Jussie Smollett’s case got further complicated. Just when you thought that things could not get any more dramatic, here comes another insane twist. One of Jussie Smollett’s attorneys has claimed in the courtroom that the judge sprang at her even as other attorneys bunched in a sidebar.
Tamara Walker accused James Linn, Cook County Judge that he had physically moved towards him on Thursday during the ongoing trial.
Judge Linn denied it vehemently and chaos reigned for some time in the court. Attorneys got into an argument demanding a mistrial, spectators murmured, while the judge continued to vigorously deny the accusation.
Linn said that he had been startled by what attorneys had asked for at the sidebar, he claimed.
The news spread fast through the building where Judge Linn had been for several years in charge of a felony courtroom.
Jussie Smollett’s Attorney Said That Judge Linn Intended To Intimidate The Defense Team
Walker later said that she believed that Linn’s reaction was not intended to intimidate, and was merely spontaneous and involuntary. But it was startling anyway she said.
She said that she could not believe that type of reaction, and she had been just doing her job.
The freak incident happened as one of Jussie Smollet’s attorneys, Tamara Walker cross-examined Olabinjo, one of the two Osundairo brothers who claimed they were paid by Jussie Smollett to stage the alleged incident of racial attack in Chicago.
Discrediting the brothers is key to the case for the defense. The defense team may argue that the two had attacked Jussie Smollett, driven by homophobia.
Tamara Walker bolstered her argument by showing texts by one of the brothers making homophobic comments during a conversation between the two brothers, and is alleged to have referred to a gay person as ‘sicko.’
During the questioning, Judge Linn said that the matter being raised was quite collateral, meaning to say it was unimportant. At this point, Tamara Walker and the rest of the Jussie Smollett team requested a sidebar.
The defense requested a mistrial founded on the collateral comment. At that moment, Walker alleged that Judge Linn responded with an intimidating gesture that left her shocked.
Judge Linn said he was stunned at the defense demanding a mistrial. Heather Widell, Jussie Smollett’s attorney also alleged that Linn was snarling while grading objections from prosecutors.
Walker, Jussie Smollett’s attorney later denied that she was crying and said that she had been stunned and her voice just cracked.
