Reporter Takes 5th in R. Kelly Case; Judge Says He Must Still Provide Notes
A reporter for a Chicago newspaper isn’t headed to jail, because he had a right to take the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying in the child pornography trial of R&B singer R. Kelly, according to the judge.
However, the First Amendment and a claimed reporter’s privilege, which Jim DeRogatis also asserted, don’t apply, Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan ruled today. So DeRogatis—a Chicago Sun-Times music critic who in 2002 passed on to authorities a videotape of Kelly allegedly having sex with an underage teen who is at the center of the child porn trial—must still provide his notes to the court because they aren’t covered by the First Amendment, reports the Chicago Tribune.
Lawyers for Kelly have contended the reporter’s testimony was crucial to undermine a prosecution witness, Stephanie “Sparkle” Edwards, and DeRogatis must turn over his notes of an interview with her by 4 p.m. today, Gaughan ruled. The judge will review the notes in chambers to see whether they reveal any sources, explains the Kelly Chronicles, a Sun-Times News Group blog.
“Kelly’s attorneys have repeatedly suggested during the trial that DeRogatis may have committed the crime of child pornography, alleging that he may have made a copy of the tape before passing it to police,” the blog reported. “An anonymous tipster left the tape in DeRogatis’s mailbox in 2002.”
Although DeRogatis is innocent, he would expose himself to potential state and federal pursuit by overzealous prosecutors if he testified, said Damon Dunn, a lawyer for the Sun-Times.
As discussed in a previous ABAJournal.com post, Gaughan threatened to jail DeRogatis when he didn’t appear in court yesterday to testify as scheduled.
The judge also told Dunn yesterday that he had filed a notice of appeal of a prior ruling concerning DeRogatis in the wrong court. But legal experts say it was the judge who was mistaken, the Sun Times reports.
The prosecution has rested in the R. Kelly trial, and the defense is now beginning its presentation.
