Young Thug’s defense lawyer says the Fulton County judge presiding over the musician’s gang and racketeering trial should be disqualified from the case after last week’s secret meeting between the judge, prosecutors and a state’s witness.
Brian Steel said his most recent motion for a mistrial was “goaded by the improper conduct” of Judge Ural Glanville and the prosecutors he met with June 10 in his chambers.
Steel’s client, hip-hop star Jeffery Williams, has been on trial since the beginning of 2023, along with five codefendants. Now in its 18th month, it is the longest trial in Georgia history.
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
“The court has joined the prosecutors’ team and is biased against Mr. Williams and favorable to the prosecutors,” Steel wrote, accusing the judge of violating superior court rules and the Georgia code of judicial conduct.
He also said the judge’s bias has been on display throughout proceedings.
Steel handed the judge a copy of his recusal motion at the end of court Monday. On Tuesday, Glanville told attorneys he read the filing but would not recuse himself from the case.
Other requests for a mistrial were previously denied by Glanville, along with similar motions seeking his recusal. Glanville told Steel that he would not grant a request for an immediate review of his ruling by an appellate court. It’s the same thing he did last week when another defense attorney sought his recusal.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Glanville held Steel in contempt last week after the defense lawyer found out about the ex parte meeting involving witness Kenneth Copeland and asked the judge about it in court. Glanville demanded that Steel tell him how he learned of the secret meeting, but Steel refused to disclose his source.
The judge sentenced the prominent attorney to 20 days behind bars, but that sentenced was stayed by the Georgia Supreme Court and Steel didn’t have to report to jail as ordered. He will remain free while appealing the criminal contempt charge.
Glanville’s decision to hold Steel in contempt outraged metro Atlanta attorneys. Many called the private meeting with Copeland coercive and improper, and said Steel was simply defending his client.
Steel suggested in court and in legal filings that the meeting was about encouraging Copeland to testify after he refused to do so and spent the weekend in jail. Steel said Copeland was told that if he didn’t testify, he could be held custody until the trial is over, or until the remaining defendants have their cases adjudicated.
Steel called the meeting “unlawful” and said that Glanville rejected inquiries by defense counsel about what was said in chambers.
“Instead, the court stunningly demanded to know how (we) came into possession of the information about the ex parte meeting,” Steel wrote in the motion.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, “sat mute and permitted the court to attempt to interrogate and intimidate another member of the Bar,” Steel added.
Credit: Court video
Credit: Court video
He also said lead prosecutor Adriane Love “promoted the court’s wrongful conduct” by arguing that the earlier meeting was proper and not a violation of the law.
Glanville acknowledged the ex parte meeting on Tuesday and said portions of that transcript would be made available to members of the defense.
— Please return to AJC.com for updates.
About the Author
