R. Kelly is not going down without a fight and has added one of Bill Cosby’s attorneys to his legal team to help appeal his racketeering conviction in New York.
The Chicago Tribune reports that attorney Jennifer Bonjean filed her appearance in Kelly’s case in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn on Friday, Oct. 29, where Kelly was convicted in September of racketeering and sex abuse charges. Bonjean led Cosby’s appeal of his sex crimes conviction in Pennsylvania and helped the 84-year-old comedian declare his freedom.
Bonjean told the Chicago Tribune she will spearhead Kelly’s post-conviction motions and, should U.S. District Judge Anne Donnelly deny Kelly a new trial, work on an appeal before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will ensue. The post-trial motions are due on Monday, Nov. 1, but Bonjean has asked for a two-month extension.
She told the newspaper that she’s “looking forward to getting familiar with the record” in Kelly’s case, which was anchored by Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act charges that she called a “kitchen sink approach.”
“I am becoming increasingly concerned with how the government is abusing the RICO statute in order to plead around the statute of limitations and essentially put people’s entire lives on trial. It’s becoming a formula for the government. You have a right to defend yourself against specific allegations,” Bonjean told the newspaper.
Despite adding a new lawyer to his team, the “12 Play” singer could face life in prison. After decades of avoiding criminal prosecution for numerous allegations of misconduct with young women and children, the disgraced former R&B king will stand trial in Chicago on Aug. 2022, to answer to charges of child pornography and obstruction of justice charges. He still has to face state charges in Minnesota for a child prostitution charge as well, which he also pleaded not guilty to.
Kelly has been in custody since July 2019 and his sentencing date in the federal trial conviction is set for May 4, 2022. The other members of his legal team, Deveraux Cannick, Thomas Farinella, and Nicole Blank Becker, will continue to work on sentencing issues, according to Bonjean.
