R. Kelly's Lawyer Cites Illiteracy As Reason For Ignoring Lawsuit

BYMitch Findlay821 Views
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R. Kelly
R. Kelly's legal eagles attempt to rationalize the singer's negligence.

As the ongoing trial of R. Kelly continues, one of his team's primary strategies continues to play out. We've already seen them attempt to lean on his "learning disability," having claimed that Kelly was unable to read key documents in his sexual assault lawsuit. The pattern once again repeated itself on Wednesday, where Kelly spent the bulk of his day in the courtroom for two separate hearings.

R. Kelly's Lawyer Cites Illiteracy As Reason For Ignoring Lawsuit
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In the first, Page Six details that Kelly's lawyers attempted to rationalize his negligence, citing his illiteracy as the crux of the matter; in other words, he didn't intend to ignore the lawsuit, he simply couldn't make sense of what was required of him. Though the Judge vacated the lawsuit filed after Kelly initially ignored the summons due to his incarceration, she apparently reinstated it upon having both him and his legal team present in the courtroom. 

The second hearing addressed his unpaid child support payments, which concluded in Kelly coughing up $62k to Drea Kelly. After the hearing, Kelly's lawyer Lisa Damico spoke to the press, addressing her client's state of mind. “He’s not a deadbeat dad. All he wants to do is do right by his kids.” It's unclear how this one will play out in full, but it would appear that Kelly's team is pushing the illiteracy angle hard. All things considered, it's likely that the Trial of Robert Kelly will be a long and convoluted process, with some already speculating that a "happy ending" will fall just out of reach. 

[via]


About The Author
<b>Feature Editor</b> <!--BR--> Mitch Findlay is a writer and hip-hop journalist based in Montreal. Resident old head by default. Enjoys writing Original Content about music, albums, lyrics, and rap history. His favorite memories include interviewing J.I.D and EarthGang at the "Revenge Of The Dreamers 3" studio sessions in Atlanta and receiving a phone call from Dr. Dre. In his spare time he makes horror movies.
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