Former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett was sentenced on March 10, 2022 to five months in jail after being convicted in 2021 of filing a false police report claiming he has been the victim of a racist and homophobic attack, and due to the work of Mandell Menkes attorneys, the public was able to watch the sentencing proceedings live from their homes. In the weeks leading up to the sentencing, Mandell Menkes attorneys argued on behalf of a coalition of media entities that the Court should reconsider its decision to deny extended media coverage of Smollett’s post-trial proceedings. While the Court had previously denied the broadcasters’ February 2020 request for extended media coverage of the trial, the Court on February 25, 2022 granted the media’s motion for reconsideration and agreed with the media’s reasoning that the previous concerns regarding media coverage of the trial itself no longer existed. With the media’s access to the courtroom permitted, members of the public were thus able to tune in to livestreamed coverage of the sentencing and could learn more about the judicial process.