Deliver verdict acquitting gang and racketeering case against Young Thug and others

ATLANTA — The judge overseeing the long-running racketeering and gang prosecution against rapper Young Thug and others has been removed from the case, after two defendants sought his removal, citing the judge’s meeting with prosecutors. of. Nearby observer.

The Fulton County Supreme Court judge’s decision on Ural Glanville halted the case in Atlanta two weeks ago in anticipation of another ruling pending an examination of the defendants’ motions for separation. Judge Rachel Cross granted those motions on Monday and ordered the court clerk to assign the case to another judge.

Future is no longer blaming Glanville for controlling the gathering and declaring that he has “no doubt that Judge Glanville can and will continue to hear this case impartially,” Cross wrote. “The need to maintain public confidence in the judicial system” is in favor of removing Judge Glanville from the case.

This decision will undoubtedly cause additional delay to a crisis that has already been going on for quite some time. Jury selection began in January 2023 and took approximately 10 months. Opening statements took place in November and the prosecution has since been presenting its case by calling dozens of witnesses.

Young Thug, a Grammy winner whose given name is Jeffrey Williams, was charged in a sweeping indictment two years ago that accuses him and more than two others of conspiring to violate Georgia’s anti-racketeering law. Was imposed. He has also been charged with gang, drug and gun crimes and five other people are on trial along with him.

Younger Thug’s attorney and co-defendant Demonte Kendrick filed a petition to have Glanville removed. He said the judge held a meeting with prosecutors and prosecution supervisor Kenneth Copeland, at which the defendants and defense attorneys were not present. Defense lawyers argued that the meeting was “improper” and that the judge and prosecutors had attempted to force the supervisor to testify.

Glanville said the meeting went well and argued that no one gained any strategic advantage as a result.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s workplace, which is prosecuting the case, had argued that there was little need to recuse Glanville from the case.

Young Thug’s attorney Brian Metall said in an email comment that his client is innocent and wants to clear his name through an excellent trial.

“Regretfully, Judge Glanville and the prosecutors did not perform their duties under the law,” Metall said. He also said he was grateful for the separation order and “look forward to moving forward with a trial judge who will follow the law with impartiality and integrity.”

Kendrick’s attorney Doug Weinstein also praised Monday’s decision.

“While I respect Chief Justice Glanville and his service to this community and country, he became partisan during the course of this case,” he wrote in an electronic mail. He said he is eager to have the case tried “before an independent judge,” but said the only fair outcome at this point is a “mistrial and bond” for Kendrick, who has been in prison for more than two years. . ,

A spokesperson for Willis’s workplace declined to comment. The Associated Press has also contacted Glanville for comment.

Krause wrote in his series that he “generally agreed” with Glanville’s assessment of the propriety of the gathering, that nothing about the gathering or what was said was inherently wrong. He wrote that the meeting could and perhaps should have been held in a visible court room.

But if Glanville refused to agitate for Kendrick’s separation in the courtroom, she “provided context, questioned the veracity of the allegations, and otherwise explained her decisions and actions and argued why those actions were justified.” ” Citing case law, Cross wrote that after a judge discloses knowledge relevant to his or her potential disapproval, he or she must do so in “as objective, impartial and non-argumentative manner as possible, so that the judge does not Be “reasonably regarded as a hostile witness or attorney.”

Young Thug has achieved wild success since he started rapping in his teens and serves as the CEO of his private label, Younger Stoner Week, or YSL. Artists from his label are considered part of the “Slim Family”, and a compilation brochure, “Slim Language 2”, proved to be false. 1 on the charts in April 2021.

However, prosecutors say YSL also stands for Young Slime Week, which they allege is a violent Atlanta-based street gang affiliated with the National Bloods gang and founded in 2012 by Young Thug and two others Was. Prosecutors say people named in the indictment are responsible. Violent crime – including murders, shootings and carjackings – serves to raise cash for the mob, erase its identity, and increase its energy and space.

Metal said during his opening remarks that his album’s songs allude to violent acts, including murders, but he added that they are merely creative expressions taken from his difficult formative years and are not a history of his personal actions.