Cook County Circuit Court Judge Steven Watkins, on May 23, ordered the case file in the now-defunct prosecution of openly gay Empire actor Jussie Smollett unsealed, The Chicago Tribune reported. Media outlets had sought to have those files opened.

Smollett's attorney had succeeded in sealing the court records in March at which Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's office suddenly dropped all charges that the actor had staged a hate crime attack on himself, reportedly costing the city hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, Watkins said that Smollett and his attorneys trumped those privacy rights by going before the cameras to declare his innocence.

Initially, the majority of the 192-page file consisted of the media's motions objecting to the sealing of the file in the first place. However, Foxx's office said it was reviewing its records and expected to release more documents by June 3.

The entire Tribune article is at Website Link Here .