A potential juror in the ongoing Young Thug and his Young Slime Life (YSL) Racketeering trial found himself on the wrong side of the bench on Monday and was found in contempt of court orders not to discuss the trial in any way with anyone or to even read media reports about it.
Presiding Judge Ural Glanville ordered the potential juror to complete 10 hours of community service and attend the first five days of the trial, or he will face 20 days in prison for going against orders not to discuss the case.
The judge admonished and questioned the potential juror about his reasons for breaching the orders of the court while jury selection continued.
Jury selection in the YSL RICO trial for Young Thug and 13 other defendants began last year, and the process is expected to continue for another month or two as prosecutors and defense attorneys go through hundreds of potential jurors to finally arrive at the chosen 14 who will be the peers to decide the fate of the defendants.
The high-profile case has attracted significant media attention, especially speculations as to the timeline for the trial to begin and the extensive jury selection process.
Judge Glanville had cautioned potential jurors, who are only identified by numbers right now, to avoid reading media reports and discussing the case as this risks undermining their impartiality.
Judge Glanville has used the powers of his bench to take steps to ensure that the court process carries on with integrity, and he has gone to great pains to guide potential jurors to ensure they understand their role and to ensure they are not swayed by any reports or discussion of the case.
One juror has violated those orders and appeared before Judge Glanville on Monday, where the judge found him in contempt of court orders.
According to the prosecution, the potential juror in contempt had reached out to a reporter to discuss the case.
Judge Glanville questioned the juror on why he shouldn’t be held in contempt.
“Contempt is punishable by a fine of a 1000 dollars and 20 days in jail so why shouldn’t I hold you in contempt sir?” the judge asked the potential juror.
The potential juror offered that he was “just enquiring about the speed of the hardships,” and that he takes “full responsibility.”
“It was a dumb mistake on my part,” he admitted.
Judge Glanville, however, admonished the juror, noting that he was directly in violation of his order not to engage media in the trial and noted that “this is how we have hiccups in trial and sometimes we have to start over because people don’t do what they’re supposed to do.”
The potential juror was found guilty of willful contempt and was sentenced to 20 days in jail, but the judge suspended the sentence on two conditions- one that he complete 10 hours of community service at a school, a synagogue, or a church and his community service will focus on “behavior, choices and consequences.”
CONTEMPT- Judge Glanville in the #YSL RICO trial finds a potential juror in contempt, this time for reaching out to a reporter. He's ordered to 10 hrs of community service speaking about "behavior, choices and consequences AND must attend the first 5 days of trial. #YoungThug pic.twitter.com/SuZjuLODWz
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) February 13, 2023
The judge added that the second condition is that the potential juror must also attend the first five days of trial, and if he doesn’t complete both conditions with proof, he will serve 20 days in jail.
This is the second potential juror to cross Judge Glanville. Last month, another potential juror was ordered to write an essay on jury duty after she failed to show up in court for a jury selection hearing and flew out to the Dominican Republic.
That potential juror later submitted her 30-page essay or faced jail time, and the judge accepted that the document as being of the standard required to satisfy the sentence.
