How sloppy, not only were confidential conversations recorded, they were shared in discovery.
Conversation between key witness and attorney can’t be used as evidence in Smollett case, judge says
"The conversation between Olabinjo Osundairo and his lawyer Gloria Schmidt Rodriguez was apparently accidentally recorded in an interview room at a Chicago police station after Osundairo and his brother, Abindola Osundairo, were taken in for questioning.
Smollett’s lawyers had argued for the recording’s inclusion as evidence after they inadvertently received it as part of the discovery process and claimed it would provide evidence of a conspiracy against Smollett, who is accused of staging a hate crime against himself.
Linn said he had listened to the recording and heard nothing on it that would be considered a “bombshell” for the defense. The judge also said Schmidt Rodriguez’s conversation with Olabinjo Osundairo was covered by attorney-client privilege.
“Everybody’s got it, nobody should have it, never should have existed, nobody should have it at all,” Linn said."
"On Thursday, Linn said he did not believe he had the jurisdiction to dismiss the case.
“I don’t have the authority to revisit the ruling in the first place, and if I did, I still would find Judge [Michael] Toomin was correct in his analysis appointing the special prosecutor,” Linn said.
Linn recounted how the case had ended up before him, saying “there was a tremendous outcry” about the decision to drop the charges and that it demanded review.
“This very building seemed to shake with buzz that I haven’t seen in many years ... this really rocked things around here,” he said.