The trial involving Young Thug and his associates in Atlanta has been put on hold indefinitely due to alleged misconduct by Judge Ural Glanville, according to The Washington Post.
Judge Glanville announced today that the trial will not continue until another judge decides if he should step down from the case. This decision comes after defense lawyers accused him of holding a secret meeting with prosecutors and a key witness, Kenneth Copeland, which they argue was unfair and against the rules.
Glanville initially said he would make the transcript of his meeting with Copeland public but then changed his mind. He decided to let another judge review whether he should stay on the case or not.
Brian Steel, Young Thug’s main lawyer, had questioned Glanville about this secret meeting but didn’t say how he found out about it. As a result, Steel was held in contempt of court last month and sentenced to 20 weekends in jail. The trial has faced many delays because of disputes over evidence and witness testimonies; jurors last heard statements on June 17.
I think this whole situation seems really complicated for everyone involved.
Today is the 100th day since opening statements began. The trial has been delayed by various issues like a lengthy jury selection process that took 10 months and an incident where one of Young Thug’s co-defendants was stabbed in jail just two weeks after the trial started. Prosecutors still have more than half their witnesses left to call, so it’s expected that this trial could go on until 2025.
Young Thug is facing numerous charges linked to leading the YSL gang with connections to the Bloods organization. Prosecutors claim YSL operated like a gang under Young Thug’s leadership to control Atlanta. However, his defense argues that YSL is just a record label making rap music about criminal life without actually engaging in those activities.
Steel insists that Young Thug hasn’t done anything wrong at all. During opening arguments, he said that Young Thug’s songs tell stories of overcoming tough times to achieve success and now he’s being taken advantage of by real criminals who are testifying against him.
The judge also allowed prosecutors to use song lyrics as evidence—a move criticized by many experts as being unfair.
