ATLANTA — The attorney for Rapper Young Thug, also known as Jeffery Williams, filed a motion on Monday to recuse Judge Ural Glanville from the trial.
According to the court documents, he also filed a motion for mistrial which was driven by the “improper conduct” by the court and prosecution.
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This comes after the rapper’s attorney, Brian Steel was held in contempt of court after refusing requests to answer how he heard about a “secret” meeting between prosecutors, the judge and a key witness in the YSL trial, Kenneth Copeland.
The motion states that on Monday, June 10, within five days of filing the motion, the court and prosecutors had an “unlawful, improper ex parte meeting” with witness Kenneth Copeland and others.
Copeland was issued an order of immunity on June 7 after he had been called to testify.
Steel and his client claimed they had no notice of the meeting.
According to the motion, the ex parte meeting with Copeland and the prosecution happened the morning of June 10.
“...the witness had made factual admissions and that statements were made to the witness by the court and the prosecutor(s) acting in concert, about the amount of time Mr. Copeland could be held in custody on the contempt. The court denied undersigned counsel’s request for the transcript of the ex parte meeting and denied the timely Motion for Mistrial based upon this improper and illegal ex parte meeting which violated Mr. Williams’ Constitutional and Statutory rights, including the right to due process, a fair trial, a fair tribunal, ethical prosecutors and the right to be present at every critical stage of the proceedings under the Georgia Constitution,” stated the motion.
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After refusing to reveal his source, Glanville held Steel in contempt of court.
The motion states that the court “abused its authority” by holding Steel in contempt for refusing to give up his source of information.
“The court abused its authority by holding undersigned counsel in contempt for refusing to divulge privileged information and for protecting Mr.Williams’ Constitutional rights to due process, right to a fair tribunal, right to a fair trial, right to be present and effective assistance of counsel,” stated the motion.
Judge Glanville then ordered Steel to spend time in jail.
The Supreme Court of Georgia granted a “Writ of Certiorari to address the appeal of the Contempt Order” and granted Steel a Supersedeas Bond, and did not have to report to jail for the first weekend.
The trial against the rapper and others began in January of 2023 before Judge Glanville, according to the motion.
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