Jussie Smollett conviction overturned by Illinois Supreme Court

The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday overturned Jussie Smollett’s hate crime conviction.

“Today we resolve an issue of the state’s responsibility to honor the agreements it enters into with defendants,” the court wrote in documents obtained by Fox News Digital. “In particular, we consider whether a dismissal of a case by nolle prosequi allows the state to initiate another prosecution when the dismissal was entered into as part of an agreement with the defendant, and the defendant has fulfilled his part of the agreement. We believe that second prosecution under these circumstances is a violation of due process, and we therefore reverse defendant’s conviction.”

The charges against Smollett were initially dropped. After special prosecutor Kim Foxx requested a new investigation, the “Empire” star was convicted of five counts and later sentenced to 150 days in county jail. The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the special prosecutor’s decision to retry Smollett on charges violated his rights.

Jussie Smollett’s conviction was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court. (Nuccio DiNuzzo)

“Today we resolve an issue of the state’s responsibility to honor the agreements it enters into with defendants,” Mark Geragos, Smollett’s attorney, told Fox News Digital. “We believe that a second prosecution under these circumstances is a violation of due process, and we therefore reverse the defendant’s conviction.”

This is a development story. Check back for updates.