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R. Kelly trial off to secretive start
R. Kelly trial off to secretive start
"The Chicago Tribune"
May 10, 2008
Kelly trial off to secretive start
News media outside as jury selection starts in porn case
By Stacy St. Clair
After R. Kelly's attorneys failed in a last passionate argument to
once again delay his trial, the R&B superstar faced a courtroom
crowded with potential jurors to hear the case against him.
"Good afternoon, everybody," he said when the judge introduced him
alongside his defense team, according to a court transcript.
Exactly how the opening moment of a trial six years in the making
played out is unclear, however, because sheriff's deputies barred
reporters from entering the courtroom. In a case kept shrouded in
secrecy by Cook County Circuit Judge Vincent Gaughan, the opening
moments of the trial were also behind closed doors.
The media's exclusion was the final act in a day in which emotions ran
high for most parties involved with the case.
The tension could be seen everywhere:
In the defense attorney who asked the entire jury pool to be dismissed
and dramatically called for a special prosecutor to investigate leaks
in the case.
With the news media that grew impatient—and then angry—when barred
from the courtroom on two occasions.
And in Cook County sheriff's deputies who confessed to having "first-
day jitters," when they were tripped up by their own stringent decorum
rules.
Simply put, it was not how officials envisioned the weekslong trial
beginning after spending nearly a year preparing for its arrival.
"As you know, this is a high-profile case," Gaughan told jurors,
according to transcripts. "And if you don't know, God love you. You're
probably the only person on earth that doesn't."
Kelly, 41, faces 14 counts of child pornography for a videotape
authorities say was shot between Jan. 1, 1998, and Oct. 1, 2000, and
shows him engaging in a variety of sex acts with a girl as young as
13. He has pleaded not guilty.
The Grammy-winning singer appeared in court wearing a steel blue suit
and his trademark braids. In keeping with his typically somber
courthouse manner, he did not speak to the news media or fans on his
way into the building.
The proceedings began with a dramatic flourish as the defense team
waved a photocopy of the Sun-Times' Friday front page, which featured
a headline proclaiming Kelly paid off a witness. Attorney Marc Martin
denied the allegations in the story, which quoted anonymous sources,
and said the singer could not receive a fair trial given the current
publicity.
"It's not the subject of any evidence expected to be adduced by the
state," Martin said."It's our position that this jury pool . . . has
been irreparably poisoned."
Martin also made a portion of his arguments during a closed hearing,
the first of two proceedings from which the news media were denied
entry. The first secret meeting involved evidence the judge sealed and
barred the public from accessing because he said it would jeopardize
Kelly's right to a fair trial.
Gaughan refused to delay the trial or dismiss the entire jury pool.
However, he did say he would consider appointing a special prosecutor
to investigate leaks in the case.
The judge then cleared the courtroom and roughly 150 potential jurors
were escorted inside. After briefly explaining how the selection
process would work, transcripts show Gaughan read the indictment, a
detailed list of charges against Kelly. The document has been kept
from public view since Kelly's arraignment in 2002.
As the charges were read in public for the first time, reporters
waited to be admitted inside the courtroom. When it became apparent
the proceedings had begun, the journalists—representing local,
national and international news agencies—reminded law-enforcement
officials that they had a right to attend the selection process.
Authorities said the news media had adequate representation because
three sketch artists had been admitted and that judge's 17-page
decorum order prevented them from allowing anyone to enter the
courtroom once proceedings began. They also insisted they had allowed
spectators and two Kelly bodyguards inside the courtroom, thus meeting
the legal burden of conducting a public trial.
Media law experts said they were stunned by the press' exclusion. They
said judges can take steps to keep certain information private, such
as the identity of a minor victim of a sex crime, but the judge's
actions should be no broader than necessary to achieve that goal.
"My reaction is I'm shocked," said J. Steven Beckett, director of the
trial advocacy program at the University of Illinois College of Law.
"Introductory remarks at the beginning of a trial? Those are open.
Those are open everywhere. I can't think of a reason to have it
closed."
The reporters notified local attorney Terry Sullivan, who is serving
as the judge's media liaison during the case, of their exclusion.
Sullivan said he asked a deputy to pass the judge a note asking him to
halt the proceedings so the news media could enter.
The judge's response, according to Sullivan, was: "No, not right now."
Gaughan later told reporters that he had not be informed the press had
been locked out.
Law-enforcement officials later acknowledged they had made a mistake
and said they had become the victims of the court's own stringent
rules.
"To be honest, it was first-day jitters," Sheriff's Deputy Lt. Kenneth
Promisco said.
Still, a lawyer for several local news agencies—including the Tribune,
Sun-Times and Associated Press—has notified court officials of their
objections to the exclusion.
"The press is the representative of those who can't be there," said
attorney Damon Dunn, who represents the media groups.
This is not the first time Gaughan has barred the press from his
courtroom in this case. The judge held a series of secret hearings in
April, despite a legal challenge from the news agencies.
Jurors filled out their questionnaires in private and were dismissed
for the day with instructions on when to return for questioning. The
attorneys expect the selection process, which resumes Monday, to take
about a week.
Tribune reporter Michael Higgins contributed to this report.
Copyright 2008 "The Chicago Tribune."
Jaime
"The Chicago Tribune"
May 10, 2008
Kelly trial off to secretive start
News media outside as jury selection starts in porn case
By Stacy St. Clair
After R. Kelly's attorneys failed in a last passionate argument to
once again delay his trial, the R&B superstar faced a courtroom
crowded with potential jurors to hear the case against him.
"Good afternoon, everybody," he said when the judge introduced him
alongside his defense team, according to a court transcript.
Exactly how the opening moment of a trial six years in the making
played out is unclear, however, because sheriff's deputies barred
reporters from entering the courtroom. In a case kept shrouded in
secrecy by Cook County Circuit Judge Vincent Gaughan, the opening
moments of the trial were also behind closed doors.
The media's exclusion was the final act in a day in which emotions ran
high for most parties involved with the case.
The tension could be seen everywhere:
In the defense attorney who asked the entire jury pool to be dismissed
and dramatically called for a special prosecutor to investigate leaks
in the case.
With the news media that grew impatient—and then angry—when barred
from the courtroom on two occasions.
And in Cook County sheriff's deputies who confessed to having "first-
day jitters," when they were tripped up by their own stringent decorum
rules.
Simply put, it was not how officials envisioned the weekslong trial
beginning after spending nearly a year preparing for its arrival.
"As you know, this is a high-profile case," Gaughan told jurors,
according to transcripts. "And if you don't know, God love you. You're
probably the only person on earth that doesn't."
Kelly, 41, faces 14 counts of child pornography for a videotape
authorities say was shot between Jan. 1, 1998, and Oct. 1, 2000, and
shows him engaging in a variety of sex acts with a girl as young as
13. He has pleaded not guilty.
The Grammy-winning singer appeared in court wearing a steel blue suit
and his trademark braids. In keeping with his typically somber
courthouse manner, he did not speak to the news media or fans on his
way into the building.
The proceedings began with a dramatic flourish as the defense team
waved a photocopy of the Sun-Times' Friday front page, which featured
a headline proclaiming Kelly paid off a witness. Attorney Marc Martin
denied the allegations in the story, which quoted anonymous sources,
and said the singer could not receive a fair trial given the current
publicity.
"It's not the subject of any evidence expected to be adduced by the
state," Martin said."It's our position that this jury pool . . . has
been irreparably poisoned."
Martin also made a portion of his arguments during a closed hearing,
the first of two proceedings from which the news media were denied
entry. The first secret meeting involved evidence the judge sealed and
barred the public from accessing because he said it would jeopardize
Kelly's right to a fair trial.
Gaughan refused to delay the trial or dismiss the entire jury pool.
However, he did say he would consider appointing a special prosecutor
to investigate leaks in the case.
The judge then cleared the courtroom and roughly 150 potential jurors
were escorted inside. After briefly explaining how the selection
process would work, transcripts show Gaughan read the indictment, a
detailed list of charges against Kelly. The document has been kept
from public view since Kelly's arraignment in 2002.
As the charges were read in public for the first time, reporters
waited to be admitted inside the courtroom. When it became apparent
the proceedings had begun, the journalists—representing local,
national and international news agencies—reminded law-enforcement
officials that they had a right to attend the selection process.
Authorities said the news media had adequate representation because
three sketch artists had been admitted and that judge's 17-page
decorum order prevented them from allowing anyone to enter the
courtroom once proceedings began. They also insisted they had allowed
spectators and two Kelly bodyguards inside the courtroom, thus meeting
the legal burden of conducting a public trial.
Media law experts said they were stunned by the press' exclusion. They
said judges can take steps to keep certain information private, such
as the identity of a minor victim of a sex crime, but the judge's
actions should be no broader than necessary to achieve that goal.
"My reaction is I'm shocked," said J. Steven Beckett, director of the
trial advocacy program at the University of Illinois College of Law.
"Introductory remarks at the beginning of a trial? Those are open.
Those are open everywhere. I can't think of a reason to have it
closed."
The reporters notified local attorney Terry Sullivan, who is serving
as the judge's media liaison during the case, of their exclusion.
Sullivan said he asked a deputy to pass the judge a note asking him to
halt the proceedings so the news media could enter.
The judge's response, according to Sullivan, was: "No, not right now."
Gaughan later told reporters that he had not be informed the press had
been locked out.
Law-enforcement officials later acknowledged they had made a mistake
and said they had become the victims of the court's own stringent
rules.
"To be honest, it was first-day jitters," Sheriff's Deputy Lt. Kenneth
Promisco said.
Still, a lawyer for several local news agencies—including the Tribune,
Sun-Times and Associated Press—has notified court officials of their
objections to the exclusion.
"The press is the representative of those who can't be there," said
attorney Damon Dunn, who represents the media groups.
This is not the first time Gaughan has barred the press from his
courtroom in this case. The judge held a series of secret hearings in
April, despite a legal challenge from the news agencies.
Jurors filled out their questionnaires in private and were dismissed
for the day with instructions on when to return for questioning. The
attorneys expect the selection process, which resumes Monday, to take
about a week.
Tribune reporter Michael Higgins contributed to this report.
Copyright 2008 "The Chicago Tribune."
Jaime
