With a fresh timeline and set of rules established by recently appointed judge Paige Reese Whitaker, the racketeering trial between Young Thug and YSL seems to be resuming.
According to a Rolling Stone article, Judge Whitaker acknowledged at a hearing on Friday, July 19, that she was “parachuting in” to the protracted trial.
She said that after catching up on outstanding motions, she anticipated the jury’s return on August 5.
In order to keep the case, which began in November 2023 after 10 months of jury selection, within normal bounds, the judge also outlined a new set of guidelines.
The court will meet every day from 8:45 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the possible exception of Fridays, according to Judge Whitaker. In the courtroom, she also outlawed eating and wearing headphones.
In reference to the contentious dispute over a covert hearing that led to the removal of the case’s initial judge, the judge stated, “I would like for us to maintain a degree of decorum, dignity, and professionalism that is what is expected of all of us as members of the bar.” “My goals are to uphold the law, give everyone a fair trial, and give them a fair shake.”
On Monday, July 15, Judge Ural Glanville, who had been presiding over the trial from the beginning, was removed.
Following his secret meeting last month with state witness Kenneth Copeland and prosecutors, Brian Steel, Thug’s attorney, filed a move to have Glanville removed from the case.
Judge Shakura Ingram took over for Glanville after her dismissal on July 17. However, on Wednesday, July 17, Judge Ingram resigned due to a sexual relationship she had with one of the co-defendants in the case.
Judge Whitaker took Ingram’s place a few hours later.
Whitaker, a former prosecutor in Fulton County who previously had a position in the state Attorney General’s office, has been a judge in Fulton County since 2017.
Whitaker and Ingram were also chosen at random.
“Jeffrey Williams [Young Thug] is innocent of the charges brought in this indictment and to clear his name he sought a speedy trial, one in which he would receive the constitutional guarantees of a fair trial with an impartial judge presiding and ethical prosecutors following the law,” stated Thug’s attorney Steel in a statement following Glanville’s removal.
“Unfortunately, Judge Glanville and the prosecutors have violated their legal obligations,” he said. Mr. Williams expresses gratitude to the reviewing court for concurring with him and issuing the order dismissing Judge Glanville from overseeing his case. We are excited to work with a trial judge who will uphold the law in a just and faithful manner.
Yak Gotti, a fellow YSL rapper and co-defendant of Thug (real name Deamonte Kendrick), has also revealed that his attorneys plan to make a motion for a mistrial in the contentious case.
June saw the start of the Glanville controversy following his secret meeting with Copeland and the prosecutors, which some believe ought to have taken place in public.
