In 2002 Grammy award-winning singer R. Kelly was indicted in Cook County Court on what ultimately became 14 counts related to producing child pornography, regarding a videotape that allegedly showed him engaging in sexual acts with an underage female. The firm was initially engaged as defense counsel and coordinated the efforts of a four-lawyer team through six years before the case came to trial in 2008.
At the end of a month-long proceeding the defense team opted not to call for a mistrial when prosecutors admitted, without the jury present, that despite their earlier claims a DVD presented during the trial was not an exact copy of the videotape in question. The strategy proved successful when the jury found R. Kelly not guilty on all 14 charges.
R. Kelly was indicted in Polk County, Florida on 12 counts involving a similar matter in 2002. The firm, with Ed Genson as lead lawyer in this as well as the Illinois charges, handled the defense. In 2004 a Florida Circuit Court judge agreed with the defense’s contention that Polk County sheriff’s detectives did not have enough evidence to justify a search of R. Kelly’s home when they asked a judge for a warrant in 2002. Prosecutors subsequently dropped all charges.