CBS Chicago reports<\/a>: \u201cCook County Criminal Court Presiding Judge LeRoy Martin ruled he will allow cameras<\/a> in the courtroom on Thursday, when a trial judge will be selected at random to hear Smollett\u2019s case. Smollett will be arraigned later the same day, and that trial judge will have final say over whether cameras<\/a> will be allowed in court for further proceedings.\u201d<\/p>\n Judge will allow cameras<\/a> in court room for Jussie Smollett\u2019s hearing on Thursday. <\/p>\n His legal team says they welcome cameras<\/a> as a counter to the \u201cmisinformation\u201d leaked to media. <\/p>\n Defense wants public to see the evidence (or lack thereof). @cbschicago<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/dhORIxXLkp<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Charlie De Mar (@CharlieDeMar) March 12, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n \u201cNot right now,\u201d said Jussie Smollett\u2019s attorney Tina Glandian when asked for comment leaving Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago, where Smollett appeared earlier in bond court. @cbschicago<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/e7xh2yDx8r<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Wendy Widom (@wendywidom) February 21, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Anderson Cooper spoke with Smollett\u2019s attorney Mark Geragos<\/a> last week about the 16-count felony indictment against the\u00a0<\/a>Empire<\/a><\/em>\u00a0actor<\/a> for staging a hate crime. <\/p>\n Said Geragos: \u201cThis is an outrage\u2026.I defy anybody to find any indictment anywhere where somebody has brought 16 counts for being a victim of a hate crime, basically.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey have not talked to one person at Fox who has said he was dissatisfied with his money,\u201d Geragos continued. \u201cThey have not interviewed one person connected with the show\u00a0Empire<\/em>who says he was dissatisfied with his money.\u00a0They<\/em>\u00a0are the ones who started their internal investigation about the leaks because all of the information that was being leaked was\u00a0false<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Added Geragos: \u201cWhat is happening here is frankly a media gangbang of this guy<\/a> of unprecedented proportions. And that\u2019s the reason I got into this. I\u2019ve never seen a media pendulum swing more quickly and more viciously and rob somebody of their presumption of innocence like this case. It\u2019s startling the way people\u00a0assume<\/em>\u00a0that he\u2019s guilty. He hasn\u2019t been given one stitch of discovery. There isn\u2019t one police report. Your package just said he paid $3,500. I\u2019ve got the texts. Those texts\u2013\u2013and they conceded that the check and the texts were for\u00a0training<\/em>. It wasn\u2019t to pay anything! So I don\u2019t understand where any of this comes from.\u201d<\/p>\n Anderson then asked why the brothers would do such a thing: \u201cDoesn\u2019t it just seem weird to you that you get allegedly attacked by two people who you\u00a0know<\/em>\u00a0and you don\u2019t seem to recognize them, even you claimed\u00a0you<\/em>\u00a0fought back and\u00a0they<\/em>\u00a0ran away, and \u2014 I believe initially Mr. Smollett said one of them was white, or they were white \u2014 Isn\u2019t it just\u00a0weird<\/em>\u00a0that you get allegedly attacked by two people you actually know that have been on\u00a0Empire that<\/em>, who you have actually worked out with, and you don\u2019t recognize them?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d replied Geragos. \u201cI don\u2019t know whether he made that statement but what I do know is that when he was told that they had evidence against these two he refused to sign the complaint because\u00a0he<\/em>\u00a0could not believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n Added Geragos: \u201cI haven\u2019t seen one piece of evidence and they don\u2019t have one piece of evidence that they\u2019ve turned over that links Jussie to this. What they do have is a great case against the two brothers\u2026.What do they have besides their word that he is in on this.\u201d<\/p>\n The post Jussie Smollett Appears at Chicago Court Hearing \u2018to Show Confidence in His Innocence\u2019 \u2014 WATCH<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad Gay News<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
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