Young Thug trial stalled: Extension granted for prosecutions response to recusal motions
ATLANTA - Prosecutors in the trial against Young Thug and codefendants have asked for more time to respond to the defense’s motion to have Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville recused from the case.
The court has allowed for a 48-hour extension citing an unexpected medical emergency, moving the deadline from 5 p.m. Monday to 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Last week, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachel Krause ordered the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office to respond to the motion to remove Glanville, putting the months-long trial on pause.
READ MORE: Young Thug trial stalled: State must file response to recusal motions today
Before the judge could issue a ruling, defendant Deamonte Kendrick, filed a motion to disqualify all Fulton County Superior Court judges.
YSL RICO Trial ex parte meeting
Kenneth Copeland, who is also known as "Lil Woody," appears on the stand to testify in the racketeering trial against Young Thug and others in Fulton County on June 7, 2024. (FOX 5)
On June 7, Kenneth Copeland, who goes by the moniker "Lil Woody," decided he was not going to testify, asserting his Fifth Amendment right, in violation of a plea bargain. He was found in contempt of court and held in jail over that weekend.
That Monday, Copeland, Judge Glanville, the prosecutors, and others met in the judge’s chambers to discuss the repercussions of breaking the plea bargain.
Brian Steel, who is the attorney for Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, learned of the meeting and confronted the judge during a break. He would not disclose how he learned about the meeting and was also found in contempt of court. He was sentenced to spend the next 10 weekends in jail. The Georgia Supreme Court stayed that sentence, barring the outcome of an appeal.
Steel and other attorneys for the defendants filed motions to have them disqualified or removed from the case, but Glanville denied those motions.
Kendrick’s attorney sought relief from the Georgia Supreme Court, but that motion was dismissed for procedural reasons. It was then decided that another judge should hear the motions, not Judge Glanville.
The case is effectively stalled until the matter is settled.