Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx Stands By Jussie Smollett Deal ... Decision to Overturn Conviction Vindication
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Kim Foxx is feeling vindicated by the Illinois State Supreme Court's decision to overturn Jussie Smollett's conviction ... saying she still believes her office made the right call by offering him a plea deal.
The Cook County State's Attorney joined us on "TMZ Live" for an interview Thursday -- hours after Illinois' Supreme Court overturned Jussie's conviction because he agreed to a plea deal two years earlier -- and, she says she's not surprised by the court's decision.
Foxx says she took criminal procedure during her first year of law school ... so she understands double jeopardy -- and knew immediately Jussie's conviction in 2021 would be overturned.
Jussie Smollett He's Guilty, But Court Was Right To Overturn ... Osundairo Brothers Say
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Jussie Smollett's guilty in his hate crime hoax case, but the Illinois Supreme Court was still right to overturn his conviction ... at least according to the Osundairo brothers, whose testimony was critical in convincing a jury to convict him.
Abel and Ola's attorney, Gloria V. Rodriguez, tells TMZ ... the Osundairos respect the court's decision to reverse Jussie's conviction because the case was more about Jussie's deal with prosecutors than his innocence or guilt.
The brothers say the jury got it right when they returned a guilty verdict against Jussie ... and Abel and Ola stand by their sworn testimony.
Diddy Attorney Repping Alleged Victims Sued for Assault ... Divorce Client Says Champagne Flute Used as Weapon
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The lawyer representing more than 120 alleged victims of Diddy has now himself been sued for assault ... TMZ has learned.
A woman, suing as Jane Doe, claims to have been a former client of Tony Buzbee. She has filed a lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, in which she alleges the attorney assaulted her while repping her in a divorce case.
The documents do not lay out specifics of the alleged assault, but a source connected to the woman tells TMZ ... she is alleging she was in a public place when Buzbee saw her, flew into a "fit of rage" and allegedly pushed a champagne flute into her face, chipping her tooth. She says she has both medical and dental records to prove her injuries.
Kim Kardashian Reminds Fans She's Still In Law School W/ Sultry Studious Selfie!!!
Kim Kardashian's juggling a lot -- acting gigs, her SKIMS biz, 4 kids, wild robot romances ... and still chasing her dream of becoming a lawyer.
The reality star reminded everyone she’s still in law school by dropping an IG snap Thursday of herself hitting the books -- all, of course, while looking effortlessly glam in glasses and a super low-cut bodysuit.
Kim wasn’t exactly all smiles in the pic, resting her hand on her mouth to show the legal grind is real.
Jussie Smollett Illinois Supreme Court Overturns Conviction
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UPDATE
10:05 AM PT -- Special Prosecutor Dan K. Webb has issued a statement, saying he's disappointed with the Illinois Supreme Court decision and respectfully disagrees with overturning Jussie Smollett's criminal conviction. Webb made it clear the court's decision has nothing to do with JS' guilt or innocence and he categorically believes Smollett is guilty of perpetrating a hate crime hoax against the city of Chicago.
He also pointed out the court's ruling had nothing to do with his 2 years of work on the case because he was appointed to his special prosecution role 5 months after Cook County D.A. Kim Foxx made a plea deal with Smollett. And Webb says it was that plea agreement that led to the "unprecedented" resolution initially in the case, which was the driving factor for the Supreme Court's decision today. In other words, Webb says he did nothing wrong.
9:10 AM PT -- Jussie's attorney, Nenye Uche, tells TMZ ... Jussie is "very pleasantly surprised," even "ecstatic." Uche emphasizes the court decision was unanimous.
He points out in the age of social media, courts need to push back and defend the rule of law and due process -- watch the video, he has some suggestions about how to address that.
A deal's a deal, and that means Jussie Smollett's conviction in the hate crime hoax case is now reversed, and he cannot be tried again ... according to the Illinois Supreme Court.
Illinois' high court ruled Thursday that Jussie's deal with Cook County prosecutors -- when they originally dropped the case against him -- had to be honored. State's Attorney Kim Foxx struck a plea deal with the actor, requiring him to forfeit his $10,000 bond, and do 15 hours of volunteer community service.
The court's ruling says because Jussie held up his end of the deal -- he actually did 18 hours of service -- he should not have been subject to a second prosecution. That's when he was convicted of felony disorderly conduct and sent to jail, briefly, until he appealed the decision.
Killer Mom Susan Smith Parole Board Tears Were Fake Former Guard Fired for Sex With Her Says
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Convicted child killer Susan Smith's tears at her parole hearing were all BS, totally fabricated to sway the board ... this, according to a former guard who was fired and prosecuted for having sex with her in prison years ago.
Alfred Rowe -- a disgraced prison guard formerly employed at Camille Graham Correctional Center in South Carolina, where Smith served until 2000 -- tells TMZ ... the parole board made the right choice by keeping her in prison.
Rowe says he doesn't think Smith has changed ... and getting emotional at the hearing was all for show -- with AR saying someone must've bottled some tears and brought them in for her to use, 'cause she's not capable of that level of emotion on her own.
TMZ TV HOT TAKE DIDDY JAIL RAID ... Judge Lays Down Law
The judge in Diddy's criminal case is ordering prosecutors to destroy all the materials they obtained from a raid on his jail cell ... and we examine the fallout on today's edition of TMZ TV Hot Take.
Check out the clip from "TMZ Live" ... Harvey and Charles explain why the judge sided with the Bad Boy Records founder.
Lots of twists and turns in the Diddy case so far ... and we haven't even gotten to his trial.
Check your local listings for when TMZ is on in your area or catch up on past episodes!
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Artem and Nikki Settle Their Divorce ... We Want To Move On!!!
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Artem Chigvintsev and Nikki Bella are about to start a new chapter in their lives ... because we've learned they've settled their divorce.
According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Artem and Nikki went to mediation earlier this month and hammered out a divorce settlement.
Our sources tell us Artem and Nikki decided to quickly settle their divorce because they both want to move on, in part because it was getting very expensive to pay lawyers ... plus the whole process was becoming emotionally draining.
Killer Mom Susan Smith Denied Parole ... After Tearful Plea to Board
Killer mom Susan Smith will not taste freedom after her plea to a parole board was unanimously denied following an emotional hearing.
The controversial convict, who has spent nearly 30 years behind bars for the drowning of her sons, Michael and Alex, appeared before a parole board in South Carolina via a video call Wednesday ... tearfully begging those hearing her case to let her go free. Michael was 3 years old and Alex was 14 months old when Smith killed them.
As Smith relayed in her testimony ... she now knows what she did "was so horrible" and claims she'd "give anything to go back and change it."
Diddy Sued I Was Drugged, Forced To Give Oral!!!
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Diddy is being sued for more alleged sexual assaults ... with the alleged victims claiming they were drugged ... but he's denying it all.
Tony Buzbee, the Texas attorney representing more than 120 alleged Diddy victims, just filed five new lawsuits against the Bad Boy Records founder.
In one suit, obtained by TMZ, a woman from Maryland claims she was 18 years old in 2001 when Diddy sexually assaulted her outside a Halloween party in New York City.
Donald Trump Saved by Election!!! D.A. Wants Felony Sentencing Delayed
Donald Trump's win on Election Day is postponing the conclusion of his historic legal loss -- Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg wants a judge to put the president-elect's sentencing on a back burner ... until 2029.
Bragg announced Tuesday he's recommending Trump's 34 felony count conviction -- related to the hush money payments to Stormy Daniels -- be put off until Trump is out of office.
In a letter to the judge, Bragg says, "The People deeply respect the Office of the President, are mindful of the demands and obligations of the presidency, and acknowledge that Defendant's inauguration will raise unprecedented legal questions."
Diddy's Sons You Can't Sell Kim Porter Book!!! Threaten Author Over Alleged Diary
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Diddy's sons are waging their own legal battle now, warning the man who's hawking a Kim Porter book -- allegedly based on her diary -- to shut it down or face a lawsuit.
Christian and Quincy Combs, fired off a cease and desist letter to a guy named Courtney Burgess and his attorney Ariel Mitchell over "Kim Porter Tell It All ('Tell It All')" ... a book currently sold online under the pseudonym Jamal Millwood.
In the letter, obtained by TMZ, the Combs bros say they became the rightful heirs and owners of Kim's intellectual property rights following her death in November 2018 ... and therefore her purported diary entries belong to them.
Menendez Bros Governor Newsom to New D.A. .... The Ball's in Your Court!!!
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California Governor Gavin Newsom has kicked the can down the road in the direction of the new L.A. County District Attorney ... regarding Erik and Lyle Menendez.
Newsom's office just released a statement ... "The Governor respects the role of the District Attorney in ensuring justice is served and recognizes that voters have entrusted District Attorney-elect Hochman to carry out this responsibility. The Governor will defer to the D.A.-elect's review and analysis of the Menendez case prior to making any clemency decisions."
As we reported, the outgoing D.A., George Gascón, has supported resentencing Erik and Lyle and is in favor of their release. The newly-elected D.A., Nathan Hochman, has said he won't weigh in on how he wants to proceed until he fully reviews the case.
A hearing is set for December 11, where a judge will hear arguments on whether to re-sentence the Menendez brothers ... and that could trigger a parole board hearing that could set them free.
TMZ broke the story ... Erik and Lyle's lawyer, Mark Geragos, will ask the judge to change the conviction from murder to manslaughter. Since Erik and Lyle have served 3 times the maximum sentence for manslaughter, they would be immediately free men.
As for Newsom, it's unclear if he'll wait for the judge to make a decision before he weighs in on clemency, but given that the case has become a real hot potato, we're guessing Newsom's gonna wait until the gavel comes down.
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Diddy Prosecutors Deny Seizing Trial Strategy Info in Raid ... Claim He Used Shady Methods of Communication
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Diddy was trying to influence witnesses and the prospective jury of his peers while behind bars, so say prosecutors who filed legal docs in an attempt to justify raiding his jail cell.
As we reported, the feds raided Diddy's cell late last month and, according to Diddy's lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, seized attorney-client privileged material from his cell and gave it to prosecutors.
The U.S. Attorney's Office begs to differ, and in new docs, obtained by TMZ, Diddy used unauthorized methods of communication to get third parties via 3-way calling on monitored phone lines, use of other inmates' phone access codes, and use of a third party text messaging providers. In short, prosecutors say Diddy was trying to rig his trial.
TONY BUZBEE Lawyer For Diddy Accusers Slams Extortion Claims
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Tony Buzbee, the Texas attorney repping more than 120 of Diddy's alleged victims, is firing back at a lawsuit accusing him of extortion ... he says he won't be intimidated or have his clients silenced.
Here's the deal ... Buzbee is being sued by a prominent individual identified only as "John Doe," who claims Buzbee is shamelessly trying to shake him down by threatening to file a lawsuit packed with false allegations related to alleged sexual assaults at Diddy parties.
Buzbee and his law firm aren't backing down, though, and he tells TMZ ... "We won't allow the powerful and their high-dollar lawyers to intimidate or silence sexual assault survivors."
Laken Riley Vid of Suspect's Fresh Scratches Shown in Court & Rescue Attempt Audio
The suspect accused of murdering Laken Riley had no answers for the scratches and marks on his arm, it's been revealed in court -- where gut-wrenching body cam audio was also heard, of a cop desperately trying to save the nursing student’s life in February.
The trial continued in Athens, Georgia, on Monday, with the court viewing body cam footage of Jose Ibarra -- an undocumented Venezuelan immigrant -- pointing at his arms and wrist while chatting in Spanish with a University of Georgia police officer.
Cpl. Rafael Sayan testified Ibarra first claimed there was nothing on his arm -- but then switched it up, pointing at his wrist and saying, “Oh, it’s just a scratch.”