R. Kelly Trial Deals With Sex Tape Minutiae, Possible Mistrial?

After much discussion from witnesses regarding the possibility that the R. Kelly sex tape was a computer-generated forgery, it has now come forward that the prosecution gave the defense an exceptionally poor DVD reproduction of the original tape, which was used during its questioning of expert witness Charles Palm. While Palm claims his testimony was based on the original, high-quality tape, defense attorneys claim the jury may believe they were acting in “poor faith” when they used the prosecution’s cheap copy during Palm’s testimony. No one’s currently asking for a mistrial (maybe they’re saving this complaint for an appeal), but it’s at least clear that the jury will have to be told the reason for the varying quality of the tape they saw, which may further confuse a jury that’s already had to put up with some twisted shit. During deliberation, however, the jury will be given a VCR so they can watch the original sex tape, despite the defense’s worry that they might break it or something.

“What we do object to is the jury taking the tape back and viewing it in the jury room… Lots of things can happen. The tape can break. It can be erased,” Adam said.

But prosecutor Shauna Boliker said the original tape — known as People’s Exhibit 1 — was “the nucleus of the case.”

“The evidence centers around this particular tape,” Boliker said. Forcing the jury to come out in open court and sit down in the jury box to review parts of the tape would inconvenience jurors and intrude on the secrecy of deliberations, she said.

Gaughan sided with prosecutors, saying, “People’s Exhibit No. 1 … is the subject of this trial.” As such, it was “absolutely necessary” to deliberations, he said.

“It will go back to the jury room,” the judge said. However, the judge said he would instruct the jury not to give it more weight than other evidence.

The judge also appointed one of the sheriff’s deputies in his courtroom to be the “mechanical operator of the VCR.”

Wouldn’t you love to be the lucky guy who gets to hold the remote while 12 angry men and women tell you to rewind? (No, not that far, dammit! Now turn up the tint! I said up!)

The Kelly Chronicles [Sun-Times]