Judge in Young Thug’s RICO Trial Recused After Spat Over Secret Witness Meeting
The judge presiding over Young Thug’s RICO trial has been recused following a stand-off over a secret meeting involving the judge, prosecutors, and a key state witness.
Superior Court Judge Rachel Krause granted the removal of Judge Ural Glanville in a ruling issued Monday, July 15. Motions to recuse the judge were brought by lawyers for Young Thug (real name Jeffery Williams) and one of the rapper’s co-defendants, Deamonte “Yak Gotti” Kendrick.
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“This Court has no doubt that Judge Glanville can and would continue presiding fairly over this matter if the recusal motions were denied, but the ‘necessity of preserving the public’s confidence in the judicial system’ weighs in favor of excusing Judge Glanville from further handling of this case,” Judge Krause wrote.
Krause ordered the Fulton County clerk to reassign the trial to another judge. By Monday evening, the trial docket said the case had been given to Judge Shakura L. Ingram.
According to Kendrick’s lawyer Douglas Weinstein, the trial must go back and start again from where it was on June 12, the day Kendrick’s defense brought the first motion for Glanville’s recusal. Considering the jury heard testimony from state’s witness Kenneth Copeland after June 12, the “rewind” could present grounds for a mistrial, Weinstein tells Rolling Stone. And, If a mistrial is granted on the basis of actions by the court or prosecutors, there could be be grounds for a mistrial with prejudice, meaning Williams and his five co-defendants on the current trial might not be retried.
“Given the amount of testimony that the jury heard since [June 12], I believe it will be difficult, if not impossible, for that to be undone, for the jury to unhear that testimony, for their notes to be taken away. I don’t see how you can practically do it. So while I’m still investigating, at this point, a mistrial might be the only appropriate resolution,” Weinstein tells Rolling Stone. “I don’t want to put the cart before the horse, but if we ask for a mistrial, it is because we were goaded into that through the actions of the prosecution as well as the judge, and given that goading, double jeopardy should attach, and Mr. Kendrick should not be retried. At the very least right now, if there is a mistrial, which I don’t see as avoidable, Mr. Kendrick should be out on bond pending final resolution of these issues.”
In a statement, Williams’ lead lawyer Brian Steel said the Grammy-winning rapper is “innocent of the charges brought against him” and deserves the opportunity to “clear his name” at a trial with an impartial judge and ethical prosecutors. “Sadly, Judge Glanville and the prosecutors have run afoul of their duties under of the law. Mr. Williams is grateful that the reviewing court agreed with him and entered the order recusing and disqualifying Judge Glanville from presiding over Mr. Williams’ case,” Steel said. “We look forward to proceeding with a trial judge who will fairly and faithfully follow the law.”
The dust-up over Glanville began in early June when Williams’ attorney Brian Steel was held in contempt after refusing to tell Glanville how he’d heard about a conversation between the judge, prosecutors, and Copeland in the judge’s chambers. Copeland was expected to testify that Williams knew he was renting a car as part of a plan to murder a member of an alleged rival gang. That Williams knew the car would be used in the crime is a major part of the state’s racketeering and gang case against the rapper and alleged YSL gang (Williams has pleaded not guilty).
Copeland had suddenly refused to testify, and even spent a weekend in jail for contempt, before taking the stand on June 10. During that day’s lunch break, Steel learned about the meeting which had allegedly taken place that morning. Steel seemed to allege that during the meeting that Copeland may have been coerced or intimidated ahead of his testimony. During a tense exchange, Glanville never denied the meeting, but held Steel in contempt after the defense attorney refused to say how he heard about the conversation.
In the aftermath, Steel and the other defense attorneys repeatedly asked Glanville for a transcript of the meeting, arguing that any “inconsistent statements” made by Copeland could be used as exculpatory evidence during cross-examination. Glanville initially resisted the request but finally released the transcripts in early July.
Around the same time, Steel and co-counsel Keith Adams filed their motion to recuse Glanville. They claimed the judge acted “unethically” by allowing the meeting to happen without the defense present, failing to disclose Copeland’s statements, and telling Copeland he could remain in jail until every defendant charged in the YSL indictment finished trial. After the transcript was released, the trial was put on hold pending a decision from Judge Krause.
While Judge Krause did grant the motion to recuse, she did not seem to find any fault with Glanville’s handling of the Copeland meeting. She said the court “generally agrees with Judge Glanville’s assessment of the propriety of the ex parte meeting.” Though acknowledging the meeting “could have — and perhaps should have — taken place in open court,” she said “nothing about the fact of the meeting or the substance discussed was inherently improper.”
Weinstein tells Rolling Stone he is happy with the judge’s ruling, no matter how she arrived at the decision. “I think Judge Krause did absolutely the right thing recusing Judge Glanville because his actions, at the very least, gave the appearance of impropriety. I believe it went beyond that to actual impropriety regarding the ex parte meeting that was held. However I’m just happy with the result,” Weinstein says. “At this point, we will get a new judge on the case who I believe will enter without any bias, and with an unbiased judge, we will get the justice that Mr. Kendrick is due.”
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