contempt

Why Was Young Thug’s Lawyer Arrested?

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The judge presiding over Young Thug’s lengthy racketeering trial held the musician’s lawyer in contempt on Monday, as reported by AJC. This came after being confronted about a conversation reportedly held between himself, prosecutors, and one of the state’s star witnesses. After refusing to tell Judge Ural Glanville how he learned of the meeting, Brian Steel was escorted out of the courtroom. Steel claimed the meeting occurred in the judge’s chambers before court began. Glanville sentenced him to spend the next 10 weekends at the Fulton County Jail, totaling 20 days. Moreover, Steel was ordered to report to the troubled Rice Street facility by 7 p.m. Friday but requested to spend the weekends with his client at the Cobb County Jail to work on their case. Glanville agreed and offered to talk to the sheriff.

Read More: Young Thug’s Lawyer Brian Steel Hailed As “The Best Attorney Money Can Buy” After Choosing To Spend Jail Sentence With His Client

Contempt Of Court

Brian Steel, the lawyer for Young Thug, was held in contempt of court by Judge Ural Glanville after refusing to disclose how he obtained information about a private meeting held in the judge’s chambers. Steel claimed the meeting, which included the judge, prosecutors, and a key witness, occurred before court proceedings began. Judge Glanville demanded Steel reveal the source of his information. However, Steel declined, leading to his contempt charge and subsequent sentence of 20 days in jail, to be served over 10 weekends.

Controversial Communication

The controversy began when Steel learned of an ex parte conversation involving Kenneth Copeland, a key witness who had refused to testify despite an immunity deal. Furthermore, Steel argued that the conversation between the judge, prosecutors, and Copeland was improper. He then accused the court of coercion and witness intimidation. Judge Glanville, however, emphasized the confidentiality of such communications. Finally, he expressed concern over the leak of this information, which led to Steel’s contempt charge.

Read More: Young Thug Trial: Lil Woody Takes Jail Time Over Testifying

Defense Attorney’s Stand

Steel’s refusal to disclose his source led to his removal from the courtroom. Fortunately, he was later allowed back in at the request of lead prosecutor Adriane Love. The courtroom saw heightened tensions, with Young Thug’s other attorney, Keith Adams, objecting to proceeding without Steel. Judge Glanville insisted that the trial continue and admonished Adams for attempting to “extort the court.” The judge’s decision to hold Steel in contempt was supported by legal precedent, which allows courts to compel obedience to their orders and control the conduct of individuals involved in judicial proceedings.

The arrest of Brian Steel sparked outrage among the legal community, with several Atlanta attorneys advocating for his release. Marietta attorney Ashleigh Merchant, representing Steel, requested Judge Glanville recuse himself from the contempt case, arguing that a neutral judge should hear the matter. The legal community, including Steel’s wife Colette Resnik Steel, voiced their support, stressing the difficulties faced by criminal defense attorneys and condemning Steel’s treatment.

Implications For The Trial

Steel’s arrest is not the first disruption in the high-profile trial of Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams. The trial, which has already faced numerous delays and issues, is expected to continue well into the next year. Prosecutors allege that Williams is the leader of the “Young Slime Life” gang, involved in various criminal activities. Jury selection took ten months, and the trial has seen fewer than 80 of the prosecution’s over 200 witnesses testify so far. Despite the turmoil, Judge Glanville has maintained that the proceedings will not be halted.

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Young Thug’s Lawyer Sentenced To 20 Days In Jail For Contempt

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Young Thug is facing up to 120 years in prison if convicted on RICO charges. The rapper is believed by the prosecution to be founder and leader of YSL. His lawyer, Brian Steel, has fought tooth and nail to ensure that his client sees the light of day. Steel encountered the wrath of the legal system, however, on June 10. The lawyer confronted the prosecution and the judge over an alleged secret meeting that they had with an alleged Young Thug associate.

Steel took both parties to task over the alleged meeting, as the associate, Kenneth Copeland, is said to be a “star witness” in the case. “If that’s true, what this is is coercion,” Steel said. “[As well as] witness intimidation, ex parte communications that we have a constitutional right to be present for.” He cited an inside source. He refused, however, to name said source despite the demands of the judge. Young Thug’s lawyer noted that an answer would violate attorney-client protections and “work product” privilege.

Read More: YSL Lil Woody To Give Forced Testimony In Young Thug Trial

Young Thug’s Lawyer Criticized The Judge’s Tactics

 
 
 
 
 
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The judge tried to order an answer out of Steel by giving him an ultimatum. “I’m going to give you five minutes,” he asserted. “If you don’t tell me who it is, I’m going to put you in contempt.” Steel, sticking by his word, responded: “I don’t need five minutes.” The lawyer was allowed to carry out the rest of his case but was taken into custody soon after. Steel will spend 10 weekends in jail. This means 20 consecutive days behind bars. Steel requested to spend these days in jail with Young Thug. If his bail is denied. Some 20 plus lawyers stood outside the courtroom to show their support for Steel.

Brian Steel has been adamant about Young Thug’s innocence since day one. He told 11Alive’s Neima Abdulahi he appalled by the rapper’s legal treatment. “I’ve had the pleasure of defending Williams for approximately a decade. I know his family, I’ve defended him in courtrooms multiple times.” Steel also noted, however, that Young Thug’s musical persona does not reflect his real life. “It’s an act. They are performers. They’re performing all the time. Much like, I guess, professional wrestlers. We don’t even know their real names. They’re performing all the time.”

Read More: Young Thug Trial: Lil Woody Takes Jail Time Over Testifying

The post Young Thug’s Lawyer Sentenced To 20 Days In Jail For Contempt appeared first on HotNewHipHop.

YSL Case: Potential Juror Sentenced To Jail Time For Filming Jury Selection Process

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More headaches surround the jury selection process in the YSL case have emerged. Over the past few months, the defense and prosecutors struggled to identify their jurors for the RICO trial. However, the judge has also found himself scolding many of the potential candidates. This time, a judge issued jail time for one individual accused of recording the jury selection process. The judge explained that there were potential punishments: a $1000 fine or 20 days in jail. Ultimately, he sentenced the juror to 3 days behind bars for contempt.

“Madam, I think given that the amount of time and energy and effort and care we spent in making that particular pronouncement, and I even – I tell it multiple times for multiple reasons and you decide that you want to do what you wanted to do,” the judge said before the individual tried to provide an explanation. “Well, you pulled out your phone and you recorded this court’s proceedings which is a direct violation of the court’s orders so I’m going to sentence you to three days in jail.”

YSL Juror Jailed For Contempt

The judge explained that he didn’t want to issue a fine to the individual because of his repeated warnings during the jury selection process. “Unfortunately, I have told several people and made several iterations of this particular notice. And you video taped our proceedings. It’s a brazen violation of these particular proceedings,” he said. While the juror tried to explain that “so much was going on,” the judge shut her “excuse for behavior” down.”

Unfortunately, this is just among the many issues that have occurred during the jury selection process. In the past few months, the judge has scolded and punished a number of individuals. One juror, in particular, found themselves having to write a paper on the importance of jury selection after reportedly skipping town for vacation.  Another was found in contempt for allegedly trying to contact a reporter. Due to the number of mishaps throughout the Young Thug trial, there will be roughly 1,200 potential jurors called. We’ll keep you posted on any further updates surrounding the YSL RICO case including the progress with jury selection. 

YSL Judge Holds Potential Juror In Contempt For Contacting Reporter In Young Thug Trial

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Judge Glanvile of the YSL RICO case found a potential juror in contempt (in other words, disobeyed court orders) for reaching out to a reporter concerning the Young Thug trial. Moreover, the juror will now pay the price. Furthermore, Glanville ordered the juror to ten hours of community service concerning “behavior, choices, and consequences.” Also, the juror must attend the first five days of trial regardless of jury selection. In a clip shared to social media of the judge’s ruling, the juror said they take full responsibility for their actions.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – NOVEMBER 17: Rapper Young Thug performs at halftime during the Boston Celtics v Atlanta Hawks game at State Farm Arena on November 17, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

Furthermore, Glanville could’ve sentenced the juror to 20 days in jail for willful contempt. Instead, he opted for community service hours and trial sit-ins, which he believes will satisfy contempt. During the exchange, the judge reminded the potential jurors of the consequences their actions could bring. “This is how we have hiccups in trials and we have to sometimes start over,” he shared. “Because people don’t do what they’re supposed to do.” Overall, perhaps this juror’s actions will result in information leaks, another reversal of jury selection, or more dire consequences. After all, Jeffrey Williams and his YSL codefendants are on dangerously thin ice, and one small detail could mean disaster.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that Judge Glanville took issue with a juror’s irresponsibility. Some time ago, he ordered a juror to write a 30-page essay on the importance of jury duty. Moreover, it seems they handed in their report and the judge expressed satisfaction with it. Whereas he excused many jurors for various reasons, the court brought in yet another batch of potential jurors. With the trial expected to take a year or maybe more, these jury delays certainly don’t bode well.

Still, Thugger’s trial took shape in other ways this week. For example, he listed music industry executives Kevin Liles and Lyor Cohen as potential witnesses to the stand. Both share a close relationship with the “Check” MC, with Liles in particular penning a message of support recently. “The man I know is a loving father, great business partner and an inspiration to so many people around the world,” he wrote. “Stay strong my brother and you know where I stand…” Stay tuned to HNHH for the latest on the YSL case and Young Thug.

Young Thug Trial: Judge Orders Juror To Write 30-Page Essay After Skipping Jury Duty

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A potential juror in the Young Thug YSL case dodged jail time for skipping out on a day of jury selection. Instead, the judge ordered her to write a 30-page essay on the importance of jury duty.

In today’s hearing, the judge spoke to one of the jurors who was said to be missing earlier this week. Court officials later found out that she flew out of the Dominican Republic over the weekend. At this point, the judge ordered for authorities to wait for her at the airport and bring her directly to court.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MARCH 25: Rapper Young Thug attends the game between Golden State Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on March 25, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – MARCH 25: Rapper Young Thug attends the game between Golden State Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena on March 25, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

Today, the judge found her in contempt of court. However, he provided an alternative solution to the 20-day sentence attached to the offense or a $1K fine. The potential juror will now have to draft a 30-page essay detailing the history and significance of jury duty.

The judge laid down rigid criteria for the paper, including AP-style writing, 10 primary sources, and 10 secondary sources.

“You’re going to write a minimum — the history of jury service, who could not serve on a jury because that’s very important. Because years ago, people that looked like us couldn’t serve on juries. It was prohibited,” the judge said. “I want you to talk about jury service in Georgia and discrimination, at minimum. Those four things.”

The judge allowed the juror to add further context to the essay itself but they would have to provide information on the topics he mentioned.

The potential juror in the YSL case has three weeks to write and submit the paper electronically. From there, the court will scan the paper for plagiarism. “You’re going to have to write it yourself and then you’re going to come and talk to me about it. I think that’s fair under the circumstances because this is that important,” he added.

“The attention is how serious we view this aspect of jury service and participation of process,” he continued, apologizing for the media attention surrounding the situation.

Check out the full clip below.