R. Kelly’s defense team has accused the prosecution of intentionally striking minorities from the jury, despite the fact that two of the three people already selected for the panel are black.
The superstar’s attorneys made the accusation Monday, in the waning minutes of the first day of juror questioning. Their objections were prompted by the prosecution’s decision to eliminate two African-Americans from the jury: a woman who called Kelly a “musical genius” and a man who thought Kelly had been denied a speedy trial.
In both instances, prosecutors insisted that the candidates could not be fair jurors. The prosecution also used a peremptory challenge to block a middle-age white man who seemed wowed by Kelly’s celebrity.
The defense used only one of its seven peremptory challenges Monday, booting a white Chicago Public Schools security guard who had ties to law enforcement.
Federal law prohibits jurors from being excluded based on race or gender, but Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan ruled that the prosecution had legitimate reasons for their strikes.
“Their reasons are race-neutral,” he said.
The jury selection process is being held behind closed doors, though two news media representatives are allowed to attend and provide details to the reporting pool.
Three people were picked for the jury Monday, with 13 others dismissed for cause or because they were stricken by either the defense or prosecution.
The three selected are a pastor’s wife, a father with two young children and a middle-age black man who describes himself as a Christian.
Dressed in a charcoal suit and patterned tie, Kelly did not play an active role in jury questioning. He sat with a tissue to his nose to ward off a pungent smell coming from the nearby men’s bathroom.
A few prospective jurors appeared star-struck in his presence. A young black woman said she knew him as the “pied piper” and a “musical genius.”
The defense tried to keep the woman, who works for the U.S. Postal Service and acknowledged having discussed the videotape with co-workers in the past. The prosecution, however, argued she was star-struck and incoherent.
The two sides also squared off over a black man who criticized the judicial system for letting the case languish for nearly six years. The judge told him neither side was to blame, but the man kept returning to his displeasure with myriad delays.
After losing both jurors to prosecution challenges, the defense returned to the courtroom, where the judge told those who had not been questioned yet that they would be notified if they had to come back. Among those were two African-Americans, including the only young black man in Monday’s pool.
The defense objected and asked the judge to have the four return Tuesday. Gaughan said the procedures had been established before the trial began.
“I don’t care what color they are. It doesn’t make any difference,” Gaughan said. “That’s the procedure that was agreed to. That’s really out of order.”
Juror selection will resume Tuesday.
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A closer look
Prosecutors say a videotape that shows R. Kelly having sex with a girl as young as 13 was made between Jan. 1, 1998, and Nov. 1, 2000. They say the alleged victim was born in September 1984. Kelly faces up to 15 years in prison.
