Bee.
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Hello people.
I think today starts the opening agurments regarding R. Kelly's trial. Finally the trial begins to see what is the real deal here. I have a lot of opinions about the Kels but one thing is for sure, innocent until proven guilty. I will give that right to Kells.
I have some rules here that I want everyone to respect:
1. Please, please, PLEASE do not even compare this trial to Michael's trial in ANY WAY! I do not care if you are trying to "make a point". Mike's trial and Kels' trial are two different things.
2. This thread is for news and discussion ONLY. Nothing else.
3. Please, try to be respectful and if you have somthing to post that is news worthy, please post it. Make sure the news information comes with links. Sidenote: I am iffy of posting things from gossip blogs such as tmz, bossip, or perezhilton.com. However, that doesn't mean that you cannot post them. Just that, I will not post them on here.
4. Do not bash others. Just make a point and leave it at that.
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=194075
Opening arguments set to begin in R. Kelly trial
By Christy Gutowski | Daily Herald StaffContact writer
Published: 5/20/2008 7:10 AM | Updated: 5/20/2008 11:50 AM
He rose from poverty on Chicago's South Side, inspired by a single mother, who helped him find his voice, and soared to heights that not even his dreams could eclipse.
The soulful R&B superstar achieved fortune and fame, sold millions of albums, won his industry's top honors, and even wrote hits for the legends who inspired him as a youth.
But, for the past six years, R. Kelly has lived under a criminal indictment that threatens the very future he managed to escape while growing up in the city's impoverished projects.
That irony takes center stage today as Kelly's long-awaited child pornography trial gets under way with lawyers' opening statements in Chicago. His 12-member jury was selected last week.
The Grammy-winning hit maker, whose first name is Robert, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of child pornography. Kelly, 41, who lives in Olympia Fields, has pleaded innocent.
Prosecutors allege Kelly made a 30-minute sexually explicit videotape between Jan. 1, 1998, and Nov. 1, 2000, and that the girl it features was born in September 1984. A
Cook County grand jury indicted Kelly June 5, 2002, after the tape surfaced.
Bootleg copies later were sold illegally on the Internet and street corners.
The prosecution, led by Shauna Boliker, who heads the office's sex-crimes division, faces a unique challenge. His alleged accuser, now 23, isn't cooperating. In fact, she's expected to deny that is her depicted while testifying for the defense. And the defense team, headed by veteran attorney Edward Genson, hasn't admitted that it is Kelly in the video.
The jury of eight men, four women includes a pastor's wife; a young rape survivor; a criminal justice student; a Romanian immigrant; a teacher's aide and several parents. Eight of the members are white.
This isn't the only time Kelly has faced such allegations, though it does mark his first trial. In 2003, he was arrested in Florida on child pornography charges after police said a search of his home netted sexually explicit photos of him having sex with a minor. The allegations later were dismissed after a judge ruled detectives illegally seized the photos in his home.
It also has been widely reported that Kelly settled three lawsuits in which he was accused of having sex with underage girls.
It's unclear if the jury will be told of the civil suits.
In an attempt to avoid a circus-like atmosphere, Cook County Circuit Judge Vincent Gaughan has set down draconian rules for the trial -- from a gag order on the attorneys to sealed court documents, closed-door meetings and threats of jail for any member of the media who bends the rules. The judge already jailed a grandmother for several days and had her cell phone destroyed after she used the phone's camera to snap a photo during one of Kelly's earlier court appearances.
Kelly credits his singer mother, Joann, who died of cancer in 1993, with inspiring him to pursue music. Discovered at a neighborhood barbecue, Kelly scored his best-known hit, "I Believe I Can Fly," on the soundtrack to the Michael Jordan 1996 movie "Space Jam." He has been called a musical genius known for lyrics that exploit sex as a form of artistic specialty, with other hits that include "Bump N' Grind," "Ignition," and his video series, "Trapped in the Closet."
Opening statements in the singer, songwriter and producer's trial are expected to begin today, after which prosecutors will begin presenting their evidence. The cornerstone of their case will be the 30-minute videotape, which will be played in court.
• The Associated Press contributed to this report.
-----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.wthitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8352823
Juror dismissed as opening arguments set to begin in R. Kelly trial
Associated Press - May 20, 2008 12:24 PM ET
CHICAGO (AP) - A juror in R&B star R. Kelly's child pornography was dismissed this morning after she complained that sitting on the panel would leave her unable to pay her bills.
The woman told a judge that she only has 30 hours of vacation time at her job and wouldn't be paid for serving on the jury after that time expires.
She says she'd be unable to pay attention to her jury duties because of concern over their financial implication.
She's being replaced by 1 of 4 alternate jurors.
Kelly's accused of videotaping himself having sex with a female as young as 13.
The 41-year-old singer pleaded not guilty and faces up to 15 years if convicted.
Opening statements are set to begin today.
Kelly arrived at a courthouse around 9:30 this morning, escorted by an entourage. He sported his signature cornrows and a navy pin striped suit.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1587729/20080519/id_0.jhtml
May 20 2008 8:00 AM EDT
As R. Kelly Trial Finally Begins, Meet The Key Players In The Courtroom
We offer insight into the judge, prosecution and defense behind the long-delayed child-pornography trial.
By Jennifer Vineyard
CHICAGO — You already know the defendant. You already know the jury. But who are the major players in R. Kelly's child-pornography trial, which starts with opening arguments Tuesday? And what effect will their backgrounds and experience have on the case? Here's a look at the judge, prosecution and defense.
THE R. KELLY TRIAL: IN BRIEF
Status of Trial
Opening arguments begin on May 20
The Charges
Kelly faces 14 counts of child pornography — seven for directing, seven for producing.
What's at Stake?
Kelly faces 15 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. If convicted, he'd have to register as a sex offender.
The Judge
Judge Vincent Gaughan, 66, can be a tough guy when it comes to presiding over his courtroom. He has already jailed one observer for contempt of court after she snapped a picture of R. Kelly on her cell phone. He has admonished Kelly on several occasions, for failing to call his probation officer one of the first times the singer was allowed outside the jurisdiction and for failing to show up to court for a hearing last December. (Gaughan ordered him to cancel a concert date to ensure his appearance at the makeup hearing date.)
But he's not a Scrooge. Over the past six years, he's given Kelly a number of breaks, allowing him out of the jurisdiction and to perform concert tours in the first place and not revoking his bond and jailing him whenever the singer goofed up.
Some might argue that those many tours delayed the trial. However, when potential jurors referred to the delay during the jury-selection process, Gaughan was quick to tell them that the delay was partly his fault, as he fell off a ladder trying to fix a skylight in July 2006 and broke his shoulder, leg, seven ribs and four vertebrae. Gaughan got right back to work soon after he recovered, presiding over a major murder trial known locally as Brown's Chicken — in which one defendant was sentenced to life in prison for a 1993 massacre at a fast-food eatery (the second defendant goes to trial next year). Much of the courtroom procedure in the Kelly trial has been adopted from the Brown's Chicken courtroom experience, as well as the Michael Jackson trial. Gaughan consulted with California court officials to make sure the R. Kelly trial didn't become as much of a media circus.
Gaughan has kept publicity to a minimum (including keeping some hearings closed and some documents sealed, at least until the conclusion of the trial), which could prevent the singer from having a fair trial. He denied a request from the press to lift the court decorum order, which bars lawyers and witnesses from discussing the case with the media, but tries to make light of it. When one reporter grabbed a soda intended for prospective jurors, he joked, "You can drink it, but you can't talk to it!"
Gaughan, who earned a Bronze Star for valor in Vietnam, has also been quick to thank prospective jurors with military backgrounds for serving their country.
The Prosecution
Assistant State's Attorney Shauna Boliker, 48, doesn't act like any stereotypical prosecutor you might see on "Law & Order" or other courtroom dramas. She's sunny and friendly, despite her draining work in Cook County's Sex Crimes Division, which she's headed since 2003, where she's responsible for all crimes of sexual assault, child pornography, Internet solicitation and clergy abuse.
One of Boliker's last big cases (of the 75 trials she's prosecuted) involved Catholic priest Daniel McCormack, who pleaded guilty to molesting five boys in his parish when Boliker reached an agreement with him to serve a lesser sentence of five years in order to spare the victims from having to testify. That case came up during the R. Kelly jury-selection process, as a prospective juror turned out to be a teacher's assistant at the very school McCormack's victims attended. Boliker picked up on the connection but kept the juror anyway.
When explaining some of the delays in R. Kelly's trial, Judge Gaughan also told prospective jurors that one factor was Boliker having a baby last August. At one point in between jurors, a blushing Boliker asked the judge to not mention her last pregnancy quite so much. "Why?" he asked in surprise. "When you have children as wonderful as yours?" (She has three sons.) Boliker had planned to go to work immediately after a very short maternity leave, but her doctor ordered bed rest just three weeks before the trial was set to start.
Boliker made local headlines for changing her own flat tire — despite being eight months pregnant — en route to the criminal courthouse in the 95-degree heat last summer. And during the course of one murder trial, a tooth flew out of her mouth during closing arguments, yet despite the missing tooth, she continued — and won the case.
Joining her at the prosecution table will be fellow Assistant State's Attorney Robert Heilingoetter.
The Defense
Kelly's lead attorney is Ed Genson, 66, who is a man of contradictions. He's known as the guy celebrities, politicians and alleged mobsters — from Shia LaBeouf to former Congressman Mel Reynolds to media mogul Conrad Black — call when they're in trouble in Chicago, but he's not known for always winning.
One client, Frank Caruso Jr. (from alleged crime family the Rotis), was convicted of aggravated battery and sentenced to eight years (later reduced to two). Another client, former state Senator John D'Arco, was found guilty on extortion and bribery charges. Black is doing time for obstruction of justice and mail fraud. And Reynolds, who was up on charges of sexual misconduct and child pornography in 1995 (Genson's only other case prior to Kelly's involving a sex crime), was convicted and sentenced to five years.
Thanks to the neuromuscular disorder dystonia, Genson arrives to the courtroom on a motorized scooter. He uses a cane to walk around, his head and hands shake, and he stammers when he talks. And yet, this works to his advantage in a courtroom (he once said that he purposely uses his disability to gain sympathy from the jury but later tried to take back the statement). A king at cross-examination, Genson catches people off-guard with what appears to be a disorganized, bumbling personality and then turns on a dime to reveal a sharp mind. He often asks his questions while sitting down on a stool.
Joining Genson at the defense table are attorneys Marc Martin, Sam Adam Sr. and Sam Adam Jr. And during jury selection, they were joined by jury consultant J. Lee Meihls, who worked for the defense during the Michael Jackson trial. Is this a dream team? Only time will tell.
I think today starts the opening agurments regarding R. Kelly's trial. Finally the trial begins to see what is the real deal here. I have a lot of opinions about the Kels but one thing is for sure, innocent until proven guilty. I will give that right to Kells.
I have some rules here that I want everyone to respect:
1. Please, please, PLEASE do not even compare this trial to Michael's trial in ANY WAY! I do not care if you are trying to "make a point". Mike's trial and Kels' trial are two different things.
2. This thread is for news and discussion ONLY. Nothing else.
3. Please, try to be respectful and if you have somthing to post that is news worthy, please post it. Make sure the news information comes with links. Sidenote: I am iffy of posting things from gossip blogs such as tmz, bossip, or perezhilton.com. However, that doesn't mean that you cannot post them. Just that, I will not post them on here.
4. Do not bash others. Just make a point and leave it at that.
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=194075
Opening arguments set to begin in R. Kelly trial
By Christy Gutowski | Daily Herald StaffContact writer
Published: 5/20/2008 7:10 AM | Updated: 5/20/2008 11:50 AM
He rose from poverty on Chicago's South Side, inspired by a single mother, who helped him find his voice, and soared to heights that not even his dreams could eclipse.
The soulful R&B superstar achieved fortune and fame, sold millions of albums, won his industry's top honors, and even wrote hits for the legends who inspired him as a youth.
But, for the past six years, R. Kelly has lived under a criminal indictment that threatens the very future he managed to escape while growing up in the city's impoverished projects.
That irony takes center stage today as Kelly's long-awaited child pornography trial gets under way with lawyers' opening statements in Chicago. His 12-member jury was selected last week.
The Grammy-winning hit maker, whose first name is Robert, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of child pornography. Kelly, 41, who lives in Olympia Fields, has pleaded innocent.
Prosecutors allege Kelly made a 30-minute sexually explicit videotape between Jan. 1, 1998, and Nov. 1, 2000, and that the girl it features was born in September 1984. A
Cook County grand jury indicted Kelly June 5, 2002, after the tape surfaced.
Bootleg copies later were sold illegally on the Internet and street corners.
The prosecution, led by Shauna Boliker, who heads the office's sex-crimes division, faces a unique challenge. His alleged accuser, now 23, isn't cooperating. In fact, she's expected to deny that is her depicted while testifying for the defense. And the defense team, headed by veteran attorney Edward Genson, hasn't admitted that it is Kelly in the video.
The jury of eight men, four women includes a pastor's wife; a young rape survivor; a criminal justice student; a Romanian immigrant; a teacher's aide and several parents. Eight of the members are white.
This isn't the only time Kelly has faced such allegations, though it does mark his first trial. In 2003, he was arrested in Florida on child pornography charges after police said a search of his home netted sexually explicit photos of him having sex with a minor. The allegations later were dismissed after a judge ruled detectives illegally seized the photos in his home.
It also has been widely reported that Kelly settled three lawsuits in which he was accused of having sex with underage girls.
It's unclear if the jury will be told of the civil suits.
In an attempt to avoid a circus-like atmosphere, Cook County Circuit Judge Vincent Gaughan has set down draconian rules for the trial -- from a gag order on the attorneys to sealed court documents, closed-door meetings and threats of jail for any member of the media who bends the rules. The judge already jailed a grandmother for several days and had her cell phone destroyed after she used the phone's camera to snap a photo during one of Kelly's earlier court appearances.
Kelly credits his singer mother, Joann, who died of cancer in 1993, with inspiring him to pursue music. Discovered at a neighborhood barbecue, Kelly scored his best-known hit, "I Believe I Can Fly," on the soundtrack to the Michael Jordan 1996 movie "Space Jam." He has been called a musical genius known for lyrics that exploit sex as a form of artistic specialty, with other hits that include "Bump N' Grind," "Ignition," and his video series, "Trapped in the Closet."
Opening statements in the singer, songwriter and producer's trial are expected to begin today, after which prosecutors will begin presenting their evidence. The cornerstone of their case will be the 30-minute videotape, which will be played in court.
• The Associated Press contributed to this report.
-----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.wthitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=8352823
Juror dismissed as opening arguments set to begin in R. Kelly trial
Associated Press - May 20, 2008 12:24 PM ET
CHICAGO (AP) - A juror in R&B star R. Kelly's child pornography was dismissed this morning after she complained that sitting on the panel would leave her unable to pay her bills.
The woman told a judge that she only has 30 hours of vacation time at her job and wouldn't be paid for serving on the jury after that time expires.
She says she'd be unable to pay attention to her jury duties because of concern over their financial implication.
She's being replaced by 1 of 4 alternate jurors.
Kelly's accused of videotaping himself having sex with a female as young as 13.
The 41-year-old singer pleaded not guilty and faces up to 15 years if convicted.
Opening statements are set to begin today.
Kelly arrived at a courthouse around 9:30 this morning, escorted by an entourage. He sported his signature cornrows and a navy pin striped suit.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1587729/20080519/id_0.jhtml
May 20 2008 8:00 AM EDT
As R. Kelly Trial Finally Begins, Meet The Key Players In The Courtroom
We offer insight into the judge, prosecution and defense behind the long-delayed child-pornography trial.
By Jennifer Vineyard
CHICAGO — You already know the defendant. You already know the jury. But who are the major players in R. Kelly's child-pornography trial, which starts with opening arguments Tuesday? And what effect will their backgrounds and experience have on the case? Here's a look at the judge, prosecution and defense.
THE R. KELLY TRIAL: IN BRIEF
Status of Trial
Opening arguments begin on May 20
The Charges
Kelly faces 14 counts of child pornography — seven for directing, seven for producing.
What's at Stake?
Kelly faces 15 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. If convicted, he'd have to register as a sex offender.
The Judge
Judge Vincent Gaughan, 66, can be a tough guy when it comes to presiding over his courtroom. He has already jailed one observer for contempt of court after she snapped a picture of R. Kelly on her cell phone. He has admonished Kelly on several occasions, for failing to call his probation officer one of the first times the singer was allowed outside the jurisdiction and for failing to show up to court for a hearing last December. (Gaughan ordered him to cancel a concert date to ensure his appearance at the makeup hearing date.)
But he's not a Scrooge. Over the past six years, he's given Kelly a number of breaks, allowing him out of the jurisdiction and to perform concert tours in the first place and not revoking his bond and jailing him whenever the singer goofed up.
Some might argue that those many tours delayed the trial. However, when potential jurors referred to the delay during the jury-selection process, Gaughan was quick to tell them that the delay was partly his fault, as he fell off a ladder trying to fix a skylight in July 2006 and broke his shoulder, leg, seven ribs and four vertebrae. Gaughan got right back to work soon after he recovered, presiding over a major murder trial known locally as Brown's Chicken — in which one defendant was sentenced to life in prison for a 1993 massacre at a fast-food eatery (the second defendant goes to trial next year). Much of the courtroom procedure in the Kelly trial has been adopted from the Brown's Chicken courtroom experience, as well as the Michael Jackson trial. Gaughan consulted with California court officials to make sure the R. Kelly trial didn't become as much of a media circus.
Gaughan has kept publicity to a minimum (including keeping some hearings closed and some documents sealed, at least until the conclusion of the trial), which could prevent the singer from having a fair trial. He denied a request from the press to lift the court decorum order, which bars lawyers and witnesses from discussing the case with the media, but tries to make light of it. When one reporter grabbed a soda intended for prospective jurors, he joked, "You can drink it, but you can't talk to it!"
Gaughan, who earned a Bronze Star for valor in Vietnam, has also been quick to thank prospective jurors with military backgrounds for serving their country.
The Prosecution
Assistant State's Attorney Shauna Boliker, 48, doesn't act like any stereotypical prosecutor you might see on "Law & Order" or other courtroom dramas. She's sunny and friendly, despite her draining work in Cook County's Sex Crimes Division, which she's headed since 2003, where she's responsible for all crimes of sexual assault, child pornography, Internet solicitation and clergy abuse.
One of Boliker's last big cases (of the 75 trials she's prosecuted) involved Catholic priest Daniel McCormack, who pleaded guilty to molesting five boys in his parish when Boliker reached an agreement with him to serve a lesser sentence of five years in order to spare the victims from having to testify. That case came up during the R. Kelly jury-selection process, as a prospective juror turned out to be a teacher's assistant at the very school McCormack's victims attended. Boliker picked up on the connection but kept the juror anyway.
When explaining some of the delays in R. Kelly's trial, Judge Gaughan also told prospective jurors that one factor was Boliker having a baby last August. At one point in between jurors, a blushing Boliker asked the judge to not mention her last pregnancy quite so much. "Why?" he asked in surprise. "When you have children as wonderful as yours?" (She has three sons.) Boliker had planned to go to work immediately after a very short maternity leave, but her doctor ordered bed rest just three weeks before the trial was set to start.
Boliker made local headlines for changing her own flat tire — despite being eight months pregnant — en route to the criminal courthouse in the 95-degree heat last summer. And during the course of one murder trial, a tooth flew out of her mouth during closing arguments, yet despite the missing tooth, she continued — and won the case.
Joining her at the prosecution table will be fellow Assistant State's Attorney Robert Heilingoetter.
The Defense
Kelly's lead attorney is Ed Genson, 66, who is a man of contradictions. He's known as the guy celebrities, politicians and alleged mobsters — from Shia LaBeouf to former Congressman Mel Reynolds to media mogul Conrad Black — call when they're in trouble in Chicago, but he's not known for always winning.
One client, Frank Caruso Jr. (from alleged crime family the Rotis), was convicted of aggravated battery and sentenced to eight years (later reduced to two). Another client, former state Senator John D'Arco, was found guilty on extortion and bribery charges. Black is doing time for obstruction of justice and mail fraud. And Reynolds, who was up on charges of sexual misconduct and child pornography in 1995 (Genson's only other case prior to Kelly's involving a sex crime), was convicted and sentenced to five years.
Thanks to the neuromuscular disorder dystonia, Genson arrives to the courtroom on a motorized scooter. He uses a cane to walk around, his head and hands shake, and he stammers when he talks. And yet, this works to his advantage in a courtroom (he once said that he purposely uses his disability to gain sympathy from the jury but later tried to take back the statement). A king at cross-examination, Genson catches people off-guard with what appears to be a disorganized, bumbling personality and then turns on a dime to reveal a sharp mind. He often asks his questions while sitting down on a stool.
Joining Genson at the defense table are attorneys Marc Martin, Sam Adam Sr. and Sam Adam Jr. And during jury selection, they were joined by jury consultant J. Lee Meihls, who worked for the defense during the Michael Jackson trial. Is this a dream team? Only time will tell.
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