Judge Glanville Denies Motion by Young Thug’s Lawyer to Step Aside From YSL RICO Trial

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Young Thug’s lawyer, Brian Steel, filed a motion Monday on behalf of his client to have Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville removed from the massive RICO trial over alleged misconduct.

Judge Glanville denied the motion on Tuesday morning, saying that the claims in the motions were insufficient.

Quantavious Grier, brother of Young Thug, will now have to serve the remainder of his sentence in prison after being discovered with a weapon.

Steel filed the motion to disqualify/recuse the judge over an alleged improper meeting between Judge Glanville, prosecutors from the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, and witness Kenneth Copeland, who has been on the witness stand since Monday.

It all began when Copeland, also known as Lil Woody, refused to testify on June 7. He was held in contempt of court and forced to spend the weekend in jail.

Copeland, who is a convicted felon, reportedly gave police information about Young Thug and his associations to avoid going back to prison after he was caught with a gun while on parole.

After Copeland returned to the stand on June 10 and began testifying, Steel confronted Judge Glanville about an “ex parte meeting” that was reportedly held that morning to convince Copeland to testify

Brian Steel and Young Thug in Fulton County courtroom on June 10, 2024.

The judge became angry when Steel refused to tell him who informed the lawyer about the meeting and held Steel in contempt of court, stating that he would spend 20 days (10 weekends) in jail.

In the motion, the court is accused of being “so biased against undersigned counsel and/or Mr. Williams, the court ignored all laws and pursued contempt penalties to attempt to intimidate undersigned counsel to violate the law and ethics in order to continue to help the prosecution convict Mr. Williams and others.”

A couple of days later, Steel confronted the judge again in court about how Copeland was being treated by the Fulton County DA’s office, comparing it to “communist Russia.”

The Supreme Court of Georgia granted Steel a Writ of Certiorari to address the appeal of the contempt order.

The motion claims there have been other instances where the judge has demonstrated a personal bias or prejudice towards Steel and/or his client.

After denying the motion, Glanville invited the lawyers to look at Baptiste vs. State. The judge also said that he would not grant a motion for a Certificate for Immediate Review.

Additionally, Judge Glanville said that he would address a separate motion made to quash after the court has finished with the current witness.

Steel asked the judge to take another look at the motion, specifically paragraph 12, and reconsider his decision. He also informed the judge that he plans to ask Copeland about how much pressure the court put on him when it is his chance to cross-examine the witness and that he plans to put the court and the prosecution on his witness list. Steel also objected to Judge Glanville saying he would review the transcripts of the ex parte meeting before turning them over to the defense.

However, Judge Glanville continued to deny the motion from Steel.

Glanville also addressed a motion to quash from attorney Kayla Bumpus a Show Cause Order he issued related to the ex parte meeting. Judge Glanville issued the Show Cause Order to those present at the meeting, ordering them to show cause why they should not be held in contempt for disclosing the meeting to Young Thug’s attorney. Judge Glanville told the team of lawyers who appeared on behalf of Bumpus that he would address the quash motion after the court was done with the current witness.

The trial, which began on Nov. 27, 2023, after the longest jury selection in history, has been plagued with arrests, charges, and various disruptions.