Jussie Smollett's Conviction Overturned by Illinois Supreme Court

10:05 AM PT -- Special Prosecutor Dan K. Webb has issued a statement, saying he's disappointed with the Illinois Supreme Court decision and respectfully disagrees with overturning Jussie Smollett's criminal conviction. Webb made it clear the court's decision has nothing to do with JS' guilt or innocence and he categorically believes Smollett is guilty of perpetrating a hate crime hoax against the city of Chicago.

He also pointed out the court's ruling had nothing to do with his 2 years of work on the case because he was appointed to his special prosecution role 5 months after Cook County D.A. Kim Foxx made a plea deal with Smollett. And Webb says it was that plea agreement that led to the "unprecedented" resolution initially in the case, which was the driving factor for the Supreme Court's decision today. In other words, Webb says he did nothing wrong.

9:10 AM PT -- Jussie's attorney, Nenye Uche, tells TMZ ... Jussie is "very pleasantly surprised," even "ecstatic." Uche emphasizes the court decision was unanimous.

He points out in the age of social media, courts need to push back and defend the rule of law and due process -- watch the video, he has some suggestions about how to address that.

A deal's a deal, and that means Jussie Smollett's conviction in the hate crime hoax case is now reversed, and he cannot be tried again ... according to the Illinois Supreme Court.

Illinois' high court ruled Thursday that Jussie's deal with Cook County prosecutors -- when they originally dropped the case against him -- had to be honored. State's Attorney Kim Foxx struck a plea deal with the actor, requiring him to forfeit his $10,000 bond, and do 15 hours of volunteer community service.

The court's ruling says because Jussie held up his end of the deal -- he actually did 18 hours of service -- he should not have been subject to a second prosecution. That's when he was convicted of felony disorderly conduct and sent to jail, briefly, until he appealed the decision.

He had been sentenced to 30 months' probation with the first 150 days to be served in Cook County Jail. You'll recall Jussie made an emotional and defiant exit as the bailiff took him out of the court following his conviction.

In its ruling the Illinois Supreme Court said, "Today we resolve a question about the State's responsibility to honor the agreements it makes with defendants." In its decision the court said, simply, "the State is bound by the agreement."

Nenye Uche tells TMZ, "This was not a prosecution based on facts, rather it was a vindictive persecution and such a proceeding has no place in our criminal justice system. Ultimately, we are pleased that the rule of the law was the big winner today."

Uche thinks the case was swayed by popular opinion, but prosecutions should be based on facts -- the public wanted Jussie convicted and was not interested in reasonable doubts. Uche notes celebs and other well-known people face an uphill battle in court nowadays.

It's worth noting the Supreme Court did not weigh in on the merits of the actual case against Jussie ... and, instead, only focused on the deal prosecutors struck with him

This case goes all the way back to January 2019, when Jussie initially claimed he'd been the victim of a hate crime -- 2 men shouted "This is MAGA country" and "Aren't you that fa***t n***a from 'Empire'" ... as they put a rope around his neck and threw a liquid on him, which he believed to be bleach.

Those 2 men turned out to be brothers, Abimbola and Ola Osundairo, who were friends with Jussie. They told police Jussie had paid them to stage the whole attack.

The reversal of Jussie's conviction is reminiscent of Bill Cosby's case. Remember, he was actually doing time in prison when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed his conviction, citing a deal prosecutors had struck to not prosecute him in exchange for him sitting for a deposition in the Andrea Constand case.