Jury Seated for R. Kelly Trial

R. Kelly AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

Both sides argued heatedly, played the race card and ultimately stifled their true feelings so they wouldn't be thrown out of court. Sounds as if we've got ourselves a jury!

Indeed, an eight-man, four-woman jury was seated today for R. Kelly's years-in-the-making trial on child-pornography charges.

Not that this part was easy, either. Over the past week, Kelly's team has argued that the prosecution was trying whitewash the jury, with its last objection coming today as the opposing side used its final two peremptory challenges (the right to dismiss a person without giving a reason) to boot a black man and an Asian woman from the panel.

Meanwhile, prosecutors pointed out to Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan that the defense used all six of its peremptory challenges on white people.

Ultimately, when all was said and huffed over, the jury consisted of eight white and four black people, while two blacks, one Hispanic and one white person were chosen as alternates.

Opening statements are scheduled to begin Tuesday morning.

Read More

2 Comments

Now loading...

Add Your Comment!

Guests

E! Online members

Register | Forgot password?

Play nice and have fun. And please, no HTML tags or special characters including [&*#()!@$].
You've got 1000 characters left.

Post Comment

BIG PICTURE

Takeout Twosome Nicole and Joel replenish with Johnny Rockets fuel after visiting Joel's DCMA Collective store in WeHo

More Photos

E! News Now

  • "DWTS" Down to Three

    With four couples competing for three spots, competition was fierce. Unfortunately for Cody Linley, someone's got to go.

  • Heidi Klum's Sexy Style

    The model-turned-mogul graces the pages of "InStyle" with some hot shots--and dishes about her man Seal. Check it out!

  • Exclusive: Brit's Man Revealed

    It's not every day that pop queen Britney Spears grabs a bite with a new guy. Is romance in her cards or just friendly laughs?

  • Kidman Giving Up Acting for Kids?

    "Australia" actress Nicole Kidman may be following in Angie's footsteps and saying farewell to the biz. Get the details.

Our Partners

Shop

Get Your E! News Now

Text ENEWS to 4INFO (44636) for daily celeb news alerts

Standard messaging rates apply.

Did you know you can grab smokin' hot E! Online news, review and gossip through our RSS service?

New to RSS feeds? Learn more >>

Birthdate:

Enter your full birthdate:

has been subscribed to the E! News Now Newsletter.

To change your settings, go to your preferences.

E! News Now

  • "DWTS" Down to Three

    With four couples competing for three spots, competition was fierce. Unfortunately for Cody Linley, someone's got to go.

  • Heidi Klum's Sexy Style

    The model-turned-mogul graces the pages of "InStyle" with some hot shots--and dishes about her man Seal. Check it out!

  • Exclusive: Brit's Man Revealed

    It's not every day that pop queen Britney Spears grabs a bite with a new guy. Is romance in her cards or just friendly laughs?

  • Kidman Giving Up Acting for Kids?

    "Australia" actress Nicole Kidman may be following in Angie's footsteps and saying farewell to the biz. Get the details.