R. Kelly’s New Attorneys Seek To Postpone Upcoming Federal Trial, Say They Haven’t Been Able To Meet W/ Him Because He’s Quarantined

R. Kelly’s New Attorneys Seek To Postpone Upcoming Federal Trial, Say They Haven’t Been Able To Meet W/ Him Because He’s Quarantined

With R. Kelly‘s trial only about a month away, his legal team is now seeking to delay his next courtroom appearance in order to properly prepare.

As previously reported, behind-the-scenes tensions between R. Kelly‘s lawyers have led to some recent shifts in the singer’s defense team. R. Kelly‘s long-term lawyers–Steve Greenberg and Michael Leonard–actually requested to withdraw from the case, leaving the disgraced star’s defense in the hands of newer lawyers Thomas Farinella, Nicole Blank Becker, and Deveraux Cannick.

Now, his new attorneys have filed a request to postpone R. Kelly‘s federal trial, which is currently scheduled for August 9th. Their reasoning is that, because R. Kelly was recently transferred from Chicago to Brooklyn, he is in mandatory in-jail quarantine. As a result, R. Kelly‘s legal team says they have reportedly been unable to meet with him to properly prepare for the trial.

Yesterday (Monday, July 5th), attorney Deveraux Cannick wrote to the presiding judge on the case that R. Kelly‘s 14-day quarantine should result in the trial’s postponement. While R. Kelly‘s quarantine ends today (Tuesday, July 6th), his lawyers reportedly haven’t been able to meet with him since his June 21st hearing. As a result, R. Kelly‘s defense team claims he would be robbed of effective, meaningful representation if his trial proceeds as scheduled. Deveraux Cannick wrote:

“Robert is anxious to have his day in court; however, not at the expense of his Sixth Amendment rights.”

For context, Americans’ Sixth Amendment rights relate to their right to a speedy, public trial with the assistance of legal counsel.

U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly has not yet officially responded. Resultingly, R. Kelly is still currently due in federal court on August 9th to face charges of racketeering, child sexual exploitation, kidnapping, bribery, and forced labor.

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