A lesson for New York from the Jussie Smollett case

https://nypost.com/2019/06/24/a-lesson-for-new-york-from-the-jussie-smollett-case/

In a huge slap at Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, an Illinois judge has ordered a special prosecutor to take up the Jussie Smollett case, thanks to the “unprecedented irregularities” in her office’s handling of the prosecution.

After word broke that Foxx had texted members of Smollett’s family, promising help, she announced she was recusing herself from the case. But it later turned out she’d only “informally” recused, leaving decisions to people she still supervised.

The office then dismissed 16 felony counts against Smollett for faking a hate crime. Chicago police devoted thousands of man-hours to the investigation, only to develop considerable evidence that Smollett had paid two acquaintances to stage an attack in hopes it would help the actor get a pay raise.

Her phony recusal “deviated from the statutory mandate requiring the appointment of a special prosecutor in cases where the state’s attorney is recused,” Judge Michael Toomin ruled.

So Smollett may not walk off scot-free, after all: The special prosecutor can refile charges and go to trial.