Smollett’s Attorney Claims Judge ‘Lunged’ At Her, Demands Mistrial

On Thursday, one of the attorneys defending Jussie Smollett claimed that the judge in the case, Judge James Linn, “lunged” at her in court, according to The New York Post. Smollett’s attorneys also asked the judge to declare a mistrial, which he denied.

“The odd fracas came in the midst of the defense’s cross-examination of Olabinjo Osundairo, who claims he was paid to help Smollett stage the hate crime, as attorney Tamara Walker grilled him about his alleged homophobia and past derogatory remarks toward suspected gay men,” The New York Post reported. “Osundairo, 30, had just acknowledged he used the word ‘fruity a**’ to refer to a man he suspected was gay and Walker asked if Smollett, who is openly gay, knew he’d said such things in the past.”

Chicago Tribune criminal courts reporter Megan Crepeau outlined what happened next, tweeting, “Judge Linn tries to hustle things along, saying Walker is getting into something ‘collateral.’ She asks for a sidebar, the jury is sent out of the room, and she asks for a mistrial — in part because of the ‘collateral’ comment.”