ATLANTA — Rapper Young Thug's attorney Brian Steel filed a motion Friday asking for a co-defendant to be dropped from the trial. The latest development is about Cordarius Dorsey, who also known as YSL Polo.
The motion reads that, "Mr. Dorsey, a co-indictee, has displayed unprofessional and unacceptable conduct in Court, in the presence of this Honorable Court, as announced on the Record on Thursday, August 31, 2023.”
It goes on to say, "Based upon information and belief, during a separate trial, Mr. Dorsey, using movements with his hands, threatened the prosecutors as well as the jurors.”
Legal expert, Darryl Cohen who is not a part of the YSL trial, said this move could both extend and shorten criminal proceedings in what has already been a lengthy process just to seat a jury.
"It may shorten this trial by just a little bit, but it will necessitate an additional trial that will take a great deal of time, not as much as this one has taken so far, but it will take a lot of time. It's sort of called the law of unintended consequences," explained Cohen.
Cohen said that even if the judge denies the motion, it's a strategic move.
"If the Judge Rainville does not grant the motion to sever that, if this defendant or any or all of the defendants are convicted, then he has another piece of evidence on appeal to say it was not a fair trial," said Cohen.
A similar motion was filed in July to have the details surrounding the arrest of another YSL co-defendant, Shannon Stillwell, stricken from the trial after he was arrested during an alleged religious ceremony involving the sacrifice of goats.
Jury selection in this case started in January and still no one has been seated.