Jury selection for Young Thug’s trial is currently underway for the fifth day as attorneys for 14 defendants and the prosecution sift through the names of hundreds of persons who are potential jurors.
More than 600 names have been added to the potential jury pool, but at the end of the selection exercise, only 12 persons will be chosen. The jury selection has not come without incident, as Law & Crime’s Cathy Russon reported that Young Thug’s lawyer Brian Steel revealed that he forwarded an email from a potential juror who claimed to be a fan of Young Thug.
Young Thug’s fans might be causing more harm than good as the judge and prosecution keep a tight lid on the trial after making a case against the rapper being granted freedom and the jury selection not being streamed live for fear of intimidation by overzealous fans who want the artist free.
On Tuesday, Judge Ural Glanville revealed that attorney Steel had forwarded an email from a potential juror who attempted to contact Steel’s law firm. The judge pointed out that Steel had shared the email as part of his professional responsibility as an attorney who is also an officer of justice. Steel, who is representing Young Thug, did not respond to the email.
In the meantime, as jury selection continued on Tuesday, it appears that at least one person has been chosen to return from last week to see if they would make the final cut of being a juror. However, the potential juror did not return. Russon reported that the potential juror is a woman by the initials LE who did not return this week as she traveled to the Dominican Republic.
The judge has ordered that LE return to the United States immediately and that she is brought from the airport to court when she returns.
Another potential jury from last week did not return today either, as he noted he was sick but promised to be present when he could.
In the meantime, Young Thug was photographed in court on Tuesday wearing a grey suit and spectacles.
The rapper, along with 13 others, is facing charges of violating Georgia’s racketeering act. Thug is charged with eight offenses under a revised indictment which includes participation in street gang activities, including murder, and illegal guns and drugs charges.
A potential juror attempted to contact #YoungThug's attorney's law firm via email. Attorney Brian Steel forwarded the email to the court & parties and did not respond to the person. Judge is having court personnel investigate. pic.twitter.com/fmAIYHz6Mj
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) January 10, 2023
