YSL RICO trial: July marks 6 months since jury selection began
Does the YSL RICO trial have a juror problem?
This month marks six months since the Young Slime Life gang and racketeering trial began at the Fulton County Courthouse, but they are seemingly no closer to a verdict. The thing holding everything up is a vital part of the process: seating a jury. This week that came into the spotlight when a potential juror was forced to face the judge in the case.
ATLANTA - July marks 6 months since the Young Slime Life (YSL) gang and racketeering trial began at the Fulton County courthouse, but we are seemingly no closer to a verdict.
The thing holding everything up is a vital part of the process, picking a jury.
So far, not one juror has been seated, but that process took a little hit this week when one of the potential jurors was held in contempt and now is in trouble herself.
"Just to not show up, I find that to be unacceptable," Judge Ural Glanville said in court Wednesday.
Judge Glanville lectured a potential YSL juror on Wednesday. His frustration was evident after juror 1705 missed a hearing that would have possibly excused her from jury service.
"This is very, very serious," he said. "It’s one of the most important civic obligations that we can have."
"I literally forgot," she said. "It was not a malicious act; it was not that I just decided not to come or show up that day."
Judge Glanville found her in contempt and gave her two options.
"Five days of trial observation or 20 days in jail, what do you want to do?" he asked.
"I’ll do the five days," she replied.
"Ultimately, I think the judge knew she wasn’t going to take the 20 days," said Devin Rafus, a criminal defense attorney at Arora Law Firm. "She’s going to come watch the trial, which is what he wanted to happen."
Rafus is not currently associated with the case, but says this latest incident joins a long string of disruptions the YSL trial has faced since it started in January.
Some of the more notable examples include an alleged drug deal in court between Young Thug and another co-defendant, the arrest of a defense attorney and the arrest of a Fulton County deputy for allegedly trying to smuggle contraband to a defendant in the case.
"It’s almost like a circus, you have different crazy things that you don’t ever hear happening normally that are happening," Rafus said.
Despite all the little hiccups that we’ve seen, Rafus says the court hopes to have jury selection wrapped up soon with the trial starting in September.