Smollett’s attorneys laid out their defense in the greatest detail yet, all in an uphill effort to persuade Cook County Judge Michael Toomin to reverse his decision to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate why Foxx’s office in late March suddenly dropped all charges alleging Smollett made up the attack to promote his career. Toomin’s decision last month marked the latest bombshell in a case that has only gotten thornier since prosecutors abandoned the case less than three weeks after indicting Smollett on 16 counts of disorderly conduct.