Still desperate to avoid returning to prison to serve his sentence,
Jussie Smollett filed an appeal with the state supreme court on Monday 2/5/2024. The Court is not obligated to grant the petition to hear the
appeal. I don't think this can be appealed to the US Supreme Court, but
what do I know.

In our last episode, the First District (Cook County) Appellate Court
upheld Smollett's conviction and sentence. Smollett argued that he had a nonprosecution agreement in place when the prosecutor amazingly dropped
16 felony counts after Smollett completed alternative prosecution/
pretrial diversion. He forfeited his bond and completed community
service. The procedure is allowed in the state criminal code for first
time offenders in misdomeanor charges. It's unheard of with felony
charges. Smollett was unique in that 16 felony counts were dropped,
something that had never before happened.

It was a three-judge panel. I actually don't know if an appeal en banc
is a thing in Illinois as it is at federal circuit court.

Two appellate court justices ruled that the pretrial diversion was not a nonprosecution agreement with the state's attorney. The third justice dissented, pointing out Smollett had given up something of value -- his
time in community service and the bond -- which meant there was an
agreement in place, preventing the special prosecutor from filing new
charges against him per double jeopardy.

Smollett's appeal is still based on "all alternative prosecution
arrangements statewide are in jeopardy!" It's a civil rights issue!

No, dude, they truly are not. No one has ever had a 16 count indictment withdrawn in alternative prosecution and this will never happen again.
It's a procedure for low-level prosecutions. The procedure was abused
for you.

I guess if another celebrity is hugely embarassing...

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/02/06/jussie-smollett-asks-illinois-supreme-court-to-hear-case/

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