The Georgia Supreme Court won’t halt the gang and racketeering trial against Young Thug and his alleged associates while they try to get the case assigned to a new judge.
In an order issued Thursday, the state Supreme Court said the defendants must first try to force the recusal of Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville by filing a petition in the trial court.
Several of the defendants’ attorneys had asked Glanville to recuse himself from the case after he held a private meeting with prosecutors and a state witness who initially refused to testify. Glanville immediately denied the recusal requests, prompting a petition to the state Supreme Court.
Lawyers for defendant Deamonte Kendrick asked the appellate court to put the trial on hold and order Glanville to allow another judge to consider if his recusal is warranted. Kendrick’s attorneys also asked the state Supreme Court to direct Glanville to produce an unredacted transcript of the private meeting held June 10 in his chambers.
“Before seeking original mandamus relief from this court, Kendrick is required to show that he first sought and was denied access to the proper channels for seeking relief in superior court,” the state Supreme Court said. “He admits that he has not filed a stand-alone mandamus petition against Chief Judge Glanville in superior court.”
Mandamus is a legal term for a court order directing a person or organization to do something.
In the petition to the state Supreme Court, Kendrick’s attorneys said seeking relief in the trial court would be futile, as the request would be assigned to Glanville, who would simply deny it.
The state Supreme Court said Glanville “would be disqualified from presiding over the matter” if Kendrick filed a petition seeking an order forcing Glanville to assign the recusal requests to another judge.
“A different judge would consider Kendrick’s petition, and either party may appeal the final decision,” the state Supreme Court said. “Although this court has the power to grant original relief in the nature of mandamus (under Georgia law), it has chosen to maintain its general status as an appellate court and to exercise its original jurisdiction only in extremely rare situations where need has been shown.”
Doug Weinstein, one of Kendrick’s lawyers, said on social media Thursday that “we are not done seeking relief.”
“The (state Supreme Court) has laid out a clear path that not only should be followed by us but must be followed by Fulton and (chief judge) Glanville,” Weinstein wrote in a public post about the ruling.
Defense attorneys raised concerns that during the closed-door meeting, Glanville and prosecutors improperly pressured witness Kenneth Copeland to testify. Copeland was granted immunity in exchange for his testimony against the defendants. He was jailed for being in contempt of court when he initially refused to answer questions while on the witness stand.
Copeland testified after the private meeting in the judge’s chambers.
When Young Thug’s lead attorney, Brian Steel, found out about the meeting and asked Glanville to explain what had happened, Glanville held Steel in contempt of court and sentenced him to 20 days in jail – the maximum possible punishment. The judge demanded to know how Steel learned of the meeting and Steel refused to disclose his source, citing confidentiality rules.
The judge’s handling of the issue outraged many Georgia attorneys who said Steel was only doing his job and didn’t have to reveal how he learned of the meeting.
The state Supreme Court put Steel’s sentence on hold on June 12 while it considers whether Glanville’s contempt ruling was proper. The court’s decision is expected to take months.
Glanville has scheduled a hearing to determine whether any of the people involved in the meeting also should be held in contempt of court for telling defense counsel about it. In Georgia, criminal contempt can be punishable by a fine or up to 20 days in jail.
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