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May 7, 2008 10:02 pm US/Central
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R. Kelly Child Pornography Trial To Start Friday
But Yet Another Delay Is Possible In 6-Year-Old Case
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
The child pornography case against rhythm and blues singer R. Kelly may have hit another snag.
The child sex case has been dragged on in courts for six years and counting now, and with trial expected to begin Friday, late word has arrived that it could be stalled, yet again.
CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports the motion was filed Wednesday, and because of a gag order imposed in the case, the public does not know exactly what it says.
It likely involves a weekend newspaper story, and could well be denied, allowing the trial to begin as scheduled
In the last six years, we have seen as much of Kelly on his way in and out of courtrooms as we have on the concert stage.
"No question it's gonna start on Friday," said CBS 2 legal analyst Irv Miller. "This motion was filed had to be filed, but there's no way Judge Gaughn is gonna continue this case any more."
A Chicago Sun-Times headline about an alleged witness to the sexual tryst almost certainly prompted the latest request for a delay. But some legal experts say in a celebrity trial, the effect of pre-trial publicity on jurors is not the real problem.
"The motivated juror is the problem," said Professor Ron Allen of Northwestern University Law School. "The problem is who has an ax to grind either for the defendant or the state. One or the other."
Despite all the publicity, including pictures of Kelly under arrest in Florida, Allen says most jurors try very hard to be fair, though the evidence in the case against Kelly will be challenging.
The singer has long denied he's the man pictured on a sex tape.
"I can say with all confidence right here that is not me because I didn't do it," Kelly said.
An FBI report won't say for sure it was Kelly on the tape. The young girl, now in her 20s will be identified by others. She herself denies she denies it was her. It's a difficult case to prove.
"If you had a situation like this with someone who wasn't a celebrity the probability that we would be going to trial is just about zero," Allen said.
Throughout his career Kelly has been dogged by allegations involving underage girls. A number of them settled before they got to court. But this case is about just one incident, one videotape and one girl.
It's taken a long time and will involve extraordinary security measures here when it starts. But it won't last very long, and whatever the outcome, is not likely to end the off-stage controversy surrounding one of Chicago's most talented performers.
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