Jussie Smollett’s Controversial Case To Be Unsealed, Judge Says It Should Be Made Public

Jussie Smollett’s case just doesn’t seem to be going away. Today, an Illinois judge decided to unseal the case file in his case.

“Good cause does not exist to keep the records of this case sealed,” Cook County Circuit Judge Steven Watkins wrote.

A Cook County grand jury indicted Smollett on 16 felony counts, but on March 26, the prosecutors in the case surprised everyone by dropping all the charges against the 36-year-old “Empire” actor. 

The lead prosecutor said that they reviewed the facts and considered Smollett’s volunteer service in the community as well as his willingness to forfeit his $10,000 bond, as reason enough to drop the case. After the decision, the records were sealed upon the defense’s request. 

But now, in his new decision, Judge Watkins said that the records need not be sealed, as much of the case has been presented to the public by both sides of the legal arena. 

According to CNN, Watkins wrote that it’s “easily conceivable that a defendant whose case was dismissed would wish to maintain his sense of privacy,” but Judge Watkins said that this was not the case with Smollett and noted that the actor and his attorneys spoke to several media outlets following the dismissal.

“These are not the actions of a person seeking to maintain his privacy or simply be let alone,” the judge wrote. “While the court appreciates that the defendant was in the public eye before the events that precipitated this case, it was not necessary for him to address this so publicly and to such an extent.”

It’s still unclear what information is contained in the court records, but outlets like CNN and others have been fighting to have the records made public. However, it remains unclear when the details will be released.