The disgraced R&B singer has hired Jennifer Bonjean who successfully appealed Cosby’s conviction
R. Kelly is enlisting the legal help of Bill Cosby’s lawyer to appeal his racketeering and sex trafficking conviction.
Jennifer Bonjean has been hired by Kelly to be a part of his legal counsel, The Chicago Tribune reported. The outlet reported that Bonjean appeared in the U.S. District Court in Brooklyn on Friday to register and has made her intention clear to push for a new trial for the disgraced R&B singer.
Kelly, 54, was found guilty of all nine charges in his racketeering and sex trafficking in a Brooklyn federal trial in September. It took the jury nine hours to convict but the high-profile attorney declared that the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act charges were a “kitchen sink approach.”
Bonjean will now oversee having the conviction set aside in favor of a new trial. The decision will be that of District Judge Ann Donnelly and should the request be denied, Bonjean will make an appeal to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Bonjean has already asked for a two-month extension on post-trial motions that are due Monday.
“I am becoming increasingly concerned with how the government is abusing the RICO statute in order to plead around the statute of limitations and essentially put people’s entire lives on trial,” Bonjean told the Tribune. “It’s becoming a formula for the government. You have a right to defend yourself against specific allegations.”
Source: R. Kelly hires Bill Cosby’s lawyer to appeal sex trafficking conviction
