Just a week after Young Thug’s lawyer, Brian Steel, was cited for contempt of court and sentenced to 10 weekends or 20 days in jail at Fulton County jail by Judge Ural Glanville, an application to remove the judge and declare a mistrial has been filed.
On Monday, Steel, who represents rapper Jeffery Williams, also known as Young Thug, filed the motion to remove the judge following the revelation in court last week that the prosecution had a meeting with a witness and the judge was in attendance. Steel said the defense was not invited or notified of the meeting.
Steel’s questions to the judge caused tension, as the judge demanded how he found out about the secret meeting.
“You haven’t answered my question yet, how did you-?” the judge asked as he is interrupted by Steel who says, “I will not answer that question.”
“Why would you not answer that question?” the judge asked as he appeared concerned that information from his office was leaking.
“Cause I want to make sure that whatever I say is accurate,” Steel said.
Judge Glanville also said Steel would be held in contempt of court if he refused to talk.
“It’s disturbing how somehow you have surreptitiously gotten information in regards to the court’s private ex parte conversations with the party,” Judge Glanville said.
Steel also questioned Judge Glanville about the timing of the meeting, which took place after the witness Kenneth Copeland, aka Lil Woody, was sworn in on Friday, June 7, 2024.
Steel also shared that the witness had refused to cooperate with the state prior to the meeting. He said he was concerned, and the court should also be concerned, that the witness was possibly being coerced.
In the meantime, the motion, which sought to disqualify or force Judge Glanville to be recused from the YSL Rico trial, accused the judge and prosecution of “improper conduct.”
“On Monday, June 10, 2024, within five (5) days of the filing of this timely motion, this court, along with the prosecution, engaged in an unlawful, improper ex parte meeting with, among other persons, a sworn witness (Kenneth Copeland) for whom an Order of Use Immunity had been issued on June 7, 2024. No notice of this ex parte meeting was provided to any attorney for any of the criminally accused in the case. In fact, the accused and their counsel were in the dark…” the motion read.
The motion also claimed that Copeland may have been threatened with being held in contempt of court if he refused to testify on the stand.
“Statements were made to the witness by the court and the prosecutor(s) acting in concert, about the amount of time Mr. Copeland could be held in custody on the contempt. The court denied undersigned counsel’s request for the transcript of the ex parte meeting and denied the timely Motion for Mistrial based upon this improper and illegal ex parte meeting which violated Mr. Williams’ Constitutional and Statutory rights, including the right to due process, a fair trial, a fair tribunal, ethical prosecutors and the right to be present at every critical stage of the proceedings under the Georgia Constitution,” it read.
Steel won’t be going to jail for contempt of court for now. The Georgia Supreme Court granted him bond, which stayed Judge Glanville’s ruling. The matter will be heard later.
