PUBLISHER'S NOTE: (Rant!) In a recently released report, a special prosecutor concludes that Prosecutor Kimm Fox lied to the public after initially dropping charges against Jussie Smollett. I cannot profess to being surprised at this conclusion. Indeed, in my years of observing America's criminal justice system, (and occasionally my own) the lie is the default. What truly surprises is the rare truth that emerges from the mouths of police and prosecutors - especially when it comes to protecting themselves, to cleaning the streets of criminals who, in their perception. all too often get away, and to getting reelected. By way of example, a recent post on this Blog details how Texas prosecutors knowingly lied for decades about the existence of documents that backed up the existence of a relationship at the core of Rodney Reed's defence. (See link below). Often the lies begin at the time of an arrest, when police issues press releases containing lies in a bid to pollute the minds of potential jurors who read them. The lies continue through the interrogation process, where in many jurisdictions police are permitted by law to tell lies to a suspect in order to get a confession. (While statements by a defendant asserting innocence are usually ruled inadmissible on the basis that they are self-serving). The lying continues in the witness box, where police are all too often known to back up colleagues who lie, or lie themselves to get a conviction. While some judges reject questionable testimony by police, all too often judges let them get away with it, and move on to the next case. As we all know, even where it can be proved that a police officer lied, it is often difficult to get a prosecution - and, in the rare situations where a police officer is convicted for lying, the sentences are disproportionately light - compared to those meted out to ordinary people found to have committed perjury in the courts.
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "In the report, Webb discovered that Foxx improperly changed her public position about the evidence's strength against Smollett. She first called the case against him "strong" but wrote that getting a conviction was "uncertain" in a Chicago Tribune editorial shortly after dropping the charges. That switch was "false and misleading," Webb said. The report says Foxx—who recused herself from the Smollett case before it was dropped—told the special prosecutor's office that she was surprised when the 16 counts against Smollett were dropped and that she believed he should have been required to admit some wrongdoing, which he was not. She also said she believed prosecutors in her office "wanted to get this guy out of town" because of the media attention that accompanied the case. Foxx later said in a media statement that the case was dropped just like thousands of other similar cases, which Webb concluded was not true. "The fact that such a significant mischaracterization could be asserted without sufficient vetting, repeated by figureheads of the (Cook County State's Attorney's Office) and then never corrected or clarified—particularly in a case the (office) knows has captured the public attention—is unacceptable for an office that must be transparent and maintain public confidence," Webb's report states."
STORY: "Lied to Public After Initially Dropping Charges Against Jussie Smollett: Report," by Reporter Ayumi Davis, published by Newsweek on December 20, 2021."
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A report released Monday, December 20, includes detailed findings by special prosecutor Dan Webb, who took over the Smollett case after Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx dropped charges against Smollett in March 2019. A judge said the report detailing missteps and false statements made by prosecutors in the initial investigation of the former "Empire" actor should be made public. Above, Foxx speaks on November 3, 2020.
Cook County, Illinois, State's Attorney Kim Foxx and others in her office lied to the public when they initially prosecuted Smollett in connection to a faked attack and when the charges were dropped against him weeks later, according to a report released Monday.
Special prosecutor Dan Webb mentioned multiple occasions when Foxx and others in her office made false public statements regarding Smollett's case in 2019 in the 68-page report. He concluded that some of the office's actions could have violated legal ethics, although he said they did not do anything criminal.
Webb said the prosecutors' handling of the initial case against Smollett showed Cook County State Attorney's Office's "major failure of operations.”
Webb took over the case against Smollett after the Cook County State Attorney's Office dropped charges against Smollett in March 2019. He investigated Foxx's handling of case and if Smollett should be charged.
Smollett was convicted this month of lying to police in January 2019 regarding what he alleged was a racist, homophobic attack in downtown Chicago. Smollett, who is gay and Black, staged the attack to get publicity, prosecutors said. His sentence is expected to be handed down next year.
The report released Monday details Webb's findings, including interviews with Foxx, dozens of her office's employees, Chicago police officers, and family and friends of Smollett. In 2020, Webb released part of the report, along with its conclusions.
In the report, Webb discovered that Foxx improperly changed her public position about the evidence's strength against Smollett. She first called the case against him "strong" but wrote that getting a conviction was "uncertain" in a Chicago Tribune editorial shortly after dropping the charges. That switch was "false and misleading," Webb said.
The report says Foxx—who recused herself from the Smollett case before it was dropped—told the special prosecutor's office that she was surprised when the 16 counts against Smollett were dropped and that she believed he should have been required to admit some wrongdoing, which he was not. She also said she believed prosecutors in her office "wanted to get this guy out of town" because of the media attention that accompanied the case.
Foxx later said in a media statement that the case was dropped just like thousands of other similar cases, which Webb concluded was not true.
"The fact that such a significant mischaracterization could be asserted without sufficient vetting, repeated by figureheads of the (Cook County State's Attorney's Office) and then never corrected or clarified—particularly in a case the (office) knows has captured the public attention—is unacceptable for an office that must be transparent and maintain public confidence," Webb's report states.
Foxx's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the report. When the initial findings were released last year, the state's attorney's office said it welcomed Webb's findings that no one on the staff committed a crime and that no undue outside influences affected prosecutors' decisions, but rejected any characterization of abuses of discretion or false public statements.
Webb also pursued the investigation against Smollett, and a grand jury in 2020 indicted the actor on new charges of lying to police. A jury convicted the 39-year-old earlier this month on five of six counts of disorderly conduct, a low-level felony.
Smollett has maintained his innocence, and his attorney says they will appeal the conviction.
Cook County Judge Michael Toobin, who appointed Webb as special prosecutor to look into the case, ruled Monday that his full report should be made public now that Smollett's trial is complete."
The entire story can be read at:
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
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SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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