R. Kelly application for release before his trial denied by appeals court
R&B star R. Kelly was once again denied release from jail as he awaits trial, this time by a trio of federal appeals court judges.
The disgraced “I Believe I Can Fly” singer had appealed a Brooklyn judge’s third ruling that he must remain detained in a Chicago jail before his Brooklyn trial. Kelly and his lawyers argued he was not a risk to interfere with witnesses or to flee, but the judges ruled against him.
“We perceive no clear error in the district court’s determination that the government has demonstrated by clear and convincing evidence that Kelly presents risk of a danger to the community and by a preponderance of the evidence that Kelly presents a flight risk,” the judges wrote in their decision. “Likewise, the court did not clearly err in determining that Kelly failed to demonstrate a ‘compelling reason’ for temporary release.”
The appeals judges added that the two judges overseeing Kelly’s trials would ensure that Kelly was afforded “adequate opportunity” to meet with his lawyers before his trial.
