Young Thug Trial Is A "Dumpster Fire" According To Georgia's Former Judicial Chair

BYGabriel Bras Nevares2.3K Views
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Slime Language 2 #1 Album Event
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 26: Jerrika Karlae and Young Thug attend Slime Language 2 #1 Album Event at Annette's Chop House on April 26, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage/Getty Images)
Lester Tate referred specifically to the dispute over Judge Ural Glanville's recusal dilemma in the Young Thug and YSL RICO case.

Young Thug and YSL's RICO case is at a bit of a crossroads right now, as the defense is trying to recuse Judge Ural D. Glanville from the case due to alleged witness tampering. In fact, even Georgia's former chair of the Judicial Qualifications Committee, Lester Tate, blasted the court proceedings over this issue. Specifically, Tate's critique has to do with how the case is on hold until another judge's ruling on Glanville's potential recusal. Judge Rachel Krause, the other judge in question, refused to recuse herself from this legal dispute in a Tuesday (July 9) court order, since defendants questioned her lack of bias and demanded her recusal due to Glanville's $2,000 donation to Krause's re-election campaign.

"The only consideration for the Court is whether Judge Glanville’s campaign donation to this Court’s re-election campaign warrants recusal," Krause wrote of this Young Thug trial development. "The Georgia Supreme Court has held that the mere fact of a campaign contribution to a judge -– even from a party to the case -– does not warrant recusal where the contribution was not exceptionally large. […] This Court does not relish [this] task, but ‘[i]t is as much the duty of a judge not to grant the motion to recuse when the motion is legally insufficient as it is to recuse when the motion is meritorious.’"

Young Thug Performs During Atlanta Hawks Halftime

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - NOVEMBER 17: Rapper Young Thug performs at halftime during the Boston Celtics v Atlanta Hawks game at State Farm Arena on November 17, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

"Given the dumpster fire the YSL trial has become, I’m really shocked she has not recused herself," Tate told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution of these remarks from Krause about the Young Thug trial. "Even if the letter of the law allows it, to benefit the judiciary and protect its image to the public, the better practice would be for her to voluntarily recuse."

However, another former Judicial Qualifications Committee chair, Chuck Boring, has a different perspective. "No judge would want this position and have to decide this sticky issue," he noted. "However, it is her job and it appears she is not taking the easy way out and just recusing when legally it is not necessitated." And with that, the longest trial in Georgia history has to wait a little longer to resume, as Judge Krause or another judge still have to decide if Glanville will recuse himself in the Young Thug case.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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