The Georgia Supreme Court has given a firm thumbs-down to a rather self-assured judge in Fulton County, Georgia. The judge, Chief Ural Glanville, who is overseeing the YSL rico trial, got a reality check after he decided to send an attorney to spend 20 days in jail spread out over 10 weekends.
Why? Well, it all started when rapper Young Thug’s lawyer, Brian Steel, stood his ground and refused to reveal the identity of his informant regarding a secret gathering involving Glanville, the assistant DAs, and a key state’s witness, Kenneth Copeland, who had already taken an oath.
Steel, representing the artist Young Thug (also known as Jeffrey Williams), scored a major win in Georgia’s legal arena Wednesday. With the exception of one justice who sat this one out, the rest of the Georgia justice squad granted Steel a Supersedeas bond. This move effectively slammed the brakes on the contempt sentencing that Glanville had lined up for him.
In a dramatic face-off at courtroom 8F of the Fulton County Justice Center, Glanville’s courtroom antics were put on full display, leaning heavily towards the prosecution’s favor. The tension reached its peak when Steel bravely called out a secret meeting that had taken place without the defense’s knowledge. Instead of upholding justice, the judge retaliated by pressuring Steel to reveal his source under the threat of imprisonment.
The legal community was quick to call Glanville ’emotional’ post the incident.
With over 17K viewers tuning in live, attorney Ashleigh Merchant, the head honcho of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, took the judge to task, schooling him on the erroneous nature of his ruling. Merchant emphasized that Steel, like any other defendant, deserved his fair share of ‘due process’ in the courtroom. However, Glanville remained obstinate, insisting that Merchant was mistaken and that Steel had no grounds to challenge his decision on a direct criminal attempt.
Who is Kenneth Copeland?
Copeland, the chatty police informant hailing from Fulton County, Georgia, found himself in hot water when he was nabbed in October 2021 for cruising around with a loaded gun. Seeking a way out of this sticky situation, he spilled the beans to the authorities about a slew of past and upcoming crimes.
Adding a spicy twist to the tale, Copeland even hinted at his willingness to assist the law enforcement in coaxing a confession out of none other than Young Thug. The plot thickened when a leaked video of his collaboration with the police made its way to the public eye.
However, things took a dramatic turn when Copeland landed in hot water on Friday for defying the court’s orders to testify against Williams and other alleged members of the alleged YSL gang. Despite being granted immunity for any potential crimes that might surface during his testimony, Copeland found himself in a trouble before Judge Glanville.
Why did Young Thug attorney get arrested?
On Monday, William’s lawyer, Brian Steel, dropped a bombshell in front of Judge Glanville. He spilled the beans about a secret meeting that went down in the judge’s chambers, starring Fulton County Street Gang Unit DA Adrian Love and the notorious Copeland, aka Lil Woody. Steel, armed with Georgia case law, argued that the whole case could be turned on its head because the defendant’s legal team was left out in the cold during this shady ex-parte meeting.
“I was told based upon information and belief, that when we arrived at 8:30 to 9 o’clock today, you did not come into your courtroom until almost 11 to 11:30,” Attorney Steel said to Judge Glanville. “And what I found out just recently, and this is not waived…is that supposedly in chambers, this honorable court…court reporter at times recorded the district attorney or district attorney’s for the DA’s office, as well as investigators, sheriff deputies, Mr. Copeland, and his counsel met together…none of the defense team, to my knowledge, was aware that any of this was going on.”
As attorney Steel kept hammering the point to Judge Glanville that, thanks to his exclusive intel, Copeland had been wishy-washy about whether to plead the 5th or spill the beans, among other things, the judge suddenly shut down Steel’s spiel.
“I’m kind of disturbed because that’s ex-parte. All that was an ex-parte conversation,” Judge Glanville said to Steel. “How did you find out about any of that?”
Steel fired back at Judge Glanville, expressing his own dismay at the judge’s insistence on knowing how he found out about the meeting. Steel cited a legal precedent that supports defense attorneys attending ex-parte meetings.
Despite Steel’s refusal to disclose his source regarding potential constitutional violations affecting a defendant’s right to a fair trial, Judge Glanville ultimately held Steel in contempt.
“You got some information you shouldn’t have gotten,” Judge Glanville told the rapper’s attorney before directing courtroom deputies to take him into custody.
Steel informed the judge, just before requesting a mistrial, that he had not followed the rules by having contact with a witness involved in the case.
“You’re not supposed to have communication with a witness who’s been sworn,” Steel told the judge before he was taken into custody.
Before departing, Steel informed the judge that Williams had expressed a preference to not proceed further in his absence.
“You are removing me against his will, my will, and you’re taking away his right to counsel,” Steel said on his way out.
Young Thug’s attorney Keith Adams address the court
Young Thug’s second lawyer, Keith Adams, expressed his reluctance to proceed without his co-counsel. However, Judge Glanville informed Adams that he could not choose to do so and directed him to stay in the courtroom and represent his client.
“You don’t get to extort the court,” Glanville said. “It doesn’t work that way.”
He described the unauthorized disclosure of the meeting details as a breach of the sanctity of the judge’s chambers. Lead prosecutor Adriane Love requested that Steel be permitted to re-enter the courtroom for the remaining proceedings of the day.
“You got the information in a way that was not lawful to begin with,” Glanville told him. “If and when the case gets reviewed, an appellate court will make these decisions.”
Steel was eventually allowed back into the courtroom, but Glanville made it clear that he was not off the hook.
“I’m still gonna hold you in contempt,” Glanville told Steel. “You can purge that contempt by just telling me who it is that told you this information. That’s all I need to know.”
Steel mentioned that he was informed that Copeland’s fate hinged on his performance, stating, “he may go home or not, depending on his testimony.” Steel also requested a separate hearing to discuss the matter.
In a legal showdown fit for the big screen, prosecutors claim that Young Thug reigns supreme over the notorious “Young Slime Life” gang, allegedly linked to a string of crimes including robberies, shootings, and even three tragic homicides.
The courtroom drama kicked off with jury selection back on Jan. 4, 2023, but the real action didn’t hit the stage until a whopping 10 months later on Nov. 27. With delays, juror hiccups, and unexpected breaks, the trial has seen a mere 87 days of actual courtroom action, with some sessions held behind closed doors. Out of a pool of approximately 200 potential witnesses, less than 80 have taken the stand to spill the beans.
Now, Steel can safeguard his source’s identity, triumph in his appeal, and potentially secure the mistrial his client justly merits due to the court’s shenanigans and their suspected collusion with the district attorney’s office.
Judge and D.A. got caught and dont like it
They know that attorney got them by the balls. They didn’t think anyone would find out. I think they want to convict all the YSL gang! They’ve pretty much already done it! They’re just going through the formalities at this point. It’s sad.