Young Thug Trial: Judge Refuses To Step Down After Ex-Parte Meeting Debacle

Judge Ural Glanville is refusing to step down and declare a mistrial in the case against Young Thug and other members of YSL after attorney Brian Steel requested he do so in a motion, this week. The drama stems from a court date, last week, where Steel revealed that he learned of a secret ex-parte meeting between Glanville, prosecutors, and a key witness named Kenneth Copeland. Steel became livid in the courtroom, labeling the discussion illegal and grounds for a mistrial. In response, Glanville held him in contempt of court for not revealing who leaked details of the meeting.

Addressing the request, Glanville said at a hearing on Tuesday that the complaints are “bare assertions and legal conclusions which aren’t sufficient for the court to grant your motion.” In the filing, Steel accused Glanville of working with the prosecution to convict Young Thug. He wrote: “The court has become a member of the prosecution team in an effort to thwart Mr. Williams’ [Young Thug] Constitutional right to a fair trial. This court must be recused, the court and the prosecution have violated Mr. Williams’ rights and the Indictment must be dismissed after a mistrial is declared.”

Young Thug's Attorney, Brian Steel, Arrives At Court

Brian Steel, attorney for rapper Young Thug, arrives at the Fulton County Courthouse on November 27, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Opening statements are to begin in the case against 31-year-old US rapper Young. Thug and 28 others, who are facing a racketeering indictment accusing the defendants of a number of offenses that support an overarching conspiracy charge, including murder, assault, carjacking, drug dealing, as well as theft. (Photo by Christian Monterrosa / AFP) (Photo by CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA/AFP via Getty Images)

Steel further wrote: “Mr. Williams’ trial is constitutionally fractured, unfair and lacks all constitutional, statutory and ethical safeguards and protections of due process of law. No intellectually honest person could believe that coercing witness Copeland to testify in a ‘star chamber’ setting meets Constitutional muster.” He argues that Copeland reneged on a plan to testify in exchange for immunity, but Glanville and the prosecution pressured him into changing his mind again. “This is witness intimidation, coercion and the court has become a member of the prosecution team in assisting the prosecution to induce a material witness to testify," he explained.

“I’m going to ask him how much pressure, if any, the court put on him, and you’re going to be the one instructing the jury,” Steel later said to Glanville at Tuesday's hearing. “And I just can’t imagine how that’s fair to Mr. Williams.” Be on the lookout for further updates on Young Thug and the YSL trial on HotNewHipHop.

[Via]