Judge In Young Thug’s RICO Case Removed From Trial

Fulton County Chief Judge Ural Glanville has been recused from the longest criminal trial in Georgia history

It has already been pointed out that the Young Thug RICO trial is the longest-running criminal trial in Georgia history. Now, an unexpected change has placed another wrench in the court case, as the judge has been recused.

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Fulton County Chief Judge Ural Glanville is no longer on the case. The decision was made after Young Thug and his attorney, Brian Steele, along with Thug’s co-defendant Deamonte Kendrick and his lawyer, Doug Weinstein, filed a motion calling for Glanville to be removed. Both attorneys requested the judge to be removed after he held a secret meeting with prosecutors and a state witness, Kenneth “YSL Woody” Copeland, in his chambers without notifying Steele or Weinstein.

Superior Court Judge Rachel Krause granted the motions on July 15.

Krause has advised the Fulton clerk to reassign the trial to another judge.

Weinstein stated that Kendrick should be granted a bond after this latest move.

“While we continue to respect Chief Judge Glanville, we agree with Judge Krause that Judge Glanville’s actions at least give the appearance of impropriety. We also maintain that Chief Judge Glanville was biased against Mr. Kendrick and the other defendants in this case,” Weinstein said. “We look forward to trying this case before an unbiased judge to a just conclusion that will free Mr. Kendrick.”

Complex reported that Judge Krauss sided with the defense attorneys, “preserving the public’s confidence in the judicial system.”

The motion was filed after Judge Glanville held Thug’s attorney, Steel, in contempt of court for calling him out in open court. Steel accused Glanville of misconduct after he allegedly threatened to jail “YSL Woody” for not cooperating with prosecutors according to his arranged plea deal.

Tom Church, a trial attorney present at court, spoke to Atlanta News First about the incident.

“The judge was having ex parte communications with the district attorney and a witness,” Church stated. “That means he was talking to the attorney and the witness without anyone from the defense being present. And that is generally considered improper.”