Georgia judge presiding over youth thug’s trial cleared of wrongdoing: report

The Fulton judge overseeing the rapper’s racketeering trial has been accused of meeting with a witness without informing defense attorneys.

July 16, 2024 12:09 PM EDT

ATLANTA, Ga. — A Fulton County judge overseeing the criminal racketeering trial against rapper Young Thug was removed from his position Monday after being accused of misconduct, according to a report by The Washington Post.

In a written order obtained by the Post, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachel Krause said Judge Ural Glanville violated the public trust when he decided to have a private meeting with star witness Kenneth Copeland and prosecutors without informing defense attorneys.

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Although Krause said she found nothing “fundamentally inappropriate” about the meeting, she criticized Glanville’s handling of the situation and questioned his ability to be objective, the Post reported.

“This Court has no doubt that Judge Glanville can and will continue to fairly preside over this case if the motions to disqualify are denied, but the ‘need to preserve public confidence in the judicial system’ weighs in favor of exempting Judge Glanville from further handling of this case,” Krause wrote.

The move comes two weeks after Glanville suspended the trial of Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, and will likely cause further delays in a trial that has already dragged on for more than a year. Jury selection began in January 2023 and lasted nearly 10 months. Opening statements were held in November, and the prosecution has been making its case since then, calling dozens of witnesses.

Williams was indicted two years ago in a lengthy indictment charging him and more than two dozen others with conspiring to violate Georgia’s anti-racketeering law. He also faces charges of gang crimes, drug trafficking and firearms, and is being tried with five of the others indicted with him.

Attorneys for Williams and co-defendant Deamonte Kendrick had filed motions seeking Glanville’s recusal. Defense attorneys argued the meeting was “inappropriate” and that the judge and prosecutors tried to pressure the witness to testify.

Glanville maintained that the meeting was regular and argued that no one took tactical advantage of it.

Williams’ attorney, Brian Steel, also challenged Glanville over the alleged ex parte meeting and was found in contempt of court after failing to disclose the source of his information, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.

Steel was taken into custody and ordered to spend time in jail; however, the Georgia Supreme Court granted the attorney an emergency motion staying Glanville’s order, the outlet reported.

It was not immediately clear when Williams’ trial would resume.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.