Free Republic

CHICAGO — Jussie Smollett’s attorneys asked for a mistrial Thursday after the judge called their evidence irrelevant in front of the jury and “physically lunged” at one of the actor’s lawyers. The odd fracas came in the midst of the defense’s cross-examination of Olabinjo Osundairo, who claims he was paid to help Smollett stage the hate crime, as attorney Tamara Walker grilled him about his alleged homophobia and past derogatory remarks toward suspected gay men. Osundairo, 30, had just acknowledged he used the word “fruity ass” to refer to a man he suspected was gay and Walker asked if Smollett,...

A judge on Friday denied a last-ditch effort to dismiss a criminal case against actor Jussie Smollett, who is accused of lying to police when he reported that he was the victim of a racist, anti-gay attack in downtown Chicago in January 2019. An attorney for the former “Empire” actor said Smollett‘s rights were being violated since he had already performed community service and given up a $10,000 bond under a previous deal with Cook County prosecutors to drop charges. “A deal is a deal. That’s ancient principle,” attorney Nenye Uche said. But Judge James Linn noted that Smollett‘s case...