CHICAGO — A Cook County judge Tuesday said he has scheduled trial dates in November for Jussie Smollett, accused of faking a hate crime in a case that caused an international firestorm in 2019.
During a hearing that was mostly conducted out of public view, Judge James Linn put a jury selection date of Nov. 29 on his calendar, but said that he will formalize the trial date at a hearing Oct. 15. That’s when Smollett’s defense plans to argue a last-ditch motion to dismiss the charges.
But absent a last-minute resolution or delay in coming weeks, the criminal case could go to trial just after Thanksgiving in proceedings that are sure to be a media circus.
Attorneys began Tuesday’s hearing about 11:40 a.m. and almost immediately went into a closed-door session without media access. After more than 30 minutes, the parties returned and Linn summarized the discussions, saying they “covered quite a bit of ground.”
Linn asked Smollett to attend the hearing this month.
The parties will also go over any other “loose ends” before formally setting the trial date, Linn said.
During the portion of the hearing that was closed to the media, Linn said he took suggestions from attorneys about media coverage during the trial, including how to handle requests from the media for cameras in the courtroom. Linn said he has taken the matter under advisement.
Smollett is accused of orchestrating the phony hate crime on himself with the help of the two brothers who are now key witnesses in the case. Cook County prosecutors initially charged Smollett with disorderly conduct, then abruptly dropped the case outright about a month later, with little explanation.
After much public outcry and confusion, a judge appointed veteran attorney Dan Webb as special prosecutor to investigate the Smollett matter. Webb and his team subsequently convened the special grand jury that brought up Smollett on his new case last year.
Smollett was indicted on six counts of filing a false report.
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