R. Kelly Court Docs Closed To The Public, Says Judge

In the interest of insuring a fair trial for R&B superstar R. Kelly, the judge in the singer's case has denied a media request for access to sealed documents. "Of paramount concern is that the defendant gets a fair trial," Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan wrote, as reported by The Chicago Sun-Times. "The torrent of media interest in this case has prompted entry of the order which prevents the serious and imminent threat that this case would be tried in the media." The Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Associated Press and Chicago Public Radio have all teamed up in order to get access to the records of the closed-door hearings, citing the constitutional right of the public to be informed. Yet because of Kells' celebrity status, the judges said opening up those documents could actually violate the crooner's constitutional right to a fair trial. Gaughan cited the 2004 ruling in the Michael Jackson criminal case to back up his ruling. "If it wasn't for the press, we wouldn't have the type of justice we have today," Gaughan said in court. "Nobody wants to inhibit the press." The judge said the documents will be opened at the trial's close. The trial that took six years to come to court is finally set to begin tomorrow, after jury selection came to a close last week. The 41 year-old R&B singer faces child pornography charges for allegedly having sex with a girl as young as 13 and videotaping the encounter. The girl prosecutors believe is in the video however, now 23, denies involvement. Kelly has pled not-guilty and if convicted, and could face up to 15 years in prison.