R. Kelly’s legal woes appear to have no end in sight as his lawyers asked a judge on Monday, July 5, to postpone his sex trafficking trial in New York City, which currently is set to begin on Aug. 9. Kelly’s attorneys argued that they haven’t had enough time to prepare because he has been under a mandatory jail quarantine since his transfer from Chicago.
The “I Believe I Can Fly” singer was placed in quarantine when he arrived at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, on June 22 from Chicago, where he was being held on similar charges. Tuesday, July 6, will mark 14 days since Kelly’s transfer to Brooklyn.
According to The Associated Press, Kelly’s lawyer Deveraux Cannick wrote in a letter to U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly that the singer’s 14-day quarantine ending Tuesday has exacerbated what Cannick called a “herculean effort” for his new attorneys to get up to speed after their June 21 hiring. Cannick also argued in the letter that Kelly’s new lawyers haven’t been able to meet with him in person because of the quarantine and that proceeding with his trial as scheduled would rob him of effective and meaningful representation.
“Robert is anxious to have his day in court; however not at the expense of his Sixth Amendment rights,” Cannick further wrote, adding that the request was not a delay tactic.
Donnelly has yet to rule on the filing, and federal prosecutors have yet to respond to Cannick’s request.
Kelly is facing charges in New York alleging that for more than 20 years he was the leader of a racketeering enterprise made up of managers, bodyguards, drivers, personal assistants and runners, who recruited women and girls to engage in illicit sexual activity with the platinum-selling vocalist and songwriter. He has denied all the charges he’s facing.
