CHICAGO _ Attorneys for Jussie Smollett are due back in court Wednesday in their uphill battle for a Cook County judge to overturn his decision to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the dismissal of all charges against the actor.
Smollett's attorneys are also seeking to transfer the issue to another judge, arguing Judge Michael Toomin is too biased to make the decision.
Sheila O'Brien, a retired state appellate judge who successfully fought for a special prosecutor, has attacked the validity of their filings, alleging in part that Smollett's out-of-state attorneys weren't properly licensed to practice in Illinois after Smollett's criminal case came to abrupt end in March.
Smollett, who is black and openly gay, created an international media firestorm in late January when he reported being the victim of an attack by two people shouting racist and homophobic slurs.
Weeks later, he was criminally charged for allegedly staging the attack with the help of two brothers whom police said he agreed to pay $3,500. Less than three weeks after his 16-count indictment, however, State's Attorney Kim Foxx's office dropped all charges against Smollett with little explanation.
The twisting legal saga took another strange turn in June when Toomin said he would appoint a special prosecutor to look into the sudden dismissal.
While the judge has not yet named his choice for special prosecutor, his eventual pick could even charge Smollett again.
Earlier this month, in their long-shot bid asking Toomin to reconsider, Smollett's attorneys laid out their defense in the greatest detail yet, claiming the actor had twice been victimized: first when he was attacked by two homophobic brothers and then when the brothers framed him by lying to police.
