After two days of deliberation, a Chicago jury found former Empire star Jussie Smollet guilty on five out of six disorderly conduct charges for falsely reporting himself as a victim of a hate crime. However, his legal team says it’s not over. Smollett’s attorney, Nenye Uche, “respectfully disagrees” with yesterday’s verdict and is “100% confident” that it “will be reversed on appeal,” CNN reports.
“At the end of the day, we believe justice will prevail. We don’t believe it was done today but we’re very confident that he will be cleared and he will be found to be innocent.”
Being guilty of five disorderly conduct charges—which are Class 4 felonies—could land Jussie in prison for up to 3 years with a $25,000 fine. The next step in the case will determine Jussie’s punishment, which is in the hand’s Cook County Judge James Linn. Jussie’s legal team will have the opportunity to appeal at that time.