Jussie Smollett has lost his big appeal in his fake attack case, but that doesn't mean he's going straight to jail to serve his sentence ... not by a long shot.

As we reported, an Illinois appeals court ruled by a 2-1 vote to uphold his conviction for faking an "attack" on the streets of Chicago back in January 2019. He was sentenced to 150 days in jail, but only served 6 days before being freed pending appeal.

Well now the appeals court has spoken, but it's not the only appeals court. Jussie can, and has vowed, to file a petition with the Illinois Supreme Court to review his case. The High Court is not required to hear it -- it's discretionary -- but while he pushes for the Court to hear his case, he won't go back to jail.

We did some digging, and here's the way it works. Jussie has 35 days to file his appeal with the Illinois Supreme Court. It usually takes around 2 months for the court to decide whether it wants to hear a case. If they reject Jussie's, his appeals are pretty much over, and that would mean he'd be back in the pokey by late February or March.

Now if the appeal is granted, it would take around a year for the court to hear the case and make a decision. During that time, Jussie would be free. So if the Supreme Court hears the case and upholds the verdict, Jussie would go to jail, but that wouldn't happen until mid-2025!

In other words, Jussie could dodge jail for three and a half years after his conviction under that scenario.

The wheels of justice ... they grind slowly.