The “Empire” actor was charged with six-counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly lying to Chicago police about being the victim of hate crime in January 2019.
Cook County jurors Thursday announced that they have reached a verdict in Jussie Smollett’s trial after more than nine hours of deliberation.
Judge James Linn said he would give a half hour notice for the parties to return to the courtroom at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse before calling the jury back in to read its decision.
Smollett faces six-counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly lying to Chicago police about being the victim of hate crime in January 2019.
Each count carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison, but are also probational, which would be the more likely result if the “Empire” star is convicted, given his lack of criminal background.
If Smollett, 39, is found innocent it will likely be because jurors didn’t find brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo credible on the stand.
Smollett’s defense team painted the brothers as con men and criminals who couldn’t be trusted in their closing arguments to the jury on Wednesday.
The brothers were star witnesses for special prosecutors, who largely built their case around their testimony.