R Kelly trial tactics examined

By Iain Mackenzie
Newsbeat US reporter, from court in Chicago

R Kelly faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted

They're an unlikely pairing.

One is a Grammy award-winning R&B singer who travels in an oversized 4x4 with blacked-out windows.

The other is a shambling 66-year-old lawyer who rides around on a motorised scooter because of a neuromuscular disability.

Yet R Kelly's fate lies largely in the hands of Ed Genson.

The star is on trial in Chicago, charged with child pornography offences.

The singer is accused of videoing himself having sex with an underage girl which he denies.

'Star of the show'

Genson is head of his four-man legal 'dream team'.

He is one of Chicago's best defence attorneys, representing everyone from disgraced media tycoon Conrad Black to Transformers star Shia Laboeuf.

Although his flamboyant and theatrical sidekick Sam Adam Jr comes close to upstaging him at times, Genson is the real star of the show.

The term 'defence lawyer' is, however, misleading. He is a man constantly on the attack.

Ed Genson is heading up R Kelly's legal 'dream team'

Since the trial commenced, Genson and his team have picked apart any and every aspect of witness testimony.

Their strategy is a multi-pronged one.

Firstly, undermine witness credibility. For some, that means questioning their recollection of people, places and events.

For others, it is a more traumatic process. As it was for Bennie Edwards, a relative of the alleged victim.

Unsettle witnesses

Genson's cross examination began with a less than gentle opening question. "You were arrested with crack cocaine? You were driving your wife's car at the time. She was a police officer."

Quick-fire interrogation and rapid changes of direction disorientate and unsettle witnesses.

A second strategy has been to create the impression that a conspiracy exists against R Kelly.

The defence has portrayed their client as a wealthy and high profile star ripe for extortion.

Possible conspirators were named during the testimony of Stephanie Edwards, also known as Sparkle, an R&B singer and another relative of the alleged victim.

Alliance

Grilling Ms Edwards on her professional relationship with R Kelly, Ed Genson asked her if she felt bitter after being dropped from his record label.

Even the FBI could not identify R Kelly Defence team for R Kelly

He also suggested that she had formed an alliance with another disgruntled former R Kelly employee, Barry Henkerson.

"You got hold of the tape while talking to the enemy, Barry Hankerson," he said.

"You have no idea if that tape was put together by someone to get money from R Kelly or sell it."

Ms Edwards responded: "Sweetie, I'm not making anything from this." The word sweetie was perhaps never less appropriately applied.

The defence's third line of attack is the quality of the video tape, which was viewed by the jury on day one.

Poor quality

It is a "copy, of a copy, of a copy" they asserted. "Even the FBI could not identify R Kelly."

The R&B singer's hits included I Believe I Can Fly

Despite the poor quality, Genson's team plan to focus on details which they believe will exonerate their client.

They claim it is possible to make out the complexion of the man on tape.

R Kelly has had a mole on his back since childhood. The man on the tape, it is claimed, does not.

The fourth prong of Genson's defence strategy might seem the most far-fetched - the special effects theory.

Early in the trial, one witness was asked if she had seen the Wayans Brothers' film Little Man, in which the face of an adult is morphed onto the body of a midget.

Reasonable doubt

During Sparkle's cross examination, the singer was quizzed as to how many hours of leftover videotape from R Kelly music videos featuring his face were in circulation.

By implying that it could be faked, Genson and his team simply want to create the crucial element of 'reasonable doubt' in the minds of the jurors.

They are also strengthened by the prosecution's lack of a 'star witness'.

You all see the crime with your own eyes Prosecution against R Kelly

The girl said to feature in the video denies it is her and will not be testifying for the prosecution.

Yet the defence still faces huge challenges, not least from the videotape itself.

Genson and Co tried on several occasions to block it from being shown in court.

Already countless witnesses, friends and family of the young girl, have taken the witness stand and identified her as the person in the film, aged around 13 or 14 years old.

Addressing the jury on the trial's opening day, Cook County prosecutor Shauna Boliker stated, "You do not have to put the pieces together. R Kelly did it for you.

"You all see the crime with your own eyes."