horrifying attack on Jussie Smollett

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LTC8K6 said:
The public in general. The white citizens of Chicago.

There doesn't have to be a specific victim for a hate crime.

Painting a swastika, or the N word on a building, would be a hate crime.
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Yes, but I'm not sure if anything done here constitutes a hate crime, although it seems like it should. Is claiming that someone else was racist or hateful actually a hate crime? I'm not so sure

eta: and specifically someone who didn't exist, or was a citizen of any specific town. He basically claimed a stereotypical racist criminal existed and attacked him. This is more akin to a white guy claiming a stereotypical gangbanging black guy robbed him. A crime, yes, but not a hate crime.
 
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Thermal said:
Yes, but I'm not sure if anything done here constitutes a hate crime, although it seems like it should. Is claiming that someone else was racist or hateful actually a hate crime? I'm not so sure
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I don't think it is. According to Wikipedia, "In the United States, federal prosecution is possible for hate crimes committed on the basis of a person's race, religion, or nation origin when engaging in a federally protected activity." Smollett committed a crime (making up BS to the police), and race was involved (the imaginary white perpetrators were racist), but since the crime was apparently a fantasy, there was no true victim other than those whose time and resources were wasted.

Maybe a really good lawyer could spin it. I've heard those guys are magical.
 
isissxn said:
Disorderly conduct... I don't know much about law, but that's not a very serious charge, is it? I feel like I know a few people who collected those in college.
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Disorderly conduct is pretty broad. Depending on the offense it can be a misdemeanor or a felony. Smollett is likely being charged under 720 ILCS 5/26-1 (a) (4), making a false police report, which is a felony.

Most people who get disorderly conduct charges have committed something like 720 ILCS 5/26-1 (a) (1):

Does any act in such unreasonable manner as to alarm or disturb another and to provoke a breach of the peace;
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which is a misdemeanor, specifically a minor class C misdemeanor in Illinois, which max out at 30 days in jail and/or a $1500 fine.
 
LTC8K6 said:
The public in general. The white citizens of Chicago.
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ALL citizens of Chicago.


Hate crime laws are stupid. But, if you're going to "enhance" the sentence or increase the charges for a crime based on "hate," then you should do so for mail fraud and disorderly conduct as well.
 
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I guess the letter didn't cause Fox to raise his salary and so he did the fake attack hoping that that would cause a pay hike. I'm taking some guesses here.
 
William Parcher said:
CPD is now saying that the motive was that Smollett was "dissatisfied with his salary".
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I was once in that position. I paid two large black men to beat me with a cosh whilst shouting, "This is Nigeria, cracker!"

No wait... I asked for a pay rise.
 
sadhatter said:
If I were to draw a swastika and a threat in the middle of a street would I be charged with a hate crime? ( honest question, I believe so) if so, same premise applies.
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I believe you would, too. You would be promoting a hate symbol in the public eye.

But did Smollett actually do this? He claimed others used a hate symbol, and in a very negative context. Not exactly promoting hate against a protected class (it was not white people in general- just a couple imaginary ones)
 
baron said:
This is likely OT, but the 'years away' is a symptom of the corruption of the legal system where lawyers rake in the money by making mountains out of molehills. Such cases could be resolved within a week if the will was there.
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Well, you have to give the defense lawyers adequate time for discovery and interviewing witnesses and whatnot. Also need to get in line behind cases already on the docket. A few months would be fair, but you're right- dragging on for years is probably gaming the system.
 
Thermal said:
Well, you have to give the defense lawyers adequate time for discovery and interviewing witnesses and whatnot. Also need to get in line behind cases already on the docket. A few months would be fair, but you're right- dragging on for years is probably gaming the system.
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For a criminal case I agree, several weeks or months is reasonable, but I was addressing the compensation claim by which Smollett could be compelled to repay costs should he be found guilty of making a false report. All this would consist of is totting up the costs and sending him the bill.
 
Skeptic Tank said:
Bro, I've got a worldview that corresponds with what damned near the entirety of humanity has thought throughout history and most of it still does today.
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That's because you're projecting.


William Parcher said:
That is bullcrap. There is no good thing happening to bigots at all.

Drop all of your partisanship and all of your racism and you will see this.
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Did you just call dudalb a racist?

Captain_Swoop said:
Chicago police say that US actor Jussie Smollett has been charged with filing a false police report.
BBC Report

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-47313172
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Seems like he won his stupid prize.
 
Belz... said:
Did you just call dudalb a racist?
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It wasn't meant specifically. He may or may not be - I don't know. Determining that is probably too complicated to do from an armchair and probably requires constantly observing him in real life.

What I really meant was to express a generic request for anyone to drop all partisanship and all racism. But there can be people who are already non-partisan and already non-racist.
 
William Parcher said:
Chicago Tribune News says that the Top Cop was visibly angry when he announced the motive during the press conference today.
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Wonder why they'd be mad? Nice easy case to investigate. They end up looking supremely professional. The accused has assets so even the payday is pretty secure, not that the cops are accountants and even care about the checkbook. Hell, they got to arrest three black guys and ransack their houses
 
LTC8K6 said:
We still have to get to the most serious crime, the letter.
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Postal Inspectors aren't known for their mercy. I have a feeling using the US mail to perpetrate this fraud is really going to bite him in the ass, perhaps more so than the primary offense.

Commit all the crimes you want, but don't use the USPS.
 
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