R Kelly will deal with another problem before his most-awaited hearing in August,
This week, U.S. district judge Anne Donnelly signed and approved the rare hearing for R Kelly and his attorneys.
This will, reportedly, determine whether the legal team members have conflicts of interest.
In a report published by Chicago Tribune, the scheduled hearing will take place on Thursday. For what it’s worth, two of the infamous singer’s attorneys withdrew from the team.
Per the document filed by Mike Leonard and Steven Greenberg, they cannot continue working for R. Kelly. They reasoned out that their decision was due to current circumstances.
In a separate event, the 54-year-old singer told the judge that he wants to terminate his attorneys. This supported the statement revealed by R. Kelly’s remaining representatives, Thomas Farinella, Douglas Anton, and Nicole Becker.
The three previously said that their former teammates did not withdraw from their posts. Instead, the singer removed both Leonard and Greenberg from the team.
Chicago Tribune added that some information about Farinella and Becker caused Donnelly to call for a Curcio hearing. Thursday’s hearing will take place in Donnelly’s courtroom. Whether or not R. Kelly will attend remain unknown.
However, the district judge wants him to be transferred to New York before the trial.
As to the potential conflict of interest, the news outlet failed to get more information as the filings were reportedly sealed.
Why the attorneys quit from case?
Previously, Leonard and Greenberg already explained why they want to be out of the case.
In their statements to Chicago Sun-Times, the two revealed that they are concerned over Farinella and Becker’s experience. They added that the two have not tried handling federal criminal cases yet.
The outlet also disclosed that Farinella once had his law license suspended over 10 years ago. The issue involved alleged improper charges to his client’s credit card and neglecting his client’s issues.
At that time, Farinella failed to defend himself from the accusations due to his reported “mental infirmity.” His psychiatrist even testified and revealed that the lawyer cannot handle stressful situations.
The legal representatives did not comment further on the matter. Still, this turn of events might affect R. Kelly and his hearing.
The August hearing will address the 2019 charges due to racketeering and running a criminal enterprise for his sex crimes.
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