Judge suspends RICO trial against young thug YSL indefinitely

You can’t make this stuff up… Young Thug and YSL’s trial for organized crime has been adjourned indefinitely. So what does this mean? Is there a mistrial? Will charges be dropped? Will Thugger and his gang stay locked up until the case is reopened? What’s it called again?

Some of the most recent and important developments in the case – including the stabbing of a defendant, the detention of a key witness for refusing to testify and frequent, sometimes wild, clashes between lawyers and the judge, who is himself under criticism – all sum up the chaos.

The trial, if you can call it that, has been going on for 18 months and there is no sign of it coming to an end any time soon. Unbelievable.

Here’s a quick 30,000-foot recap of what’s going on… Young Thug, the Grammy Award-winning rapper, is accused of leading a violent street gang. The lead attorney in the trial, Brian Steel, was recently sentenced to 20 days in jail for criminal contempt of court. Steel’s outburst in court following his contempt of court arraignment included allegations of inappropriate behavior between the judge, prosecutors and a key witness.

“This is crazy! This is like communist Russia!” Steel exclaimed in court. Yes, he said that. I’m dying to find out who will play him in the miniseries American Crime Story about this you-know-what show of a trial.

On Monday, Judge Ural Glanville of Fulton County Superior Court adjourned the trial indefinitely. Yes, I just hit the good old pause button.

That decision came after several defendants, including Young Thug, accused the judge of misconduct and called for his recusal. A different judge will review those requests, and prosecutors have been ordered to respond by Monday.

The timetable for the retrial remains uncertain. Maybe soon. Maybe in November. Your guess is as good as ours.

Get this: The trial is the longest in Georgia history. The longest ever! There have already been significant delays, including a 10-month jury selection process and numerous interruptions in testimony. 10 months for jury selection is unheard of. Guilty or not, and we don’t deny the seriousness of the charges, but Young Thug is no Al Capone.

Critics have questioned Judge Glanville’s handling of the case, and several motions by defendants to dismiss the case have been denied. This is not uncommon. Any good lawyer will fight a judge tooth and nail to help their client, but this can be detrimental to the jury.

Prosecutors, led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis, were reportedly surprised by the judge’s decision to pause the trial. Willis has been criticized for using Georgia’s organized crime law to try complex cases with multiple defendants, which some say overburdens the court system. Young Thug’s trial is seen as a harbinger of how another high-profile case involving former President Donald Trump could play out, as Willis is also presiding over that trial. Good luck with the latter after the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling on presidential immunity.