A pretrial hearing held in Chicago has touched briefly on the plea by R. Kelly’s attorney to let him travel for out of the country for concerts in Dubai. The judge in charge of the singer’s sexual abuse case has been petitioned to allow him to travel as he needs the concert cash to sort his bills.
Steve Greenberg, the attorney representing the singer said while speaking with reporters outside the court said he was already gathering information on the concerts. He plans to present the information to the Judge, Lawrence Flood, to furnish him with the details of each concert and what his travel will entail.
The entertainment attorney representing Kelly, Doug Anton, said the trip to Dubai was off for now because the contract papers have to be reworked with the concert organizers. The usual course of action is that singers make appearances in Dubai then set up the contracts. According to Anton, the court requires more formalities to see Kelly gain permission to travel.
The condition of Kelly’s bond requires him staying in Illinois except he gets permission from the court. Most times judges refuse to give such permission in felony cases. This is because they are wary of the defendants to go AWOL.