R. Kelly Joins An Elite Club

Membership Dues Payable To Your State's Bar Association

Now that he's free to roam the streets, pen catchy-when-you-don't-pay-attention-to-the-lyrics, misogynistic, and sexually-explicit songs, R. Kelly has joined an elite group of super-stars who narrowly avoided lengthy jail terms for major crimes. Yes, as an acquitted celebrity, he'll join an exclusive club of Famous People Who Got Away With It (Whether They Were Guilty Or Not). Check out some of the club members after the jump. At least two of them, like R. Kelly, have been ruled guilty in the court of public opinion, but who cares if what the public thinks if the jury says you're innocent!

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Jun 16, 2008 · posted by Lauren Williams, Stereohyped · Link · 3 Responses

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Tagged: Crime & Punishment, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jackson, O.J. Simpson, R. Kelly, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Snoop Dogg

Comments (3)

No. 1 · Josh

Hey now, Lauren, go easy on us lawyers! As a former defense lawyer, I have to step up and say that the great mass of us don't have the luxury of throwing tons of resources into a case: We take our clients as they are and do the best we can no matter what, and that's a damn important thing.

Sure, it's pretty clear that R. Kelly is guilty as the day is long, but I would suggest that when a person is accused and the victim won't testify against him and the only other witness is highly implausible, that person *should* get acquitted. Fairly recent American history is full of examples of similar trials with less convincing evidence where the (poor, black) defendant *did* get locked up. R. Kelly's acquittal doesn't right that wrong, but it also doesn't mean we should blame defense lawyers.

OK. Rant over. I definitely won't feel bad if he gets it Nino Brown style (as someone said in the earlier post on this topic).

Posted: Jun 16, 2008 at 9:40 pm

No. 2 · Lauren Williams, Stereohyped

Hmmm… It might have seemed that way, but I wasn't blaming lawyers (or anyone, really), just acknowledging the fact that celebs have a lot more money than the average person to use for their defense when they find themselves in these positions and, in fact, probably have their high-priced lawyers to thank for their acquittals. Snoop, OJ Simpson, and Puffy all had Johnnie Cochran (RIP) defend them in the trials referenced in this post. Now, that's a defense the Average Joe cannot afford. Anyway, some of my best friends are lawyers!