A lawyer seeking the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the handling of the Jussie Smollett prosecution subpoenaed Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and her top deputy Friday to appear at the first court hearing on the matter.

Sheila O’Brien, a former appellate judge, also filed a “notice to appear” in an attempt to get Smollett to attend the hearing Thursday as well.

Court documents show that O’Brien requested that Foxx and her top deputy, Joseph Magats, as well as Smollett produce their original files and documents on the case to ensure “that they have not been altered or destroyed.”

At an unannounced hearing March 26, prosecutors abruptly dropped all charges against Smollett with little explanation, sparking a firestorm of criticism and calls for Foxx’s resignation by the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police. Just weeks earlier, the “Empire” actor, who is African-American and openly gay, had been indicted on 16 counts of disorderly conduct alleging he staged a racial and homophobic attack on himself.

O’Brien, saying she had no agenda “other than seeking the truth and restoring public confidence” in Foxx’s office and Cook County courts, filed a petition earlier this month seeking the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate how Foxx’s office handled Smollett’s prosecution.

Her petition said that Foxx’s actions created “an appearance of impropriety, a perception that justice was not served here, that Mr. Smollett received special treatment.”

Smollett’s attorneys have objected to the petition, saying in a filing last week that special prosecutors may be appointed only if cases are still pending. In addition, they noted that a special prosecutor would duplicate the efforts of the county inspector general’s office, which already is conducting a review of the prosecution.

O’Brien’s petition came on the heels of a similar filing from attorney Saani Mohammed, who worked as a Cook County prosecutor for a few months before leaving last month to start his own practice.

Hearings on both petitions are slated for Thursday before LeRoy Martin Jr., presiding judge of the Circuit Court’s Criminal Division.

O’Brien also is asking that a judge from outside Cook County, not Martin, decide her request for a special prosecutor.

mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @crepeau