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R.Kelly Trial Jerhonda Pace On Direct With
No Press In Room, No Exhibits Posted On
Day 1
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Song Podcast
BBC
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FEDERAL COURT,
August 18 – 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.
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. Watch this site,
and on Twitter, @InnerCityPress
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
February 1,
Inner City
Press reported
that Richard
Airline was
set to plead guilty
on February 2.
And on
February 2, it
happened.
Inner City
Press live
tweeted it here.
On June
30, Judge Ann
M. Donnelly
released her
jury questionnaire
including:
"Do you
or have you
read any
books, blogs,
social media
sites or other
websites about
celebrities or
crimes,
including
sexual abuse,
or watch or
listen to any
TV programs,
movies,
podcasts or
documentaries
about
celebrities or
crimes,
including
sexual abuse?"
Then
Judge Donnelly
said that for
the trial, no
media in the
courtroom
and no call in
line. The
latter is ridiculous,
as
throughout the
COVID
pandemic there
have been call in
lines, and
still are in
the SDNY for
example Judge
Rakoff's
Sidney Scales
trial. Some
media wrote
in, concluding
" The
proposed
pool of six
would still
allow for
social
distancing and
masking in the
courtroom.
We therefore
respectfully
request that
this Court
reconsider its
order limiting
press
access
to this trial,
and in
recognition of
the First
Amendment
right of
access, permit
a limited pool
of
reporters to
attend this
important
trial
in-person."
Now 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.
***
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