High court ignores media appeal in R. Kelly case
A group of media outlets took their complaints about secrecy in the R. Kelly sex case to the Illinois Supreme Court yesterday, and the court, late last evening, said it didn’t care. From the Chicago Tribune:
The Illinois Supreme Court Monday refused to intervene in a media fight to access transcripts of secret hearings and other sealed documents in the R. Kelly child pornography case.
The Chicago Tribune, Sun-Times, Associated Press and Chicago Public Radio station WBEZ last week filed an emergency petition that would force Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan to release transcripts of four sealed proceedings held in April. The motion also asked the court to release several sealed court documents and lift the gag order on parties involved in the upcoming trial.
No reason was given for the denial.
Hitsville is of course in favor of media access to trials, but it’s hard to get worked up over this, not least because, besides the Chicago Sun-Times, most media outlets have been studiously ignoring the charges against Kelly for years. Also, if some silly press access matter ends up ends up creating another delay in this six-year-old case, he will scream.
The paper said the judge in the case, Vincent Gaughn, will rehear the motions on Thursday, the day before jury selection is scheduled to begin.
Trib story here.
Sun-Times story here.
Note that the ST first reported that the secret hearings and gag order were prompted at least in part by the issue of whether the judge would allow testimony of a woman who says that Kelly had sex with her when she was under-aged…with another under-aged girl. The Trib now says the same thing, citing “sources familiar with the case,” but doesn’t credit the ST for reporting it originally.
Previously in Hitsville:
Tribune, Sun-Times protest closed hearings in R. Kelly case
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