Arrest Warrant Issued For R. Kelly
December 20, 2007

An arrest warrant has been issued for R&B superstar R. Kelly after the singer missed his court date on Wednesday. The warrant won't go into effect until tomorrow (Thursday) when R. Kelly better appear in court or there could be some serious problems for the troubled musician. R. Kelly missed a court date on Wednesday because his tour bus was stopped by the police in Utah. You might think that's a good enough excuse and that's why Judge Vincent Gaughan didn't issue an immediate arrest warrant and issued one that will go into effect on Thursday at 9am if R. Kelly isn't in court in Cook County, Illinois at that time.

R. Kelly is supposed to get permission every time he leaves the state and the Cook County prosecutors are fed up with his schedule messing with the legal process in the child-pornography case against the singer. Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Shauna Boliker told The Chicago Sun-Times, "This is just an abuse of the process. It's disrespectful of your honor."

The attorney for R. Kelly, Ed Genson, told the court today that his client's bus was delayed because of a snowstorm and then was stopped following a concert in Sacramento, California after the police needed to check a bus log to find out if it was filled out the right way, according to MTV.com. Genson claims that R. Kelly had tried his best to make it to court today.

Now, of course, TMZ tells a different story. They claim that R. Kelly's bus was pulled over, along with three other buses, after it was caught going over 100mph. They report that the buses were taken out of service and passengers were left stranded. They did confirm that the bus log books weren't onboard and hadn't been updated. So, that was part of the problem. Just not the whole problem, according to TMZ.

When R. Kelly finally does make it to court, the judge will finally give him a trial date for his case that has been pending since 2002. R. Kelly is accused of videotaping himself having sex with an underage girl who the prosecutors claim was underage, possibly as young as 13, at the time of the filming. R. Kelly denies all allegations against but could face up to 15 years behind bars. That's assuming he shows up in court tomorrow.

For other recent celebrity legal news, check out Amy Winehouse Arrested, Britney Spears Skips Deposition, and Charges Dropped Against Shia.