Look, nobody really looks forward to jury duty. Even the most civic-minded among us might find it an inconvenience, considering that legal proceedings can be tedious and inscrutable and trials can drag on for months at a time. However, one juror in Young Thug’s upcoming RICO trial is learning just how seriously they should take that responsibility — or at least, that’s the idea behind the judge ordering the woman to write a 30-page essay on the importance of jury service.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Juror No. 64 recently traveled to the Dominican Republic on business after trying to notify the court of her travel plans ahead of time. However, when she didn’t show up to court on Monday, Chief Judge Ural Glanville sent sheriff’s deputies to her grandmother’s home to collect her.
The juror said she travels frequently for work and didn’t get her summons until late December. “I didn’t really know I was in violation until the sheriff showed up,” she said. “I thought I was following directions.” However, that wasn’t enough to save her from being found in contempt of court for failure to appear. However, in lieu of sentencing her to jail (up to 20 days) or fining her (up to $1,000), Judge Glanville came up with a creative consequence.
The essay, which must be written in APA style with 10 primary sources and 10 secondary sources, will be due in three weeks and will be run through a plagiarism check. The juror must also appear again on February 13. If she doesn’t, harsher penalties may be applied. She’s otherwise excused from this round of service — but she’ll probably be a lot more eager to show up the next time she’s summoned. Judge Glanville offered his reasoning, reminding the juror that not very long ago, “people who looked like us couldn’t serve on juries. It was prohibited.”
Young Thug is accused of eight charges including gang activity, racketeering, and illegal weapon and drug possession. He’s one of over two dozen members of the alleged street gang “Young Slime Life” or “YSL” who was charged in a 56-count indictment in July of 2022. Thug maintains that YSL is really a record label standing for Young Stoner Life, and the case has drawn scrutiny for its use of Thug’s lyrics mentioning YSL to connect him to the alleged gang.
Several artists on the label have pled guilty to lesser charges of racketeering in exchange for their freedom; this could negatively influence the outcome of Thug’s defense, drawing criticism of those artists. Meanwhile, the terms of their plea deals mean that YSL Records, in its current form, will essentially be out of business, even if Thug is acquitted.
Young Thug is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.