The unpredictable, much-delayed criminal trial of Young Thug, the Atlanta rap star, has been thrown for another loop: The judge overseeing the case for two years has been ordered to step aside.
Following weeks of upheaval in the courtroom over an uncooperative witness, a judge in Fulton County, Ga., ruled on Monday that Judge Ural Glanville, who has already presided over 10 months of jury selection and eight months of arguments, must recuse himself in order to preserve “the public’s confidence in the judicial system.”
The trial has been paused for two weeks and will resume once a new judge is assigned to the case.
The move to have Judge Glanville removed stemmed from motions by lawyers for Young Thug, born Jeffery Williams, and another of the rapper’s five co-defendants in the sprawling gang conspiracy case after the judge met secretly with prosecutors and a key witness who refused to testify last month. The defense lawyers said they should have been present for, or at least informed of, the meeting, calling it “improper and coercive.”
The ruling by one of Judge Glanville’s judicial colleagues disagreed. “While the meeting could have — and perhaps should have — taken place in open court, nothing about the fact of the meeting or the substance discussed was inherently improper,” Judge Rachel Krause wrote in her decision.
But the fact that Judge Glanville defended his actions regarding the meeting in court and ruled on related motions instead of immediately referring those decisions to another judge meant that he should step aside to assure fairness, Judge Krause wrote.
“This court has no doubt that Judge Glanville can and would continue presiding fairly over this matter if the recusal motions were denied,” the decision said, “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.”
Representatives for the Fulton County district attorney’s office and lawyers for Mr. Williams did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Williams was initially charged in May 2022, alongside 27 associates, with violating the Georgia state criminal racketeering law, or RICO, the same statute used to indict former President Donald J. Trump and others in what prosecutors called a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election.
Prosecutors say that Mr. Williams was a leader of YSL, or Young Slime Life, a subset of the national Bloods gang, and that he oversaw a criminal conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, witness intimidation and drug dealing. Jury selection in the complex case began in January 2023, although opening statements were not delivered until Nov. 27 of last year.
Despite being whittled down to six defendants, the case has continued to be plagued by scheduling complications, procedural roadblocks and dramatic delays, like the jail stabbing of one of the defendants.
When the trial resumes following the assignment of a new judge, the prosecution witness at the heart of the disagreement with Judge Glanville, Kenneth Copeland, will likely continue his testimony, which has been at turns halting and dramatic.
Last month, Mr. Copeland was held in contempt and jailed for a weekend when he attempted to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination despite having been granted immunity. He was then called to the meeting in Judge Glanville’s chambers, along with his lawyer and prosecutors, to discuss whether he had been working behind the scenes with the defense and the potential consequences if he continued to refuse to testify.
Mr. Copeland eventually agreed to take the stand, although he seemed to answer questions only begrudgingly. In taking issue with the terms of the meeting, Brian Steel, a lawyer for Mr. Williams, was held in contempt by Judge Glanville for refusing to disclose how he found out about it.
Mr. Steel was sentenced to a maximum of 20 days in jail, to be served on the weekends. He is currently appealing Judge Glanville’s decision.
Read More: Judge in Young Thug Trial Is Ordered Off the Case
