YSL RICO trial: Calls reviewed, Steel files brief with GA Supreme Court
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - The judge and attorneys involved in the Young Thug and YSL trial in Fulton County have spent most of Thursday reviewing recorded phone calls that prosecutors want to present to the jury when it returns next week.
Most of the calls involved Young Thug's co-defendants, Shannon Stillwell and Quamarvious Nichols.
The prosecution argued that the phone calls should be admitted because they further the conspiracy theory.
Despite objections by defense attorneys Bruce Harvey, who represents Nichols, and Max Schardt, who represents Stillwell, most of the calls are being admitted by Judge Paige Reese Whitaker under the hearsay exception for "co-conspirator statements."
In related news, attorneys for Brian Steel filed a brief with the Georgia Supreme Court regarding his contempt of court charge.
Steel was held in contempt by the original judge assigned to the case, Judge Ural Glanville, after he refused to disclose who informed him about an ex parte meeting on June 10.
Glanville initially sentenced Steel to 10 weekends in jail, but the Supreme Court put a stay on that order.
According to the brief, there is insufficient evidence to support Steel's contempt conviction beyond a reasonable doubt.
Additionally, the brief argues that the trial court's directive for Steel to disclose "privileged information" was unlawful and created a conflict of interest between his client's interests and his own. The trial court also erred in failing to afford Steel due process.
The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments related to the appeal for October.
Original trial Judge Ural Glanville was ultimately removed from the case due to his handling of the ex parte meeting.
The second judge chosen to oversee the trial removed herself because of a former relationship between a court deputy and a YSL defendant.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker is the third judge to be assigned to the case.
Young Thug and 27 others were indicted in 2022 for violating Georgia's RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) law and committing multiple violent crimes. Following the longest jury selection in history (10 months), the trial for Young Thug and several co-defendants began 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 eight 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.