The Illinois Prosecutors Bar Association issued a statement on this case today. They represent over 1000 prosecutors in the state.
http://www.ilpba.org/resources/Documents/IPBA%20letter_Smollett.pdfAmong some of their gripes ...
------The public has the right to know the truth, and we set out to do that here.
When an elected State’s Attorney recuses herself from a prosecution, Illinois law provides that
the court shall appoint a special prosecutor. See 55 ILCS 5/3-9008(a-15). Typically, the special
prosecutor is a neighboring State’s Attorney, the Attorney General, or the State Appellate
Prosecutor. Here, the State’s Attorney kept the case within her office and thus never actually
recused herself as a matter of law.
----the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office falsely informed the public that the uncontested sealing of the criminal court case was “mandatory” under Illinois law. This statement is not accurate. To the extent the case was even eligible for an immediate seal, that action was discretionary, not mandatory, and only upon the proper filing of a petition to seal.
-----The appearance of impropriety here is compounded by the fact that this case was not on the
regularly scheduled court call, the public had no reasonable notice or opportunity to view these
proceedings, and the dismissal was done abruptly at what has been called an “emergency”
hearing.
-----the State’s Attorney has claimed this arrangement is “available to all defendants” and
“not a new or unusual practice.” There has even been an implication it was done in accordance
with a statutory diversion program. These statements are plainly misleading and inaccurate.
This action was highly unusual, not a statutory diversion program, and not in accordance with
well accepted practices of State’s Attorney initiated diversionary programs. The IPBA supports
diversion programs, and recognizes the many benefits they provide to the community, the
defendant and to the prosecuting agency. Central to any diversion program, however, is that the
defendant must accept responsibility. To be clear here, this simply was not a deferred
prosecution.
----Prosecutors must be held to the highest standard of legal ethics in the pursuit of justice. The
actions of the Cook County State’s Attorney have fallen woefully short of this expectation.
Through the repeated misleading and deceptive statements to the public on Illinois law and
circumstances surrounding the Smollett dismissal, the State’s Attorney has failed in her most
fundamental ethical obligations to the public. The IPBA condemns these actions.
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