Thread by @djbyrnes1

Day 2 of #RKelly's federal trial in Chicago is underway. First order of business this morning: Late last night Kelly's co-defendant Derrel McDavid moved to dismiss the charges against him, arguing the U.S. Attorney's Office waited years too long to prosecute. @CourthouseNews

McDavid faces several of the same child porn production/distribution charges as #RKelly, but is also cited in the federal indictment as one of the main people responsible for allegedly covering up videos depicting Kelly taking part in sex acts with minors. @CourthouseNews

Presiding judge in #Rkelly's case, Harry Leinenweber, defers McDavid's motion to dismiss until after the conclusion of the trial. He claims he needs more time to assess its merits. "I'm of the view that the motion is probably too late," Leinenweber says. @CourthouseNews

Getting into jury selection, R. Kelly's attorneys again ask judge Leinenweber to be cognizant of potential jurors who have seen the 2019 docuseries "Surviving R. Kelly," which he agrees to.

Jury selection underway in Day 2 of the #RKelly trial. Judge Leinenweber says jury selection may conclude later today, in which case he wants to move straight to opening arguments. Catch is there probably won't be time for both sides to present their arguments. @CourthouseNews

Several attorneys say they'd rather both prosecution and defense read their opening arguments on the same day, but Leinenweber says he wants to move the trial along as fast as possible if jury selection concludes this morning or early afternoon. #RKelly @CourthouseNews

911 is being called to the federal courthouse in Chicago where #RKelly's criminal trial is underway. A potential juror has apparently had some kind of medical emergency. Jury selection has been momentarily suspended. @CourthouseNews

Jury selection is resuming in #RKelly's Chicago trial. Potential juror 69, an older Black woman, fainted while being questioned by judge Leinenweber. She has been escorted out of the courtroom by paramedics. @CourthouseNews

Judge Leinenweber is consistently asking potential jurors in #RKelly's case if they know anything about the anti-sexual abuse #MeToo movement, on the concern that those sympathetic to / knowledgeable of the movement may be biased against Kelly. @CourthouseNews

Jury selection is still underway in #RKelly's federal trial in Chicago. Since a 911 call this morning for a potential juror who fainted in court, the process has been slow and uneventful. Still, the judge in the case wants to begin opening arguments this afternoon, if possible.

Jury selection for #RKelly's federal trial in Chicago is on hold until 1:55 p.m. CST. There are still a handful of potential jurors the judge wants to question, after which a jury panel (& reserve jurors) will be finalized and we'll be ready for opening arguments. @CourthouseNews