![Feb 12, 2019; Chicago, IL, USA; [CAPTION] during the second half at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nuccio DiNuzzo-USA TODAY Sports](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/GettyImages-1131246352.jpg?w=804)
Texts released to the Chicago Tribune show that Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s team was wholly unprepared for the intense fallout around the Jussie Smollett case, especially at the reaction after they abruptly dropped all charges against him.
The texts also show that Foxx may have improperly inserted herself into conversations about the case, since she was recused. Her office maintains that Foxx withdrew herself only informally, as a true recusal would have involved the appointment of a special counsel.
“Sooo……I’m recused, but when people accuse us of overcharging cases…16 counts on a class 4 (felony) becomes exhibit A,” Foxx texted Joseph Magats, her top assistant.
“Pedophile with 4 victims 10 counts. Washed up celeb who lied to cops, 16 (counts),” she continued, referring to singer R. Kelly. “… Just because we can charge something doesn’t mean we should.”
Immediately after the charges against Smollett were dropped, the office scrambled to respond.
“Just wish I could have anticipated the magnitude of this response and planned a bit better!” texted Assistant State’s Attorney Risa Lanier to Magats.
“There’s really no planning for this,” Magats responded. “It’s the right decision.”
It is still unclear why prosecutors abruptly dropped the charges connected to Smollett’s alleged staging of a hate crime attack, though outgoing Mayor Rahm Emanuel has expressed anger about the “whitewash of justice” and is now going after Smollett for overtime police costs related to the case.
Can I safely assume she’s referring to two different people, and R Kelly is the first one? Cuz it isn’t clear from the way that’s written.
This is all very weird. Smollett obviously has some issues deserving of compassion and may be in need of some counseling, to say the least. But legal approaches taking that into account could have been developed in a plea deal of some sort along the way. Approaches ought to stem from applying the law, including precedent, not from considering optics before or after decisions are made. This prosecutor’s office seems not have access to, or not availed itself of, experienced legal thinking. Maybe they’ll rethink t his and actually file some charges.
This reminds me of what a lawyer friend told me some time ago. After passing the bar exam, 80% of attorneys never look up anything. They just play “let’s make a deal,” while billing by the hour. Prosecutors and defense attorneys and judges are all in the same club. If something goes awry, no worries, usually. You just try another approach. It’s telling that in the legal profession, copyright does not exist. They copy and paste anything and everything from any legal filing, without attribution. Anyway, by this accounting, it’s often necessary to get to the appeals court stage before people start having to look stuff up, write legal briefs in support of arguments, etc.
outgoing Mayor Rahm Emanuel has expressed…
Just. Go.
Kim Foxx could not have handled this any worse if she had tried. Pure, utter incompetence and dishonesty. Smollett was given a secret, sweetheart deal for no apparent reason – and contrary to Foxx, that is NOT how these kind of cases are handled. That being said, I don’t ascribe some nefarious purpose or corruption to Foxx – just incompetence and stupidity. Even worse, as utterly foolish as the handling of the matter was, the claim that she and her colleagues were shocked by the backlash evidences an even more breathtaking level of stupidity on their part.
Long-term, she will not survive this – if she even makes it the next election, she’s done.
Compared to the obvious injustice in our system, this is a nothing burger. They didn’t have a case. Simple as that. If he were white would the reaction be the same? Rahm Emmanual sealed his political career with his response.