Jussie Smollett Loses Bid To Get Charges Tossed

The Chicago Tribune reports:

The state’s highest court has rejected actor Jussie Smollett’s attempt to throw out the new charges against him and remove the special prosecutor who brought them.

In an emergency motion to the Illinois Supreme Court, Smollett’s attorneys argued that Cook County Judge Michael Toomin overstepped his authority and misinterpreted the law when he ordered the appointment of a special prosecutor in Smollett’s case last year.

In their filing, Smollett’s attorneys argued that the particular statute Toomin cited to appoint a special prosecutor can only be invoked if the state’s attorney filed a formal petition for recusal — which Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx never did.