FEDERAL COURT,
August 19 – The morning of
jury selection in the R.Kelly
trial, which began on August
18 with no call-in line and no
Press or public in the
courtroom, his lawyers
docketed a motion
to dismiss, below.
Reverse chronological:
On
Day 2,
Jerhonda Pace
was cross
examined, with
Deveraux
Cannick asking
her about a
settlement she
signed stated
that she
agreed she
never revealed
to Kelly that
she was a
minor. Dr.
Kris McGrath
was questioned
by AUSA Nadia
Shihata
Police Officer
Garrick Amschl
of the Olympia
Fields Police
Department
testified. And
(much) later,
20 exhibits,
with Inner
City Press
immediately
posting nine
of them, here.
As Inner City
Press noted
mid-day, Judge
Donnelly
admonished
R.Kelly's
defense... for
a tweet. Inner
City Press has
reached out
and will
report
results.
On Day 1 of
the trial, August 18, after
openings by Assistant U.S.
Attorney Maria Cruz Melendez
and then defense counsel Nicole
Blank Becker, the first
government witness, Jerhonda
Pace ("Jane Doe #4") testified
on direct examination. The
docket reflects: "Witness
sworn and testified. Exhibits
marked and entered into
evidence." But as of 9:45 pm,
none of the exhibits were
available.
Inner City
Press which successfully
advocated for the restoration
of call-in access to January 6
proceedings in the District
for the District of Columbia,
did an August 18 stand-up
outside the U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York, here
From the motion
to dismiss: "Mr. r. Kelly
respectfully submits this
memorandum of law in support
of his pre-trial motion
to dismiss in advance of trial
in this matter, which is
scheduled to commence on
August 18, 2021. This
motion seeks to dismiss the
predicate acts alleged in
Count 1, numbers 12 and 14, as
well as the Mann Act
violations alleged in Count 6
through Count 9 and in Count 1
Racketeering Act 1,
Racketeering Act 2,
Racketeering Act 3,
Racketeering 7, Racketeering
Act 10 and dispute the
venue in the third superseding
indictment filed on March 13,
2020, pursuant to the Rule
12(b)(2) of the Federal
Rules of Criminal Procedure."
Inner City
Press is publishing the full
memo on its DocumentCloud, here.
There was an R.Kelly
arraignment amid the COVID-19
pandemic on April 30 before
U.S. District Court for the
Eastern District of New York
Magistrate Judge Cheryl
L. Pollak. It
was short -
not guilty
plea - but
revealed that
the
Metropolitan
Correctional
Center in
Chicago has a
new medical
report on
R.Kelly that
may become
part of a
renewed bail
application.
Inner City
Press live
tweeted it here;
more on
Patreon here.
On July
28, Judge
Donnelly has
denied even
this: "Before
the Court is a
request that
the Court
“permit a pool
of six
reporters to
attend the
trial in
person in the
actual
courtroom.” The
request is
denied. The
COVID-19
pandemic has
posed unique
challenges to
the work of
this Court, as
it has to
courts around
the country.
The Eastern
District of
New York has
risen to these
challenges,
resuming
in-person
proceedings,
including
trials, while
taking steps
to ensure the
safety of the
public and
courthouse
personnel.
After
consultation
with experts,
the Chief
Judge issued a
series of
Administrative
Orders and
implemented
safety
measures in
the
courthouse,
including
temperature
checks,
symptom
screening, a
mask
requirement
and social
distancing.
have been
reconfigured
to meet these
needs. As a
consequence,
jurors no
longer sit in
the jury box,
as they did
before the
pandemic, but
in the
gallery, which
previously was
occupied by
the public,
including
members of the
press. Social
distancing
protocols
require that
the jurors be
spaced out in
the gallery,
leaving no
room for the
public. It
would be
inappropriate
to seat the
jurors with
members of the
public,
including
reporters,
even if there
were adequate
space. That is
especially
true in this
case, where
the jury will
be anonymous
and partially
sequestered... Although
spectators may
not be able to
view the trial
from inside
the courtroom
because of the
social
distancing
required of
trial
participants
and jurors,
the feed in
the overflow
rooms will be
in real-time.
Moreover, even
in
non-pandemic
times,
courtrooms are
physically
limited
spaces; it is
often the case
that
spectators are
unable to sit
in the
courtroom, and
must instead
go to an
overflow room.
There is no
reasonable
alternative to
the protocols
adopted by
this District."
If
COVID is
the reason,
why no call-in
line,
such as Inner
City Press
requested and
obtained elsewhere?
We'll
have more on
this, and related
issues.
Inner City Press will continue
to follow and report on the
case. It is US v. Robert
Sylvester Kelly, a/k/a R.
Kelly, EDNY Docket No.
19-cr-286 (AMD). More on Patreon here.
***
Your
support means a lot. As little as $5 a month
helps keep us going and grants you access to
exclusive bonus material on our Patreon
page. Click
here to become a patron.
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
SDNY Press Room 480, front cubicle
500 Pearl Street, NY NY 10007 USA
Mail: Box 20047, Dag
Hammarskjold Station NY NY 10017
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other, earlier Inner City Press are
listed here,
and some are available in the ProQuest
service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-2021 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com for
,
