scoped out the location where we were going to do it, we played it out on the street.' They told the police that line and verse they told the grand jury that line and verse, so they were willing to talk," Levin said.





It is possible that Smollett could still face federal charges and civil lawsuits in connection to the scandal.
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#13
I hope he is charged federally. He mailed a hoax hate letter to himself filled with a white powder that was later determined to be aspirin. That is a federal crime. He needs to pay a price for what he did. Heck, they have the two brothers on video buying the rope and the bleach.....
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#14
(04-01-2019, 09:54 AM)SFLiberal Wrote: I hope he is charged federally.  He mailed a hoax hate letter to himself filled with a white powder that was later determined to be aspirin.  That is a federal crime.  He needs to pay a price for what he did.  Heck, they have the two brothers on video buying the rope and the bleach.....

Here's a question or two for you...

If he wrote a "hate letter" to himself, who was threatened by it? And if he sent himself aspirin powder, again who was threatened by it? Was it in fact a federal crime if the recipient knew it wasn't a danger or even a real threat of danger? It seems to me what he is accused of doing is more in the nature of filing a false police report.
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#15
(04-01-2019, 10:22 AM)Cuzz Wrote:
(04-01-2019, 09:54 AM)SFLiberal Wrote: I hope he is charged federally.  He mailed a hoax hate letter to himself filled with a white powder that was later determined to be aspirin.  That is a federal crime.  He needs to pay a price for what he did.  Heck, they have the two brothers on video buying the rope and the bleach.....

Here's a question or two for you...

If he wrote a "hate letter" to himself, who was threatened by it? And if he sent himself aspirin powder, again who was threatened by it? Was it in fact a federal crime if the recipient knew it wasn't a danger or even a real threat of danger? It seems to me what he is accused of doing is more in the nature of filing a false police report.

I'm not sure if it matters that he mailed the letter to himself. He used the USPS to perpetuate a hoax.
Kind of like you being in New York and mailing some dope to yourself. Who would be threatened by that?

It seems to me what he is accused of doing is more in the nature of filing a false police report.

Sure he WAS accused of that but they dropped the charges.
At this point I think people who think it was a total injustice to drop all the charges are just hoping the mail fraud case will actually bring some justice.


OK I looked it up LOL
 Mail fraud is one of the most common federal criminal charges. The use of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) or a private interstate carrier to commit a crime of deceit gives feds an easy opportunity to claim jurisdiction. The following article provides a definition of this crime and a discussion of two of the most famous mail fraud convictions in history.

Definition of Mail Fraud
The term fraud includes any scheme:
  • To obtain money or property under false pretenses; or
  • To sell, distribute, exchange, supply, or use counterfeits.
A person commits mail fraud when the scheme involves the mailing of something associated with the fraud. Mailing contracts, receipts, and communications regarding a fraudulent deal could all meet the law's requirements. The communications are not limited to the USPS and include mail sent through private and commercial interstate carriers.
The use of interstate mails is important because the federal government's jurisdiction is limited to matters that impact multiple states. Crimes that take place entirely within a single state fall under that state's laws, but the Commerce Clause of the Constitution grants the federal government jurisdiction over interstate matters.
Mail fraud is punishable by a fine and imprisonment of up to 20 years. If the crime involves benefits connected to a presidentially declared major disaster or emergency, or affects a financial institution, there are enhanced penalties that include fines of up to $1 million and imprisonment for up to 30 years.

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#16
(04-01-2019, 10:22 AM)Cuzz Wrote:
(04-01-2019, 09:54 AM)SFLiberal Wrote: I hope he is charged federally.  He mailed a hoax hate letter to himself filled with a white powder that was later determined to be aspirin.  That is a federal crime.  He needs to pay a price for what he did.  Heck, they have the two brothers on video buying the rope and the bleach.....

Here's a question or two for you...

If he wrote a "hate letter" to himself, who was threatened by it? And if he sent himself aspirin powder, again who was threatened by it? Was it in fact a federal crime if the recipient knew it wasn't a danger or even a real threat of danger? It seems to me what he is accused of doing is more in the nature of filing a false police report.

Who was threatened by an act designed to start a race war?  Gee, can't think of anyone being hurt by that.  By golly, you're right.
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#17
(04-01-2019, 01:17 PM)Someones Dad Wrote:
(04-01-2019, 10:22 AM)Cuzz Wrote:
(04-01-2019, 09:54 AM)SFLiberal Wrote: I hope he is charged federally.  He mailed a hoax hate letter to himself filled with a white powder that was later determined to be aspirin.  That is a federal crime.  He needs to pay a price for what he did.  Heck, they have the two brothers on video buying the rope and the bleach.....

Here's a question or two for you...

If he wrote a "hate letter" to himself, who was threatened by it? And if he sent himself aspirin powder, again who was threatened by it? Was it in fact a federal crime if the recipient knew it wasn't a danger or even a real threat of danger? It seems to me what he is accused of doing is more in the nature of filing a false police report.

Who was threatened by an act designed to start a race war?  Gee, can't think of anyone being hurt by that.  By golly, you're right.
I guess you have never heard tRump speak... or read his tweets.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
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#18
(04-01-2019, 01:17 PM)Someones Dad Wrote:
(04-01-2019, 10:22 AM)Cuzz Wrote:
(04-01-2019, 09:54 AM)SFLiberal Wrote: I hope he is charged federally.  He mailed a hoax hate letter to himself filled with a white powder that was later determined to be aspirin.  That is a federal crime.  He needs to pay a price for what he did.  Heck, they have the two brothers on video buying the rope and the bleach.....

Here's a question or two for you...

If he wrote a "hate letter" to himself, who was threatened by it? And if he sent himself aspirin powder, again who was threatened by it? Was it in fact a federal crime if the recipient knew it wasn't a danger or even a real threat of danger? It seems to me what he is accused of doing is more in the nature of filing a false police report.

Who was threatened by an act designed to start a race war?  Gee, can't think of anyone being hurt by that.  By golly, you're right.
You have a good point SD but I don't know why you had to be such a smart ass about it.
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#19
(04-01-2019, 01:17 PM)Someones Dad Wrote:
(04-01-2019, 10:22 AM)Cuzz Wrote:
(04-01-2019, 09:54 AM)SFLiberal Wrote: I hope he is charged federally.  He mailed a hoax hate letter to himself filled with a white powder that was later determined to be aspirin.  That is a federal crime.  He needs to pay a price for what he did.  Heck, they have the two brothers on video buying the rope and the bleach.....

Here's a question or two for you...

If he wrote a "hate letter" to himself, who was threatened by it? And if he sent himself aspirin powder, again who was threatened by it? Was it in fact a federal crime if the recipient knew it wasn't a danger or even a real threat of danger? It seems to me what he is accused of doing is more in the nature of filing a false police report.

Who was threatened by an act designed to start a race war?  Gee, can't think of anyone being hurt by that.  By golly, you're right.

Start a race war??  I think you give him way too much credit. Or, you're just too easily excitable. History has shown that it would take wayy more then that to start a war. Unless you're thinking the white guys with guns that keep showing up uninvited will start the war. That might be possible.
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#20
(04-01-2019, 12:51 PM)tvguy Wrote:
(04-01-2019, 10:22 AM)Cuzz Wrote:
(04-01-2019, 09:54 AM)SFLiberal Wrote: I hope he is charged federally.  He mailed a hoax hate letter to himself filled with a white powder that was later determined to be aspirin.  That is a federal crime.  He needs to pay a price for what he did.  Heck, they have the two brothers on video buying the rope and the bleach.....

Here's a question or two for you...

If he wrote a "hate letter" to himself, who was threatened by it? And if he sent himself aspirin powder, again who was threatened by it? Was it in fact a federal crime if the recipient knew it wasn't a danger or even a real threat of danger? It seems to me what he is accused of doing is more in the nature of filing a false police report.

I'm not sure if it matters that he mailed the letter to himself. He used the USPS to perpetuate a hoax.
Kind of like you being in New York and mailing some dope to yourself. Who would be threatened by that?

It seems to me what he is accused of doing is more in the nature of filing a false police report.

Sure he WAS accused of that but they dropped the charges.
At this point I think people who think it was a total injustice to drop all the charges are just hoping the mail fraud case will actually bring some justice.


OK I looked it up LOL
 Mail fraud is one of the most common federal criminal charges. The use of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) or a private interstate carrier to commit a crime of deceit gives feds an easy opportunity to claim jurisdiction. The following article provides a definition of this crime and a discussion of two of the most famous mail fraud convictions in history.

Definition of Mail Fraud
The term fraud includes any scheme:
  • To obtain money or property under false pretenses; or
  • To sell, distribute, exchange, supply, or use counterfeits.
A person commits mail fraud when the scheme involves the mailing of something associated with the fraud. Mailing contracts, receipts, and communications regarding a fraudulent deal could all meet the law's requirements. The communications are not limited to the USPS and include mail sent through private and commercial interstate carriers.
The use of interstate mails is important because the federal government's jurisdiction is limited to matters that impact multiple states. Crimes that take place entirely within a single state fall under that state's laws, but the Commerce Clause of the Constitution grants the federal government jurisdiction over interstate matters.
Mail fraud is punishable by a fine and imprisonment of up to 20 years. If the crime involves benefits connected to a presidentially declared major disaster or emergency, or affects a financial institution, there are enhanced penalties that include fines of up to $1 million and imprisonment for up to 30 years.


Most of that doesn't seem to apply. But you do have a good point. I'm sure that would stick.

I wasn't trying to defend the guy. I think what he did was incredibly stupid and he should suffer some consequences including some reimbursement for the cost of the investigation. Which I don't doubt he will. I'm just wondering about all the hoopla that it's created. It seems like a lot of air time for the story.
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