ATLANTA — Editor's note: The video used in this article is from previous coverage of this topic.
Following a 48-hour extension, prosecutors in the long-running YSL RICO trial against Jeffrey Williams -- better known as rapper Young Thug -- and his co-defendants have filed a response to a motion asking the judge to step aside from the case. Meanwhile, Young Thug's attorney is calling for a mistrial.
In the state's response, prosecutors argued that none of the information the defendants set forth would authorize recusal for Judge Ural Glanville. Therefore, the prosecutors believe that the defendants' filings calling for the judge to be removed should be denied.
"To be disqualifying, the alleged bias must stem from an extra-judicial source and result in an opinion on the merits on some basis other than what the judge learned from his participation in the case," prosecutors wrote in their response.
It also states that it must be proven that there is evidence to support a "bent of mind" that may prevent or impede impartiality in the case.
In general, some of the recent discord started when some defense attorneys argued that Glanville should no longer oversee the case because of a June 10 proceeding known as an ex parte meeting that became the subject of deep contention in the trial.
That came after a witness, Kenneth Copeland, who is also known as "Lil Woody," was arrested on June 7. He was held in contempt after refusing to testify on the stand as part of an immunity agreement. A few days later, in the judge's chambers, prosecutors shared an email sent to them by Copeland's attorney accusing them of making him a target by forcing him to testify. They also said his attorney was threatening to pull out of the case.
In Wednesday's written response from prosecutors, they attached emails they received.
"My concern is for my client. Had I been involved, I would have demanded a much more specific immunity deal. You need him much more than he needs you. You've put him in a terrible position where you know his life is in danger whether in custody or on the street," Copeland's attorney wrote to the prosecutors. "He's a marked man from this point forward. Go f*** yourself if you think I'm doing anything besides protecting my client."
Copeland did eventually testify in court.
Copeland had an attorney present for the meeting, but she was a stand-in for his usual lawyer, who was out of town. Steel 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.
However, the state claims that Steele's client was unnecessary for this meeting as this type of communication is for those who have a legal interest in a proceeding. Prosecutors argue that no defendants in this case have any standing in the state's motion to get testimony from "Lil Woody" or any subsequent contempt proceedings initiated due to his refusal to testify.
"Since no defendant, in this case, had a right to be present at the June 10, 2024, in-chambers meeting with Kenneth Copeland and his counsel regarding the contempt proceedings against Kenneth Copeland, the fact of the meeting provides no grounds for recusal of Chief Judge Glanville," the state wrote.
Steel, on the other hand, argues the meeting irreparably corrupted Judge Glanville's oversight of the case, and he's seeking to have another judge remove both Glanville and the prosecutors.
"Judge Glanville, lawyer Love and lawyer Hylton have prejudiced and tainted Mr. Williams’ trial so deeply as Judge Glanville has not acted as a Judge but morphed into an essential part of the prosecution team," he wrote. "It is the Judge’s duty to disqualify himself as soon as he is aware that the grounds exist."
Currently, Judge Rachel Krause is assigned to oversee the question of recusal. Steel wanted her — and the rest of the Fulton County Superior Court — to stay out of the decision and recuse herself, though she denied that part of the request later Monday.
"This judicial and prosecutorial misconduct denotes a disgraceful episode in Fulton County Courts," Steel's filing argued. "It is inappropriate for any Judge to preside in any action where one of the parties holds a judicial office in any other Court which sits in the same Circuit."
Steel's filing also requests that Young Thug be released from custody and cleared of all charges based upon prosecutorial and judicial misconduct.
The attorney has since doubled down on this argument. In a Wednesday evening filing, the attorney is requesting a mistrial due to the controversial meeting and argues that Young Thig is innocent of all crimes.
"From the inception, this trial has been Constitutionally unfair as this court has failed to be impartial to Mr. Williams and/or his counsel and has been objectively biased in favor of the prosecution," Steel wrote.
Judge Glanville has since released the transcript of the meeting with Copeland, but the extraordinary turn in the case has captivated legal observers.
Glanville has previously denied other motions for his recusal or disqualification from the case. The trial continues to be put on pause a decision hangs in the balance on whether the judge will be removed.
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.
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