One of the arguments from people who somehow still support alleged hate crime hoaxer Jussie Smollett is that he didn’t get special treatment from Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office when they dropped all 16 felony counts the actor was facing allegedly filing a false police report, among other things. One judge in Cook County doesn’t buy that argument at all.
It’s now being reported that earlier in April a suburban Chicago judge was hearing the case of 21-year-old Candace Clark, who “was charged with felony disorderly conduct for allegedly filing a false police report — on Oct. 30, 2018, in a case without publicity that allegedly involved check forgery, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Cook County Judge Marc Martin had a “problem” with Clark’s case and why, as he perceived, there seemed to be a double standard compared to the false police report case of Smollett.
“I’d like to know why Ms. Clark is being treated differently than Jussie Smollett?” Martin asked. “It’s a disorderly conduct case [false] reporting — a lot less egregious than Mr. Smollett’s case. I have a problem with it. Why is she being treated differently?”
That’s a very fair question considering Clark’s false reporting case seems to be, not only a lot less “egregious,” but also a lot less controversial and divisive than Smollett’s case.
According to the Sun-Times:
On April 11, just before Martin expressed his astonishment at Clark’s treatment, the prosecutor assigned to the case had filled out paperwork for a “deferred prosecution,” which would have required Clark to pay back approximately $2,500 — as well as attend periodic court hearings, get a G.E.D. and either show proof of a job or do community service, said Wendy Schilling, Clark’s assistant public defender.
Clark should be ecstatic because Martin also brought up the point of Smollett’s possible special treatment as a result of his celebrity status, while also bashing Foxx’s office for creating “this mess.”
Cook County prosecutor Allison Kudzy’s explanation as to why Clark’s case was different than Smollett’s didn’t fly with Martin. Kudzy said on April 11 that “each case is reviewed individually based on the facts, the investigation and the position of the victims in this case.”
“Well, Ms. Clark is not a movie star, she doesn’t have a high-price lawyer, although, her lawyer is very good,” Martin said. “And this smells, big time. I didn’t create this mess, your office created this mess. And your explanation is unsatisfactory to this court. She’s being treated differently.”
It certainly does smell. “The position of the victims?” So would Clark have been let go if the victims were Trump supporters, as was the media-ignored accusation in the alleged Smollett hate crime hoax?
While Clark still has an upcoming court date on May 15 to determine her innocence or guilt, she seemed pretty happy that the judge used her case to voice his displeasure with Foxx’s office over the Smollett debacle.
“I was very shocked,” Clark said. “I was ecstatic.”
The Sun-Times also reported that Foxx’s Cook County State’s Attorney’s office had no comment on the Martin’s stance.
H/T: Fox 32 - Chicago