Jussie Smollet Trial

Thermal said:
The Osindaros don't strike me as particularly loyal or sharp. I think they would have rolled on Jussie sooner or later, to bask in the 15 mins. This whole hoax could have flown If the players thought like proper villains. But they acted like...actors.
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Well, if these were smart people they'd either not have done this or done it in a way that eluded detection.
 
RecoveringYuppy said:
If you were his lawyer would you be going to trial at all?
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Probably? I'd be going for a pre-trial settlement of some kind, if possible. But if it went to trial...

Everybody deserves a fair trial, even the guilty. Everybody is entitled to go free, if the state cuts corners on due process, or is unable to make their charges stick in court. Even the guilty. The way I see it, one of the main roles of the defense attorney is to ensure that his client, guilty or innocent, gets due process. I think it's a crucial part of the rule of law, that the state not be allowed to railroad a defendant just because they happen to be guilty.

So yeah. If Smollett can pay my fees, and he's not asking me to do anything illegal or unethical, I'd probably go to trial. Not to try to paint him as innocent when he's actually guilty, mind you. But to make sure the government puts in the effort and makes their case against him by the book. I figure, Smollett's paying me to hold the government accountable, and to exploit each and every mistake they make in prosecuting the case. I think that's an ethical approach to lawyering, and an ethical paycheck to cash.
 
theprestige said:
So yeah. If Smollett can pay my fees, and he's not asking me to do anything illegal or unethical, I'd probably go to trial.
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I agree with most of what you said, including this part that I quoted. But what do you think of his lawyer's insisting that the Osundairo brothers are guilty of the attack? I have to wonder if they are going to claim that at trial.
 
theprestige said:
Probably? I'd be going for a pre-trial settlement of some kind, if possible. But if it went to trial...

Everybody deserves a fair trial, even the guilty. Everybody is entitled to go free, if the state cuts corners on due process, or is unable to make their charges stick in court. Even the guilty. The way I see it, one of the main roles of the defense attorney is to ensure that his client, guilty or innocent, gets due process. I think it's a crucial part of the rule of law, that the state not be allowed to railroad a defendant just because they happen to be guilty.

So yeah. If Smollett can pay my fees, and he's not asking me to do anything illegal or unethical, I'd probably go to trial. Not to try to paint him as innocent when he's actually guilty, mind you. But to make sure the government puts in the effort and makes their case against him by the book. I figure, Smollett's paying me to hold the government accountable, and to exploit each and every mistake they make in prosecuting the case. I think that's an ethical approach to lawyering, and an ethical paycheck to cash.
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A-freaking-men
 
TragicMonkey said:
If I were his lawyer I'd certainly not put him in the witness box. But being an actor I bet he overrules advice and goes in anyway.
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They can not put him on the witness stand.

He is under oath on the stand. And up until this point, he hasn't been able to tell the truth about anything. He would end up with a perjury charge.

Any prosecutor would make him look like a fool on the stand.

The problem with narcissists and actors, is they think they can beat the system with what they've been using their whole life, but the prosecutors usually can really corner them. See: Jodi Arias for many examples.
 
RecoveringYuppy said:
I agree with most of what you said, including this part that I quoted. But what do you think of his lawyer's insisting that the Osundairo brothers are guilty of the attack? I have to wonder if they are going to claim that at trial.
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It would seem to be their only hope of an avenue to generating a nano-particle of reasonable doubt in a jury.
 
Drewbot said:
They can not put him on the witness stand.
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What else do they have? Especially to counter the testimony of the Osundairo brothers. I assume they'll be cooperating with the prosectuion. They still have an active defamation suit against Smollett's lawyers.
 
So they'd have to show the Osundairo brothers setting up the attack I'd assume.

Mr. Osundairo, who's credit card did you use to buy those supplies?

Mr. Osundairo, who paid for you to go to Africa shortly after the attack?

Mr. Osundairo, do you think someone you just attacked, would pay for you to go to Africa on a holiday?
 
RecoveringYuppy said:
But does that make it ethical? That's what my question is about.
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It's probably the kind of question that only a real lawyer can answer... But would you trust anything a real lawyer had to say?

I think it depends on the exact contours of the prosecution's case, and of this particular rebuttal.

My understanding is that conventional lawyer ethics holds that any technically correct legal gambit is ethical, even if it bears no relationship to the facts, or to their client's obvious guilt.

So if you can show a pattern of facts that supports the idea that the Osundarios did attack Smollett, and you can avoid the pattern of facts that clearly shows that the attack was a hoax, then you can build from this reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors.

It doesn't necessarily have to be doubt that that Smollett is guilty. It can simply be doubt that the events happened exactly the way the government claims they happened.

If I can show you that the Osundarios really did attack Smollett, and the prosecution can't quite show you that the attack was planned and staged with Smollett's cooperation, then what verdict can you reasonably return?
 
Mr. Smollett in his sunglasses appears in the TV ad for state's attorney Foxx' primary opponent, in a bit regarding special interests.
 
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