R. Kelly has been granted a trial delay after his new lawyers argued a jail quarantine had robbed them of the chance to meet their incarcerated client.
As a result, jury selection will go ahead on 9 August, as planned, but opening statements will now begin nine days later.
The delay gives the I Believe I Can Fly singer's legal team a little more time to prepare his defence for the sex trafficking trial in New York City.
Kelly dumped his last attorneys last month, just before he was quarantined for 14 days in a Brooklyn federal jail.
His new lawyers also asked lawmakers to release Kelly on bail, so he could better assist in his defence, but the judge denied the request on Thursday.
"You're going to have full access to Mr. Kelly," she said.
The R&B singer is charged with leading a sex ring. Federal prosecutors claim the group selected victims at concerts and parties and arranged for them to travel across state lines to see Kelly.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
He also has pleaded not guilty to sex-related charges in Illinois and Minnesota.
