R. Kelly appeared in Cook County Criminal Court at 9 a.m. CT to make up a hearing related to his child porn case that he missed yesterday, but that doesn’t mean he will be able to live his life as he’s accustomed to it! Maybe. But not only did he look ready for a courtroom epilogue to Trapped In The Closet this morning, he was safe in the knowledge that he can blame the state of Utah for his troubles. Well, at least the ones that have cropped up for him over the past 30 hours or so.

Kelly’s attorney, Edward Genson, had said the singer was en route to Chicago from a tour stop in Sacramento when he was delayed by snow. To make matters worse, Genson said, Kelly’s concert caravan was stopped for speeding in Utah.

Cameron Roden, public information officer with the Utah Highway Patrol, said Kelly’s four tour buses were traveling on Interstate Highway 70 near Green River when they were pulled over for speeding at 7:55 a.m. Tuesday.

Roden did not know the exact speed of the buses, but “I heard it was pretty fast,” he said. The drivers were cited for speeding, Roden said.

At the traffic stop, an officer also discovered an alleged violation in the buses’ logbooks. Genson said the books had not been properly filled out to show how long the drivers had been driving and therefore did not indicate whether they had sufficient rest.

Roden said the buses were put out of service for eight hours as required by federal law. Genson said the buses went to a nearby motel as a local lawyer managed to get the restriction reduced to three or four hours.

In any case, while the buses were detained, Kelly himself was not.

“He was free to go,” Roden said. “If he wanted to arrange for other transportation, he was free to do so.”

The judge in the trial, according to the Chicago Tribune, is going to decide tomorrow “whether to revoke Kelly’s bond or withdraw the court’s permission for him to continue his concert tour.” What, they’re not going to force him to pony up for a private plane?

R. Kelly May Lose Court’s OK To Tour [Chicago Tribune]
[Photo: AP]