Judge removed from long-running gang and racketeering case against rapper Young Thug and others

Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, is seen at a hearing, Dec. 22, 2022, in Atlanta. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)

ATLANTA, Ga. -

The judge overseeing the long-running racketeering and gang prosecution against rapper Young Thug and others has been removed from the case after two defendants sought his recusal, citing a meeting the judge held with prosecutors and a state witness.

Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville had put the case in Atlanta on hold two weeks ago to give another judge a chance to review the defendants' motions for recusal. Judge Rachel Krause on Monday granted those motions and ordered the clerk of court to assign the case to a different judge.

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While not faulting Glanville for holding the meeting and saying she has "no doubt that Judge Glanville can and would continue presiding fairly over this matter," Krause wrote that "the 'necessity of preserving the public's confidence in the judicial system' weighs in favor of excusing Judge Glanville" from the case.

This ruling will surely cause more delays in a trial that has already dragged on for over a year. Jury selection began in January 2023 and took nearly 10 months. Opening statements were in November and the prosecution has been presenting its case since then, calling dozens of witnesses.

Young Thug, a Grammy winner whose given name is Jeffery Williams, was charged two years ago in a sprawling indictment accusing him and more than two dozen others of conspiring to violate Georgia's anti-racketeering law. He also is charged with gang, drug and gun crimes and is standing trial with five of the others indicted with him.

Lawyers for Young Thug and co-defendant Deamonte Kendrick had filed motions seeking Glanville's recusal. They said the judge held a meeting with prosecutors and prosecution witness Kenneth Copeland at which defendants and defence attorneys were not present. The defence attorneys argued the meeting was "improper" and that the judge and prosecutors had tried to pressure the witness to testify.

Glanville maintained that the meeting was proper and argued that no one gained a tactical advantage as a result.

The office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, which is prosecuting the case, had argued there was no need for Glanville to be recused.

Fulton County, Ga., Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville sits at the bench inside Fulton County Courthouse in downtown Atlanta, Aug. 30, 2021. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)

Brian Steel, a lawyer for Young Thug, said in an emailed statement that his client is innocent and sought to clear his name through a fair trial.

"Sadly, Judge Glanville and the prosecutors have run afoul of their duties under the law," Steel said, adding that he is grateful for the recusal order and looks forward "to proceeding with a trial judge who will fairly and faithfully follow the law."

Kendrick's lawyer, Doug Weinstein, also applauded Monday's ruling.

"While I respect Chief Judge Glanville and his service to this community and the country, he simply became biased over the course of this case," he wrote in an email. He added that he looks forward to trying the case "before an unbiased judge," but said the only just outcome at this point is "a mistrial and bond" for Kendrick, who has been jailed for more than two years.

A spokesperson for Willis' office declined to comment. The Associated Press has also reached out to Glanville for comment.

Krause wrote in her order that she "agrees generally" with Glanville's assessment of the propriety of the meeting, that nothing about the meeting or what was discussed was inherently improper. She did write that the meeting "could have -- and perhaps should have" been held in open court.

But when Glanville denied Kendrick's recusal motion in court, he "provided context, questioned the veracity of allegations, and otherwise explained his decisions and actions and argued why those actions were proper." Quoting case law, Krause wrote that when a judge discloses information relevant to his potential recusal, he must do so "in a way that is as objective, dispassionate, and non-argumentative as possible, so that the judge is not reasonably perceived as a hostile witness or advocate."

Young Thug has been wildly successful since he began rapping as a teenager and he serves as CEO of his own record label, Young Stoner Life, or YSL. Artists on his label are considered part of the "Slime Family," and a compilation album, "Slime Language 2," rose to No. 1 on the charts in April 2021.

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But prosecutors say YSL also stands for Young Slime Life, which they allege is an Atlanta-based violent street gang affiliated with the national Bloods gang and founded by Young Thug and two others in 2012. Prosecutors say people named in the indictment are responsible for violent crimes -- including killings, shootings and carjackings -- to collect money for the gang, burnish its reputation and expand its power and territory.

Steel acknowledged during his opening statement that his client's songs mention violent acts, including killings, but he said those are just artistic expressions drawn from his rough childhood and not a chronicle of his own activities.