5:19 AM CDT, May 27, 2008
Chicago Tribune

The R. Kelly child pornography trial resumes this morning after taking a break for the Memorial Day weekend. Once things get under way, prosecutors will resume their parade of witnesses to identify the female who authorities say is depicted in the sex tape at the heart of the case.

Before we swing back into action, though, it might help to recall some of the highlights from last week. Here are the three best moments from both sides— and what they mean to the trial.

Prosecution's top 3 moments

•Punky: Simha "Punky" Jamison identifies the female participant in the sex tape as her childhood best friend and estimates her to be about 13 or 14 in the video. The defense tries to poke holes in her testimony, but the Oak Park hairstylist refuses to back down. "I kind of know her like the back of my hand," she testifies. Jamison's occasional quips—like her dis of the Wayans Brothers movie "Little Man"—draw laughs in the courtroom.

•Oak Park parents: Three Oak Park parents identify the video's female participant as their daughters' former friend. Though the defense tries to paint them as hysterical rumormongers who whipped themselves into a suburban frenzy, the parents insist they recognize the girl.

•Sparkle: Stephanie "Sparkle" Edwards might have an ax to grind with Kelly, but she holds her ground under a full-scale attack by the defense. After identifying a family member as the female participant in the video, Edwards berates Kelly and gets into a shouting match with prominent attorney Ed Genson. Her snarky references to Genson as "sweetie," will keep the courthouse hallways buzzing for weeks.

Defense's top 3 moments

•The dismissed juror: The defense scores a victory before opening statements when a female juror—a white woman who says she had once been raped—asks to be excused for financial reasons. The defense had tried to bounce her from the panel during jury selection, but it ran out of peremptory challenges to boot a candidate without cause. The woman is replaced by a young white man whose uncle has been convicted of child pornography.

•Sam Adam Jr.:Adam has provided some of his team's best moments, even though the other attorneys sitting at the defense table (including his own father) are better known and better paid .From his passionate opening statement to his blistering cross-examination of a police officer who believes her relative is in the sex tape but did not immediately report it, Adam has laid a solid foundation for the R&B singer's still-to-come defense.

•The mole: In a surprise move during opening statements, the defense unveils a police photograph that shows a dark mole on Kelly's lower back and promises jurors it will prove his innocence. When the sex tape is played in real time later that afternoon, the man in the video appears to have an unblemished back. The missing mark has prompted several Internet gossip sites to proclaim: " R. Kelly mole will keep him outta the hole."