Jussie Smollett judge, defense attorney differ on lunging claim - Chicago Tribune
“Judge, you physically moved towards me,” Tamara Walker told Cook County Judge James Linn during the trial Thursday. During the course of the questioning Linn said the matters being raised were “very collateral,” at which point Walker and her team repeatedly requested a sidebar. “As soon as I made the motion, Judge Linn reacted with shock and seemed to become upset, and at that moment had a reaction to physically move toward me with the upper portion of his body,” Walker told the Tribune on Friday. After the sidebar, Linn directed jurors to leave the courtroom, and Walker again asked for a mistrial — this time in open court — because of the collateral comment “as well as your physical actions toward me in the sidebar.”. Linn strenuously denied making threatening moves, saying he was just “quite startled” that the defense would ask for a mistrial on those grounds. In addition, Smollett attorney Heather Widell said in court Linn was making “snarling” faces when granting objections from prosecutors. Linn denied making faces, denied lunging and denied the mistrial.