Here’s What Could Happen Next in the YSL RICO Trial
The racketeering and gang conspiracy trial against Young Thug and his five codefendants officially started 232 days ago and is already the longest trial in Georgia history. With 100 days of actual trial already taking place, things don’t feel any closer to a conclusion than they did when the opening statements began on Nov. 27, 2023. Now, there’s another delay with the recusal of Judge Ural Glanville, who had been presiding over the bizarre trial since the beginning. So, what’s next for the trial that some legal experts have said could take up to three years to finish?
New Judge Assigned to YSL RICO Case
On Monday (July 15), Judge Ural Glanville was relieved of his duties. The recusal came after Glanville conducted a controversial closed-door meeting with key prosecution witness Kenneth “Lil Woody” Copeland and the prosecution without the knowledge of the defense team. Glanville then sentenced Thug’s attorney Brian Steel to 20 days in jail when Steel called out the judge for the meeting in open court and defiantly refused to divulge how he found out about it. The ruling was appealed and later stayed by the Georiga Supreme Court.
In response, the defense attorneys for Young Thug and codefendant Deamonte Kendrick successfully filed motions to have Glanville replaced.
“Jeffery Williams is innocent of the charges brought in this indictment and to clear his name he sought a speedy trial, one in which he would receive the constitutional guarantees of a fair trial with an impartial judge presiding and ethical prosecutors following the law,” Steel said in a statement to XXL. “Sadly, Judge Glanville and the prosecutors have run afoul of their duties under of the law. Mr. Williams is grateful that the reviewing court agreed with him and entered the order recusing and disqualifying Judge Glanville from presiding over Mr. Williams’ case. We look forward to proceeding with a trial judge who will fairly and faithfully follow the law.”
The new judge assigned to the case is Judge Shukura Ingram. The Georgia State University Law School graduate was a judge in Fulton County Magistrate Court from 2015-2018. For the last six years, she has been a judge in Fulton County Superior Court.
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When Will the Trial Restart?
Judge Ingram’s participation in the case is not set in stone. According to local newspaper Atlanta Journal-Constitution, she will have to comb through the case and decide whether or not to recuse herself. The defense’s next move would likely be to ask for a mistrial, according to former Judicial Qualifications Commission chair Chuck Boring.
“If a mistrial was granted, they would have to have transcripts prepared of all 18 (months) of trial thus far for the attorneys to review,” Boring said. “If a mistrial is granted, if it’s actually going to be retried, it won’t be for a long, long time.”
Judge Ingram could also decide to pick up where Glanville left off, but catching up could take months, further extending the trial.
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How Will This Affect the Trial?
This ruling could have a major effect on the outcome of the trial. High-powered attorney Bradford Cohen tells XXL this is a boon for the defense team.
“It will help the defense,” says Cohen, who is responsible for getting Kodak Black’s sentence on a federal gun charge commutated by then-President Donald Trump in 2021. “Judge [Glanville] seemed to pre-judge a lot of issues and make the wrong decisions on legal issues. He seemed biased against certain defense attorneys and defendants. The matter should be a mistrial. Millions [of dollars] were probably wasted by this judge’s ego and refusal to follow the law.”
Young Thug, born Jeffery Williams, has been locked up since May 9, 2022, when he was arrested at his home and charged with violating Georgia’s RICO Act along with 26 other associates including Gunna, who has since taken a plea deal along with 19 others. The State is accusing Young Thug of being the spearhead of a violent street gang, YSL, that has committed multiple crimes in the Atlanta area in the last decade.