R. Kelly is going back to trial for racketeering and sex trafficking charges. New York City federal prosecutors are requesting R. Kelly jury remain anonymous to the public, prosecutors and the defense team during proceedings.
Federal prosecutors also want R. Kelly jury to be barred from media communications, given that the singer’s trial will be a high-profile case, and that he has a history of interfering with legal proceedings.
During Kelly’s 2008 state trial in Illinois, he persuaded numerous people to make false testimonies before a grand jury.
The prosecution wants jurors to eat their lunch away from the public and be accompanied in and out the courthouse.
Steve Greenberg, the singer’s attorney, agrees with the terms.
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“We don’t want them – when they enter and leave the building, when they go to lunch or walk outside for fresh air – to be exposed to the influences of the Me Too movement,” Greenberg told CNN.
“The idea that R. Kelly is going to do anything while his case is pending to intimidate jurors or threaten jurors like some 1950s mobster is ludicrous,” Greenberg told CNN. “I’ve done cases with anonymous juries. But we, as his lawyers, should certainly know where the jurors are from, what they do for a living. The idea of jury selection is that you have some idea of whom you’re selecting.”
Kelly faces federal and state charges, CNN reported.
Kelly’s legal team has unsuccessfully tried to get the singer released from prison due to COVID-19.
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