Second Young Thug trial judge recuses herself

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shukura Ingram has recused herself from the YSL RICO trial less than 48 hours after the trial’s previous Judge, Ural Granville, was recused by the state, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports and court documents confirm.

In her Order of Recusal, Judge Ingram cites an ongoing criminal case against one of her deputies. The unnamed deputy is accused of engaging in a romantic relationship with Christian Eppinger, one of Young Thug’s co-defendants in the YSL trial. The deputy may be called as a witness in the case, Ingram writes, concluding that her staying on as the trial judge “may undermine the public’s confidence in the impartiality of the proceedings.”

Judge Ingram was assigned to the case on Tuesday, July 15, taking over from Judge Glanville, who had helmed the trial since January 2023. In June, Thug’s attorney Brian Steel accused Judge Glanville of holding an improper “ex parte” meeting with a co-defendant named Kenneth Copeland without notifying the defense.

Because these meetings are illegal under Georgia law, Steel asked for a mistrial — Glanville denied the motion and repeatedly asked Steel how he had learned of the meeting. When Steel refused to reveal his source, Glanville found him in contempt of court and ordered him to serve 10 weekends in jail. This order was put on hold in the face of fierce backlash from the Georgia legal community.

The FADER has reached out to Brian Steel's office for more information.