ATLANTA — The RICO trial involving Jeffery Williams — better known as the rapper Young Thug — is already Georgia's longest ever.
Now, it's indefinitely paused as Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachel Krause decides whether her colleague, Chief Judge Ural Glanville, is fit to continue overseeing the YSL case after allegations of judicial misconduct.
The recent motions stem from concerns over a June 10 ex-parte conversation that Young Thug's lawyers called "unlawful" between the court and prosecutors, including Kenneth Copeland, a sworn witness who was given immunity on June 7. Young Thug's lawyer, Brian Steel, in particular, insinuated that the court was committing "coercion" as no representation for his client was invited to the meeting. This controversial, private meeting also led to Steel being held in contempt and sentenced to a 20-day jail sentence, which has been reversed after the state Supreme Court granted him bond.
In general, defense attorney Darryl Cohen said that if a lawyer is not happy with a judge, then that person can ask for the judge to be recused.
"Asking is not the same as it happening," Cohen stated.
The recusal situation is rare but not unprecedented, according to Cohen. The 2008 Brian Nichols trial had multiple judges assigned to it.
"There was a judge here in Atlanta who was murdered by Brian Nichols, and so all of the judges in Fulton County said, I'm not touching it," Cohen recalled. "[Judge] Hilton [Fuller], for whatever reason, did not handle the case the way they thought it should be handled. He came off the case. Judge James Bodiford from Cobb County Superior Court took over."
A similar situation could unfold in Fulton County if the motion to recuse Judge Glanville were granted. The venue, jury and witnesses would likely stay the same.
"Another judge will be appointed. Whoever he or she is, it will likely take some time for that to happen as far as getting up to speed," Cohen said. "It starts where it was, but very much like episodic TV, they may have to have a little replay just to refresh the minds of the jury."
If the motion to recuse Judge Glanville is denied, the dynamics of the courtroom could shift anyway.
"Once a relationship is broken, it's almost never repaired to the point where it was before," Cohen said. "[Steel and Glanville are] both going to be walking on eggshells, very thin ice. Neither of them wants anything to erupt again, but it could, so there's going to be this edge in that courtroom that there wasn't before."
More on the Young Thug, YSL trial
On May 9, 2022, the hip-hop world was jolted with the news that rapper Young Thug—a Grammy winner, trendsetter and Atlanta icon—had been arrested.
It's been over two years now that the artist, whose legal name is Jeffery Williams, has remained behind bars. The central charge against him is that three letters with which his name has become synonymous because of his artistic success in launching the "Young Stoner Life" label, YSL, actually signalize a violent gang: Young Slime Life.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis named Williams, among other metro Atlanta rappers and those with ties to the alleged gang, to bring charges against a total of 28 people in a sweeping 88-page indictment. The case alleges that not only is Young Thug among the gang's members, but he is also its kingpin.
"He is the one they're all afraid of," a prosecutor said at a June 2022 hearing. "He's the one that's King Slime."
A long pretrial process passed to an even longer jury selection process, and across this time, the co-defendant list dwindled with plea deals and other circumstances, keeping some of the individuals charged from remaining on the case.
The trial finally began in earnest in November 2023, already considered the longest in Georgia's history.
11Alive has tracked key developments in the case and highlighted moments in the courtroom. Follow along in the timeline below.