A.M. ATL: New judge, new territory for the YSL trial

Morning, y’all! The forecast should feel familiar: temperatures in the low 90s with afternoon thunderstorms.

News-wise, we’ve got the latest on Georgia football players’ poor driving choices, a budding housing voucher scandal and a festive Cirque du Soleil show bound for town.

Now. How about we take a look at where things stand in metro Atlanta’s most interminable trial?

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COURT CALAMITY

Miguel Martinez/AJC

Miguel Martinez/AJC

For 19 simultaneously tedious and tumultuous months, the gang case against Atlanta rapper Young Thug and his associates has played out in a Fulton County courtroom.

But Georgia’s longest-ever criminal trial may soon come to an end — not with a bang but with a recusal, a mistrial and a whimper.

Where we’re at: Defense attorneys’ requests to remove Chief Judge Ural Glanville from the case earned approval on Monday, a few weeks after he held a controversial private meeting with prosecutors and a witness.

Which is great, but: It may ultimately be for naught. Defense attorneys already requested a mistrial, calling the case “irrevocably tainted.” Legal experts told the AJC such an action is likely.

Should the state decide to retry the case, it would likely have to start everything over — including jury selection, which took the better part of a year the first time around.

How we got here: The AJC’s Bill Rankin writes that Glanville sealed his own fate (and possibly the case’s) when he defended his actions in open court, rather than immediately referring recusal requests to another judge.

What it means for you: There’s a lot to unfold yet. But a mistrial would mean countless wasted resources (i.e. time and taxpayer money) when the county is battling an overwhelming backlog of cases — and an aging jail overcrowded with other folks awaiting trial.

More AJC coverage:

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BULLDOGS BEHIND THE WHEEL

On the same day Georgia football dismissed a player involved in a recent driving-related incident, head coach Kirby Smart defended attempts to educate his team about the dangers of recklessness on the road — but admitted the message hasn’t sunk in.

He also revealed that players involved in such incidents receive “substantial fines” from the group that distributes their name, image and likeness payments.

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MORE TOP STORIES

» Georgia’s Court of Appeals set a date of Dec. 5 for arguments in the effort to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis from Fulton County’s case against Donald Trump. That, of course, is after the presidential election.

» New court filings contend that a coastal Georgia prosecutor with a history of hiding evidence made a secret deal with a witness in a death penalty case.

» Federal officials want the Fulton Housing Authority to let someone else handle Section 8 rent subsidies — and are likely to sanction the county agency for mishandling the program.

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RACING REPERCUSSIONS

Courtesy photo

Courtesy photo

Street racing. Intersection “takeovers.” You know ‘em, you hate ‘em. And a new law that went into effect this month hopes to shut ‘em down.

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AJC AT THE RNC

Gov. Brian Kemp hasn’t had the best relationship with the Georgia GOP or former President Donald Trump. He extended an olive branch to both in a Wisconsin ballroom Tuesday.

“We’re a red state, and we’re going to be a red state in ‘24,” Kemp said.

» Related coverage: Ted Cruz mentions Laken Riley; Savannah Chrisley cries political prosecution

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ALL-STAR ACES

Braves pitchers Max Fried and Reynaldo López both logged scoreless appearances in last night’s MLB All-Star game (which the American League won, 5-3). Marcell Ozuna grounded out in his lone at-bat.

Atlanta resumes regular action on Friday, when the Cardinals come to town.

More sports highlights:

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SAY IT AIN’T SO

Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks won’t reopen its flagship restaurant in downtown Atlanta, which originally closed after a pipe burst during last month’s catastrophic water main breaks.

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CHRISTMAS IN JULY

Courtesy photo

Courtesy photo

Here’s something fun: Cirque du Soleil plans to bring its first-ever Christmas show to Atlanta later this year — and it’s at the Fox Theatre, not that big tent in the Atlantic Station parking lot.

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MORE TO EXPLORE

» New details revealed about Microsoft’s $1.8B data center near Atlanta

» 2 killed by Forsyth County deputies serving warrants

» BET launches new Tyler Perry channels on Pluto, Roku

» Judge refuses to extend time frame for Georgia’s new Medicaid plan

» Gwinnett commissioners approve flat property tax rate

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ON THIS DATE

July 17, 1945

Army Capt. Bobbie Brown got word he would receive the Medal of Honor for a particularly audacious burst of battlefield bravado.

The “big, rugged Georgian” took out five German “pillboxes” (those fortified stone buildings you’ve seen in movies, with the tiny holes for soldiers to shoot through) in a single, relatively brief battle. Naturally, he undersold his actions.

“Hell’s bells, Crucifix Hill was only a 40-minute operation,” Brown told the Atlanta Journal. “I’ve been in worse shows than that.”

File photo

File photo

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PHOTO OF THE DAY

Jason Getz/AJC

Jason Getz/AJC

AJC photographer Jason Getz recently captured 3-year-old Harriet Girouard (right) and 5-year-old sister Mabry enjoying their ice cream outside the Frosty Caboose in Chamblee, which is celebrating 15 years in business.

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ONE MORE THING

This very large Milton mansion is also a ranch. With a vineyard. That’s up for auction. And one of the most viewed things on AJC.com. Enjoy the photos!

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Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.

Until next time.