Young Thug, YSL RICO Trial: Defense upset after learning about additional 'secret' meeting
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - Court was recessed shortly before 3:30 p.m. Wednesday after another dramatic day for the Young Thug/YSL RICO trial in Fulton County.
Young Thug's attorney Brian Steel asked Judge Paige Whitaker to dismiss the entire indictment against his client.
But before that, several defense attorneys loudly complained about a second ex parte or secret meeting between the judge who was originally assigned to the case – Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville – and state prosecutors.
Other issues addressed in Wednesday's court session included the continuation of Kenneth "Woody" Copeland's testimony; the request from the judge to the State to provide a "winnowed" list of witnesses and evidence; a request by a defense attorney to place restrictions on the State related to talking to witnesses outside of questioning; and a request by Attorney Kayla Bumpus to livestream from the courtroom.
Judge Whitaker ordered attorneys and their clients to return to the courtroom at 8:45 a.m. Friday.
More details about today's proceedings can be found below.
3:20 P.M. UPDATE Court is in recess for the day and will not return until 8:45 a.m. Friday. Judge Whitaker told the attorneys that she wants them to spend Thursday getting things ready to conclude their discussion on how to handle future testimony by Kenneth "Woody" Copeland. Judge Whitaker also indicated that they are still waiting on transcripts that are needed to proceed.
3 P.M. UPDATE After another break, Judge Whitaker called upon Attorney Kayla Bumpus to discuss a Rule 22 that she had filed a couple days prior. Judge Whitaker told Bumpus that she is not sure why there is a need for another livestream. Bumpus told the judge that she is concerned about using a livestream from a media outlet because of possible copyright issues. Judge Whitaker denied the request, saying that she finds it "chaotic" and distracting for people to have their cell phones out in court and possibly a security concern. The judge told Bumpus that she prefers that she and another court observer known as "Infamous Sylvia" share Sylvia's livestream and become the "second pool" at this time.
2:50 P.M. UPDATE: Attorney Bruce Harvey makes a verbal motion requesting that the State and others be forbidden from talking to sworn-in witnesses. Harvey tells Judge Whitaker that Judge Glanville's instructions for witnesses about talking were wrong. The State pushes back and Judge Whitaker tells Harvey and the State to submit their case law so that they "get it right."
2:25 P.M. UPDATE Attorney Brian Steel wants Judge Whitaker to dismiss the entire indictment against his client, Young Thug. Steel initially filed a Plea in Bar/Motion to Dismiss/General Demurrer in November 2023. The motion claimed that the indictment was missing the language required to charge someone with racketeering. Judge Glanville denied the request and also refused to give a certificate of immediate review.
According to Steel, there is no evidence that his client or any of the other defendants knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy.
UPDATE AT NOON P.M. Judge Whitaker has instructed the State to provide what evidence they plan to introduce through each witness specifically. She also wants the State to provide all "co-conspirator statements" immediately so that she can decide which ones are admissable and which aren't.
Judge Whitaker says that this "trial by ambush" should not be happening.
Court has recessed for lunch until 1:15 p.m.
UPDATE AT 11:25 A.M. Judge Whitaker shifted her attention to witness Kenneth "Woody" Copeland after court returned from break. Specifically, the judge has been reviewing redactions made to Copeland's police interviews by Judge Glanville. The State said it had no objections to any of the redactions.
However, attorney Max Schardt says they now object to many of Judge Glanville's rulings because it is now evident, especially after the relevation of another ex parte meeting, that Judge Glanville was biased. That includes redactions to testimony.
UPDATE AT 9:30 A.M. Wednesday morning started with a bombshell in the Young Thug/YSL trial in Fulton County.
It was revealed that there was possibly another ex parte meeting held by Fulton County Judge Ural Glanville with State prosecutors before the ex parte meeting on June 10 that has been the focus of the last controversy surrounding the trial.
Attorney Max Schardt was the first to address the possible ex parte meeting, which apparently took place before the one that has already been revealed. He explained to Judge Whitaker that they found out about the other ex parte meeting by "happenstance" and pointed out that neither the court nor the state admitted to the meeting on June 7 when they were asked about the ex parte meeting on June 10.
"This is gross. This is disgusting. But it's all starting to make sense. It clicked when I read that transcript last night. This is not okay. Nothing about this is okay. These gentlemen have a right to a fair and impartial judge," Schardt said in court.
"We need to revisit everything. This is broken and it's not OK. It's not OK. … I'm not, I'm not trying to raise my voice at you. I'm, I'm heated right now. My head steams been coming off my bald head all night," Schardt continued.
According to a supplement filed by attorney Doug Weinstein, Judge Glanville and prosecutors Adriane Love and Simone Hylton reportedly gossiped "like yentas" over 13 pages of transcripts about attorneys Max Schardt, John Melnick (who represented witness Kenneth Copeland), and Brian Steel during the June 7 ex parte meeting.
Additionally, the supplement says Glanville, Love, and Hylton assassinated the character of Melnick, attacking his integrity, and alleging that he was not acting in the best interest of his client, Kenneth Copeland.
Weinstein wrote that it was also not a fair trial when the trio attacked Attorney Bumpus for allegedly hugging defendant Deamonte Kendrick and that it is not a fair trial when prosecutor Love lied to the judge about an email she received from Melnick.
Weinstein is asking the court how many violations of the Georgia Code of Judicial Conduct it takes to get a mistrial with prejudice and that a mistrial should be declared and a retrial barred due to prosecutorial and judicial misconduct that has goaded Kendrick into his current motion for mistrial.
"I have been arguing with people for 18 months that Chief Judge Glanville was doing his best, and now, I have been made to look like an idiot," Weinstein told the judge.
Court is in recess until 11 a.m. Judge Whitaker is taking time to read through cases related to motions and make some rulings.
UPDATE AT 9 A.M. The first thing that Judge Whitaker addressed in court on Wednesday morning was related to Kenneth Copeland's testimony. Assistant District Attorney Hylton told the judge that the defense still needs to review the transcripts and after they have done so, they will meet to talk about what portions of the testimony can be kept and what instructions should be given to the jury when it returns.
ORIGINAL STORY
The gang and racketeering trial for Young Thug (real name Jeffery Williams) and his co-defendants resumed on Wednesday in Fulton County.
Judge Paige Reese Whitaker is now in charge of the trial after the original judge assigned to the case, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville, was recused in connection to an ex parte hearing held on June 10.
Court will resume at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday. Check back here for a livestream at that time.
Judge Whitaker has made it clear that she plans to speed up the pace of the trial, which is entering its 10th month or 20th month if you include the 10 months that it took to select a jury.
"This trial should not take the next seven months," Whitaker said. "I'm not saying it won't, but it shouldn't."
In addition to the multiple motions reviewed in court on Tuesday, Judge Whitaker, who expressed amazement that prosecutors and defense attorneys haven't worked together to present organized witness lists and a list of pieces of evidence they intend to present, ordered the prosecutors to produce a "winnowed down" list of witnesses and evidence by the end of next week. The State previously said it planned to call more than 100 witnesses.
TUESDAY'S STORY: Bond denied for Young Thug, Mariah The Scientist in court
As for the many motions, Judge Whitaker issued some decisions quickly and indicated she would make decisions on others at a later date.
She quickly denied a request from prosecutors for a "gag order" that would prevent defense lawyers from talking about the case.
She also denied a request for bond for Jeffery Williams (and other defendants), although attorney Brian Steel argued that Williams had a support system in place and would agree to house arrest and 24/7 monitoring by the sheriff's office. He also told the judge that his client was living in "squalor." However, that appeared to have no impact on the judge.
Williams has been in the Cobb County jail since his arrest in May 2022.
Steel also brought up the ex parte meeting between Judge Glanville, prosecutors for the State, and witness Kenneth Copeland on multiple occasions during Tuesday's proceedings.
OTHER RECENT STORIES
- Order in the Court! New Young Thug, YSL judge establishes new rules for court
- Young Thug, YSL Trial: Judge Whitaker signals determination to proceed with trial
Additionally, other defense attorneys said they believe the prosecutors intentionally called the secret meeting in an attempt to goad them into asking for a mistrial because they believe they are losing their case and want a do-over.
At one point, Judge Whitaker told Steel that Judge Glanville was not removed because of the ex parte hearing but because he engaged in an exposition on the facts in making his rulings on the motion to recuse. However, she did say she would say more about the ex parte hearing on Wednesday after she had additional time to review the transcripts from the meeting.
Judge Whitaker also said she would rule on some of the defense attorneys' other motions on Wednesday.
Judge Whitaker admonished prosecutor Love, reminding her to keep her comments professional, after receiving complaints from defense attorneys. Additionally, she took Love to task, reminding her to take candor in the court seriously after seeming to find Love misrepresented legal conclusions in one of her filings.
Defense attorneys made multiple motions for a mistrial prior to the ex parte hearing in June, claiming that Judge Glanville was biased against them and their efforts to prove that YSL was not a criminal gang and their clients are innocent.
Steel and other defense attorneys have also sought to have the prosecutors removed from the case. That motion has yet to be ruled on by the new judge.
Another issue that was discussed was related to witness Kenneth Copeland. The decision needs to be made if questioning of Copeland must start from the beginning or if there are portions that can be kept and testimony can resume from where it left off.
Copeland, who is a convicted felon, apparently agreed to testify against Young Thug and his co-defendants after he was pulled over for a traffic stop and a gun was found in his vehicle.
Young Thug and his co-defendants were indicted in 2022. Following the longest jury selection in history (10 months), the trial got underway in November 2023. At 18 months and counting, it is the longest trial in Georgia history. The trial has been plagued by various disruptions, including illnesses, the arrests of a juror and lawyer, the stabbing of defendant Shannon Stillwell, and various other disruptions.