A music writer who spent decades raising awareness about sexual misconduct allegations against R. Kelly is fighting a bid to force him to testify at the R&B singer’s federal trial on child pornography and trial-fixing charges, according to a Tuesday court filing.
Lawyers for Jim DeRogatis, who in 2019 released his book "Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly," invoked constitutional and other protections for the press in asking Judge Harry Leinenweber to rule that DeRogatis need not testify.
Kelly, who was acquitted in the 2008 state trial, also faces charges of enticing minors for sex at the federal trial in the Grammy Award winner’s hometown. Both McDavid and Kelly also face pornography charges.The trial was scheduled to resume Wednesday — after the Labor Day holiday and after the unexpected closure of the courthouse Tuesday due to "operational issues.
Tuesday’s filing, also submitted on behalf of The New Yorker magazine, for whom DeRogatis writes, points to rulings by a Chicago-based U.S. appellate court that forcing reporters to testify in cases they’ve covered should be done rarely and only when there are no alternatives to introducing the same information.
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