Chicago — R. Kelly appeared in court Monday for the first day of his second trial in Chicago in 14 years. It started with jury selection in the federal trial. He is charged with child pornography, obstruction of justice and other charges.
Harry Leinenweber (U.S. District Judge) questioned 60 potential jurors in six hours at Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, with a focus on how much they knew about the disgraced R&B singer. The 55-year-old singer was already convicted on racketeering and sex trafficking charges in New York federal court; he was sentenced to 30 years in June and is appealing. He could be sentenced to life in Chicago if he is convicted.
Kelly — bespectacled, dressed in a grey suit, and moving with what appeared to be a slight limp — appeared alongside his three-person legal team led by celebrity lawyer Jennifer Bonjean, whose controversial clients include Bill Cosby. The pair would often consult, leaning towards each other to share information as jury selection was taking place. His ex-business manager Derrel MacDavid and Milton, were both present at the time. “June”Brown and Kelly, both of whom are accused of conspiring to intimidate, bribe witnesses, and cover up evidence at the 2008 state court trial, are being prosecuted alongside Kelly. All three have denied any wrongdoing.
Add in the prosecution team, and the area flanking Judge Leinenweber resembled a legal eagle bullpen assembly, with each legal team at a table that included flat screens, headphones, and mics that were employed — along with white noise to obscure the sidebars — after nearly almost every potential juror’s questioning, so the judge could gather more questions from the various legal parties to present to the potential jury pool.
At midday break, forty jurors had responded to questions. 16 of them were dismissed. Questions centered on whether they could be unbiased and included whether they had watched Lifetime’s explosive 2019 docuseries Surviving R. Kellyor its follow-up in 2020 and how much. Potential jurors were also questioned about their knowledge of the current trial, as well as previous ones.
They were all from different occupations and ages, including former lawyers, welders, educators, and others. One woman claimed she had watched all of Surviving R. KellyAnd a man with a postgraduate degree in classical and jazz music claimed that he knew Kelly. “a musician and that’s all I know”Both sides felt they could remain impartial and were still potential jurors. Many said they couldn’t remain objective and were therefore excused. “I’m in education and part of my job is to advocate for children,”One potential juror stated that they were intimate with someone who had been sexually assaulted. Both were excused. Others were allowed to be excused due to hardship. The trial will last for one month.
This federal trial will revisit information from the 2008 child pornography case in which Kelly was found not guilty. Back then, a now-infamous videotape of the alleged victim central to both cases depicted Kelly allegedly sexually assaulting the teenager when she was as young as 13 — identified in court documents now as Minor 1 — and she refused to testify in 2008.
Kelly and his associates were accused of conspiring to keep the victim and her relatives quiet. They also allegedly used alleged tactics, such as flying them to Bahamas in order to interview her for the investigation. Now, in 2022, the prosecution will present four videotapes showing Kelly sexually assaulting victim. The victim will also be asked to identify herself on the tapes. Kelly and his associates will also be expected to question her mother and the victim about their methods of silence. In the weeks ahead, four other accusers will also testify.
Leinenweber described his rulings on a variety of pretrial motions before the jury selection. Bonjean filed one on Sunday asking for the court to reject jurors who had been watching. Surviving R. KellyThis was denied by the judge. Other motions that were denied included McDavid’s request for more records detailing communications between a former prosecutor and Jim DeRogatis, the reporter who first brought the accusations of Kelly’s alleged sexual abuse of minors to light in 2000. McDavid’s legal team’s argument questioning the chain of custody on one of the videotapes was also denied.
Leinenweber did, however, grant prosecutors’ motion to exclude testimony from a doctor about Kelly having a low IQ.
By day’s end on Monday, more than 60 potential jurors had answered queries from the court, and more than half made it past the first round. The second half of Monday’s proceedings included a former practicing attorney who currently works for Homeland Security who advanced past the first round. A man who stated that he didn’t monitor the proceedings Surviving R. KellyChicagoan, I can attest to that. “my family was pretty invested in it,” but he doesn’t “absorb media drama.”He also made it to the second round.
On Tuesday, the jury selection will be resumed. Opening statements might also be made.