Jussie Smollett's arraignment was quick once it got started. Smollett pleaded not guilty to all charges and was not detained today. His next court appearance will be March 18.
Smollett's attorney says the former "Empire" star has no intentions on taking a guilty plea and will take this case to trial, if necessary. She also filed a motion to dismiss the charges entirely on double jeopardy grounds.
Smollett faced similar charges last year, but the charges were ultimately dropped — a controversial decision that was condemned by the former Chicago mayor and police superintendent. Chicago police claim Smollett staged the attack to boost his career and wanted to see him prosecuted for it.
Along with the criminal case, Smollett is still facing a civil suit from the city of Chicago for $130,000 to cover the overtime hours officers put in working on Smollett's case.
Smollett is facing six counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly making false reports that he was the victim of a hate crime back in January of 2019. The maximum fine for the disorderly conduct charges is $10,000, and the maximum prison sentence is three years.
