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An appeals court upheld the disorderly conduct convictions Friday of actor Jussie Smollett, who was accused of staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and lying about it to Chicago police. Smollett, who appeared in the TV show “Empire,” challenged the role of a special prosecutor, jury selection, evidence and many other aspects of the case. But all were turned aside in a 2-1 opinion from the Illinois Appellate Court. “We are preparing to escalate this matter to the Supreme Court,” Smollett spokeswoman Holly Baird said, referring to Illinois' highest court and also noting that the opinion at the appellate court wasn't unanimous. ___More AP coverage of the Jussie Smollett case: https://apnews.com/hub/jussie-smollett

Persons: Jussie Smollett, Smollett, ”, Donald Trump’s, Holly Baird, wasn't, Freddrenna Lyle, ” Lyle, Dan Webb, Webb, David Navarro, Mary Ellen Coghlan, ___ Organizations: Chicago police, Authorities, Prosecutors, Smollett, Cook Locations: Chicago, Illinois, MAGA

If the appeal before the Chicago-based First District Appellate Court fails, Smollett would have to finish a 150-day stint in jail that his trial judge ordered during his 2022 sentencing. Smollett spent just six days in jail before his release pending the outcome of the appeal. In the appeal, Smollett’s legal team says chief prosecutor Kim Foxx’s office used proper discretion to drop the original charges four years ago. Authorities said Smollett paid two men he knew from work on the TV show “Empire” to stage the attack. As he sentenced Smollett, Judge Linn excoriated him as a narcissist and pronounced himself astounded by Smollett's actions given the actor’s multiracial family background and ties to social justice work.

Persons: Smollett’s, ”, Smollett, Nenye Uche, Uche, Dan Webb’s, Kim Foxx’s, “, he’d, Prosecutors, Donald Trump’s, James Linn, Judge Linn excoriated, ___ Organizations: CHICAGO, Authorities Locations: Illinois, Chicago, Cook, MAGA, Cook County

CNN —The student newspaper for Northwestern University said at least three former students of its football program detailed what it described as a pattern of racism from coaches and players. “I didn’t feel like I could be anything other than White,” former player Ramon Diaz Jr. said, according to the paper. Northwestern University announced Monday it had fired longtime head football coach Pat Fitzgerald. The move came after allegations of hazing within the Wildcats football program. One teammate asked him why he didn’t play soccer instead of football,” The Daily Northwestern’s reporting said.

Persons: “, Ramon Diaz Jr, White, Pat Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald, ”, ” Fitzgerald, didn’t, Schill “, Bryan Harlan, Dan Webb, Strawn, ’ Diaz, –, “ Diaz, ‘, Mayo ’, Jon Yates, Coach Fitzgerald, ” Yates Organizations: CNN, Northwestern University, The Daily, Wildcats, Winston, Strawn LLP, The, The Daily Northwestern, ‘ Cinco, Mayo, ” CNN, University Locations: The Daily Northwestern, Illinois, The Daily

[1/3] Dominion lawyers embrace after Dominion Voting Systems and Fox settled the defamation lawsuit over Fox's coverage of debunked election-rigging claims, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., April 18, 2023. At least 31 lawyers from nine different law firms worked on the case, court filings show. It was not immediately clear how large a share of the settlement the firm would receive in legal fees. The filings do not include recent costs associated with preparing for trial or the success fees lawyers could earn from the settlement. Fox News also hired Paul Clement and Erin Murphy, top appeals court lawyers who have advocated for conservative causes at the U.S. Supreme Court.

The voice on the other end asked Roscoe if he would serve as an eleventh-hour mediator in the massive defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News. “I said yes,” Roscoe told CNN on Wednesday, recalling advice his father gave him at the age of 16 about accepting work assignments while on vacation. Eduardo Munoz/Reuters/Eric Lee/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesIn the lead up to the last-second deal, attorneys for both Fox News and Dominion were fully expecting a trial. Last week, Dominion had notified Fox News that one of its first witnesses would be Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old Fox Corporation chairman, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. “Presence in the courtroom often tends to crystalize the focus of the risks and benefits of litigation,” Roscoe told CNN.

☆ Judge privately said Fox News spokesperson should 'be nicer' after she 'ratted on other people' about courtroom conduct in Dominion case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The judge in the Dominion v. Fox lawsuit criticized a Fox News spokesperson in a private conversation. He said she should "be nicer to people" after saying she "ratted on" others for tweeting in court, which is forbidden. She had taken photos of the courtroom on her phone, before the judge or any prospective jurors arrived. After leaving the main courtroom, Cronin went into the overflow room. After hours of waiting and what the transcript refers to as a brief "sidebar discussion held off the record," the judge announced Fox and Dominion had reached a settlement.

☆ Dominion judge likely to appoint special master to investigate if Fox withheld evidence
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

This is very serious,” Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said Wednesday at a pretrial hearing in Wilmington. The special master will look into what sanctions might be appropriate against Fox, including potentially instructing jurors in the case that Fox inappropriately blocked Dominion from obtaining key evidence. The judge ordered Fox to preserve “any and all communications” related to the Murdoch issue. Fox denies wrongdoing and says it properly disclosed Murdoch’s roles in its public financial filings. Fox attorney Dan Webb said Wednesday that “nobody intentionally withheld information” from Dominion.

☆ Dominion can’t bring up January 6 at Fox News defamation trial, judge rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Wilmington, Delaware CNN —Dominion Voting Systems can’t bring up the January 6 insurrection during its upcoming defamation trial against Fox News, a Delaware judge ruled Tuesday, who also revealed at a hearing that he has been receiving death threats. The judge ruled that Fox can’t bring up broadcasts where reporters accurately fact-checked Trump’s lies about the 2020 election, to prove that other broadcasts that amplified those lies weren’t defamatory. The judge also ruled that Fox can’t use internal Dominion emails where its staffers said their products “suck” and were “riddled with bugs,” to prove that there were real concerns about Dominion machines, and therefore Fox didn’t defame Dominion. The judge overseeing Dominion’s case against Fox News also revealed Tuesday that he has received death threats. If Dominion wins, it wants Fox to pay for the beefed-up security measures that it implemented after 2020.

☆ Dominion Voting attorney calls out Fox for missing evidence in defamation lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

While this issue was already raised in July and January, the Dominion attorney said Wednesday they are still missing documents. We pointed out categories of missing documents for both Fox News and Fox Corp that are still missing. Fox attorney Dan Webb, a veteran trial attorney added to Fox's roster last year, said he disagreed with much of what Nelson said during the hearing Wednesday. Dominion brought the defamation lawsuit against Fox and its right-wing cable news networks, Fox News and Fox Business, seeking $1.6 billion in damages. "We are put in this impossible situation of preparing for trial where there are missing documents," Nelson said.

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