Lawyers: No 'celebrity justice' for Smollett, actor was treated 'far worse'

Lawyers for Jussie Smollett say the "Empire" actor did not benefit from "celebrity justice" and that Chicago police and Cook County prosecutors treated him "far worse" than the average Joe after he reported an alleged hate crime earlier this year.

And now that charges alleging he faked the attack have been dropped, Smollett wants records in the case to remain sealed, according to a motion filed Tuesday.

"While there have been allegations of 'celebrity justice' or preferential treatment in this case, in fact, Mr. Smollett was treated far worse than, not better, than your ordinary citizen," Smollett's Los Angeles-based attorney, Mark Geragos wrote in a motion opposing media organizations' request to have records in Smollett's case unsealed.

All court records in Smollett's case were sealed last month at the same unannounced court hearing at which prosecutors abruptly dropped all charges against the actor less than three weeks after a grand jury handed him a 16-count indictment for making false reports to police investigators. In addition to court files, the sealing order has been used as grounds to deny records requests from the media by both the police and the state's attorney's office. News organizations have petitioned the court to make all records in the case public.

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