*Access’ Scott Evans was with Jussie Smollett’s defense lawyer, Mark Geragos, moments after the news broke that the “Empire” star has been indicted by a grand jury on 16 felony counts in Chicago after allegedly lying to police about being the victim of a hate crime.
The well-known criminal defense lawyer revealed to Access what this means for his case.
The “Empire” actor’s well-known criminal defense lawyer, Mark Geragos, revealed to Access what this means for his case.
“This is not a newsflash. I expected it,” he shared.
“The way the process operates is they have to do a probable cause proceeding, so this is what’s called a probable cause proceeding… I never thought they would do a preliminary hearing.”
The 61-year-old lawyer also gave Scott an update on how Jussie is doing.
“I’ve seen him and I think he is strong, resilient. I am supportive of him,” he shared with Access.
“Look, I will tell you anytime someone is in the public eye and there is this much attention on it, it is a trying experience,” he added.
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Jussie was charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly staging his own reported attack back in January. In the police report, he claimed he was assaulted by two masked men who hurled racist and homophobic slurs. He also claimed that the men poured an unknown substance on him and put a noose around his neck, per the Chicago Police.
Jussie and his legal team have denied the allegations, and his attorney previously issued a statement when news of his arrest made headlines.
“Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked. Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense,” the statement read.
Mark will share more on his “Reasonable Doubt” podcast with Adam Carolla, which will air this Saturday.
source:
Failla, Karin
NBCUniversal
[email protected]
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