ATLANTA — On Tuesday, Judge Ural Glanville denied motions to disqualify himself from the YSL trial involving Atlanta rapper Young Thug, claiming the allegations mentioned did not warrant recusal.
The document filed in the Superior Court of Fulton County on Monday claimed that Judge Ural Glanville engaged in "improper conduct" alongside the court and prosecution. The defense also called for a mistrial.
It goes on to say that on June 10, a meeting that Young Thug's lawyers are calling "unlawful" took place between the court and prosecutors, including Kenneth Copeland, a sworn witness who was given immunity on June 7.
Attorneys stated they were not provided notice of the meeting, adding they were "in the dark."
This comes after the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that Brian Steel, the attorney for rapper Young Thug in the YSL trial, would no longer have to serve jail time after being granted bond after being held in contempt for refusing to disclose his source regarding information shared in an ex-parte meeting between the judge, the State, and key witness Copeland.
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.