Young Thug (left) and his attorney Brian Steel on day two of the YSL RICO trial (November 28, 2023). Still from Law&Crime Network’s live stream of the hearing via YouTube.
Judge Ural Glanville has been recused from Young Thug’s YSL RICO trial in Fulton County, Georgia, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports and court documents confirm. Glanville has presided over the trial since jury selection began in January 2023. The successful motions to remove him from the trial came from Thug and his co-defendant Deamonte Kendrick.
Judge Glanville’s recusal comes in the wake of a wild twist in the case. In early June, Thug’s attorney Brian Steel accused the judge of failing to notify the defense about a meeting he held “ex parte” (without all parties present) with a witness named Kenneth Copeland — Georgia law prohibits these meetings in almost all instances — and called for a mistrial. His accusation was followed by a heated exchange with Glanville that led the judge to hold him in contempt of court.
In the state’s new order recusing Glanville, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rachel Krause wrote that the trial should be reassigned to another judge, presumably precluding the possibility of a mistrial, at least for now.
In a statement to The Journal-Constitution, Kendrick’s attorney Doug Weinstein said Glanville “was biased against Mr. Kendrick and the other defendants in this case” and that he looked forward to “trying this case before an unbiased judge to a just conclusion that will free Mr. Kendrick.”
The FADER has reached out to the offices of Brian Steel and Judge Glanville for further comment.
