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While
suspects have a right to demand a swift trial, they
are not obliged to ask for one _ especially if they
calculate that speed is not in their best interests.
Kelly's
lawyer's may figure that the delays have worked in their
client's favor, and not only because they have given
him the chance to keep working and making millions.
``You
may have a jury that's going to come in and say, 'So
this happened in the 1990s and this is 2007? I'm just
not buying it,'''
Helfand said.
Messages
left for Kelly's attorney's were not returned, and prosecutors
declined to comment.
Kelly
spokesman Allan Mayer says he was told the trial could
get under way early this summer. ``But,'' he added,
``I've been told 'early in the summer' for the past
three years now.''
The
hitmaker born Robert Sylvester Kelly was charged in
2002 after the tape was leaked to the media and bootlegged
copies hit the streets nationwide. Authorities said
the girl on the tape was as young as 13 when it was
made.
Kelly
pleaded not guilty, and has said he intends to survive
his legal tribulations.
``I'm
going through my own struggle ... and you're either
gonna fold or you're going to stand,'' he told The Associated
Press in 2005, ``and I believe in standing.''
Presiding
Judge Vincent Gaughan seemed close to setting a trial
date last year. Then he fell off a ladder at home, sending
him to the hospital with multiple fractures. By the
time he recovered, Kelly needed emergency surgery for
a burst appendix, causing him to miss a February status
hearing.
Kelly's
attorneys have not even conceded he is on the videotape,
saying his likeness may have been computer generated.
And they have already tried to raise doubts about the
identity and age of the girl in the recording.
Prosecutors
initially concluded Kelly made the approximately 15-minute
recording when he was in his 30s, somewhere between
November 1997 and February 2002.
But
his attorneys said that 51-month span made it impossible
for them to prepare a defense. The judge agreed, and
prosecutors later narrowed the time frame down to between
January 1998 and October 2000.
The
judge ruled last year he will allow the media and public
to view the videotape, dismissing objections from both
prosecutors and defense attorneys. They argued the video
is so lewd it would embarrass the girl involved, who
is now in her 20s.
Scheduling
also has been complicated by demand for Kelly's lawyer.
Ed Genson, highly sought by the rich and famous for
his persuasive powers with jurors, currently represents
Conrad Black, the media mogul on trial in Chicago for
allegedly helping to plunder millions of dollars from
a newspaper conglomerate.
Kelly
won a Grammy in 1997 for the gospel-like song ``I Believe
I Can Fly,'' although his biggest hits are sexually
charged songs like ``Bump N' Grind'' and ``Ignition.''
As
he awaits trial, he has kept working.
Since
being charged, Kelly has released six albums _ most
of them million-sellers. His current single, ``I'm a
Flirt,'' is in the top 20, and he's finishing 10 more
chapters of his running R&B operetta, ``Trapped
in the Closet.''
Kelly's
also written a new song, ``Rise Up,'' about healing
in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings; 100
percent of the net proceeds from the song's sale are
going to a victims' memorial fund.
``He's
always been known as one of the hardest workers in the
industry,'' said Eric Bradley, music director at Chicago's
popular
B96 radio station. ``All this has made him work even
harder. He's a machine, artistically.''
But
a conviction could send Kelly to prison for up to 15
years, and presumably halt his fast-track career.
His
spokesman Mayer says Kelly fully realizes how much is
at stake and is as eager as anyone to finally get his
day in court.
``It's
a terrible thing to have hanging over you,'' Mayer said.
``But he's confident that, when all the facts come out,
he's going to be shown to have been not guilty.''
On
the Net:
R.
Kelly site: http://www.r-kelly.com
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