UPDATE (July 15):
Young Thug's attorney released the following statement XXL in the wake of Judge Ural Glanville's disqualification from the YSL RICO trial.
“Jeffrey Williams is innocent of the charges in this indictment and to clear his name he sought a speedy trial, a fair trial in which he would receive the constitutional guarantees of a fair trial with an impartial judge presiding and with moral prosecutors to follow the law”. the statement says. “Unfortunately, Judge Glanville and the prosecutors breached their duties under the law. Mr. Williams is grateful that the reviewing court agreed with him and upheld the order excusing and disqualifying Judge Glanville from presiding over Mr. Williams' case. We look forward to moving forward with a judge who will follow the law fairly and faithfully.”
UPDATE (July 15):
After the removal of Judge Ural Glanville, someone else has been assigned to the YSL RICO case. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution states that Judge Shukura Ingram will step in to take over for Judge Glanville.
ORIGINAL STORY (July 15):
Judge Ural Glanville was recused from the YSL RICO trial following petitions filed by attorneys for Young Thug and one of his co-defendants.
Judge removed from YSL case
The YSL RICO case has been on hold for the past two weeks pending a ruling on the defendants' motion to remove Judge Glanville. On Monday (July 15), the decision was made that Glanville would withdraw from the trial, according to court documents obtained by XXL.
“This Court has no doubt that Judge Glanville can and would continue to fairly preside over this matter if the motions to recuse are denied, but the “necessity to maintain public confidence in the judicial system'' weighs in favor of recusing Judge Glanville from further handling of this case,” court documents state.
Glanville will be reassigned to a new case. It is unclear who will take over for him in the YSL case.
XXL has reached out to Young Thug's attorney and the Fulton County Superior Court for comment.
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Why was Judge Glanville removed from the trial?
The defense's dispute with Judge Glanville came to a head last month after key prosecution witness Kenneth “Lil Woody” Copeland refused to testify on June 7 and was jailed over the weekend for failing to do so. The following Monday, Copeland, prosecutors and Judge Glanville had an ex-parte meeting unbeknownst to the defense, which led to Copeland's return to the stand.
Young Thug's attorney, Brian Steel, disagreed with the meeting and called Judge Glanville to court. Glanville responded by asking Steel to reveal how he found out about the meeting. When Steel refused, Glanville ordered him taken into custody and sentenced to 20 days in jail. Lawyers for Young Thug and his co-defendant Deamonte Kendrick responded by filing motions to remove Glanville from the case, which the court granted after a 10-day recess in the trial.
