Judge Denies Mistrial Request In YSL Case

Chief Judge Ural Glanville has denied the request for a mistrial in the YSL RICO case. The defense filed the motion after a video recently leaked of investigators interrogating a man for the case. It's unclear where the blame for the leaked video stems from. Both the prosecution and defense have refused to take responsibility. The update comes from Jozsef Papp, a crime and public safety reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"Judge Glanville said he plans to order an investigation into a leaked video that was shared in [sic] social media involving a state witness being questioned by investigators. Motion for mistrial is denied but Glanville is allowing lawyers to ask potential jurors about the video," Papp wrote on Twitter, Wednesday, before noting that Glanville remarked, "I'm blaming everybody." He continued: "Glanville gave them a warning that if it happens again, he will restrict attorneys to only be able to view discovery in his chambers."

News of the denial comes after an attorney representing defendant Jayden Myrick requested a mistrial, back in February. They argued that the sharing of discovery material violated the client's Sixth Amendment right to a fair and impartial jury. The motion read: "While said evidence may not directly implicate my client, it along with all of the publicity and courtroom incidents since the start of this trial that have not been the result of any conduct of my client, Jayden Myrick, make it impossible for him to receive a fair trial, as well as a jury that is honestly and truly fair and impartial."

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has filed a motion that would mandate that defense attorneys can only view similar videos while in her office and cannot record them. In response, Defense Attorney Keith Adams said: “You don’t just file a motion and make these allegations when you’ve got absolutely no basis to back that up, and that’s what’s happened in this case." Adams says not allowing him to make copies would limit his access to evidence that could help defend his clients and therefore would be unconstitutional. He added that he doesn't believe a defense attorney leaked the video.

[Via]