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Young Thug, YSL RICO Trial: Attorneys, judge preparing for jury's return

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Updated  August 8, 2024 3:01pm EDT
YSL Trial
FOX 5 Atlanta

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - 3 P.M. UPDATE: The judge and attorneys have spent their time today preparing what they will present to the jury when they return on Monday morning.

This will be the jury's first encounter with the new judge, following the removal of the original judge assigned to the case.

Due to a scheduling conflict for Judge Whitaker, court will not be in session on Friday. Consequently, the judge and attorneys have spent the day preparing jury instructions and discussing other matters related to resuming the trial with a jury after such a long break.

The current plan is to largely start over with Kenneth "Lil Woody" Copeland if he agrees to testify. This decision was made earlier this week, despite prosecutor Adriane Love raising an objection on Thursday. However, Judge Whitaker reminded Love that more than a week had been given to consider this decision, and the plan to have the prosecution begin from June 12 remains in place.

June 12 is when the first motion to recuse Judge Ural Glanville was filed.

Part of the instructions to the jury will include directions to disregard Copeland's previous testimony.

If some jurors are unable to follow these instructions and must be removed, it could result in a mistrial, according to Judge Whitaker.

There are currently 16 jurors — 12 regular jurors and 4 alternates. Two other jurors were excused previously. 

Judge Whitaker has also reconsidered what she will say to the jury regarding comments made about the defense lawyers. After attorney Brian Steel requested that the jurors be instructed to disregard these comments, Judge Whitaker now plans to tell the jury to ignore any negative comments they may have heard earlier.

ORIGINAL STORY

The drama-filled trial for Young Thug (real name Jeffery Williams) and his co-defendants continues on Aug. 8 in Fulton County.

It's been an interesting week in the longest racketeering trial in Georgia history.

On Monday, the third judge assigned to the case told prosecutors from the Fulton County District Attorney's Office that she was seriously considering if there were Brady violations. The so-called Brady Rule requires prosecutors to disclose any information favorable to the defense before trial.

On Tuesday, Judge Paige Reese Whitaker met the state's star witness, Kenneth "Lil Woody" Copeland, for the first time when he showed up in court unexpectedly.

Prior to his appearance, the judge was trying to determine if he had representation and if what the state prosecutors had told him during the controversial June 10 ex parte meeting about being put into jail until ALL YSL defendants had gone to trial was accurate.

During Woody's appearance, he didn't confirm if he would testify next week. After being asked point-blank by Judge Whitaker if he would testify in front of a jury next week, Woody replied, "Depends on how I wake up."

It was also decided that if Copeland does agree to testify on Monday, he will be asked to start over. The attorneys on both sides have been told to submit jury instructions that explain why they are starting over.

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Also on Tuesday, Assistant Chief District Attorney Adriane Love insisted they did not violate the rules of ethics and were acting in good faith during their secret meetings with the judge who was originally assigned to the case.

On Wednesday, prosecutors seemed to dodge a bullet when they were able to provide proof they had disclosed a piece of evidence to the defense that they were accused of withholding. However, this didn't please the defense, and one of its lawyers asked the judge how many times the state was going to be allowed to say "oops." Judge Whitaker ultimately told Love to get her "ducks and ducklings" in a row, make sure there was nothing else the court did not know about, and turn over any other evidence to the defense by noon on Friday.

Time has also been spent this week discussing the testimony of another witness, and attorney Brian Steel, who represents Young Thug, has continued his quest to have Adriane Love and Simone Hylton (who has not been in court this week) dismissed from the case.

Young Thug and 27 others were indicted in 2022 for violating Georgia's RICO or racketeering law and committing multiple violent crimes. Following the longest jury selection in history (10 months), a trial for Young Thug (real name Jeffery Williams) and several co-defendants got underway in November 2023. It is now the longest trial in Georgia history. Prosecutors are attempting to prove that YSL (Young Slime Life) is a criminal street gang responsible for numerous offenses, including murder. The defendants maintain that YSL stands for Young Stoner Life and is the name of a record label founded by Young Thug. Young Thug is facing 8 criminal charges. The trial has been plagued by various disruptions, including illnesses, the arrests of a juror and a lawyer, the stabbing of defendant Shannon Stillwell, the removal of the judge originally assigned to the case, and more.

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