In the ongoing or never ending Georgia RICO trial prosecuting rapper Young Thug and the YSL gang, the newly appointed judge, mind you the trial’s third, has denied a motion for a mistrial filed by defendant Deamonte Kendrick. The motion, initially submitted on July 23, 2024, and later supplemented on July 31, 2024, outlined four primary reasons for seeking a mistrial, all of which were rejected by the court.
Here’s what you need to know:
Kendrick’s defense argued that the proceedings held on June 12, 13, 14, and 17, 2024, were irreparably tainted:
Defense argued they could not be properly redone after the previous judge recused himself. However, the court dismissed this argument, noting that it had already addressed these concerns in an earlier order. The judge emphasized that the court had been collaborating with the parties involved to determine which testimony and evidence should be reintroduced or presented anew to the jury.
Kendrick also claimed that his constitutional rights were violated:
During an ex parte meeting on June 10, 2024, which involved the former judge, prosecutors, and the counsel for witness Kenneth Copeland that’s where the argument derived ICYMI. Kendrick and his legal team were not present at this meeting. The court, however, ruled that this meeting did not represent a “critical stage” requiring the defendant’s presence. The judge clarified that the meeting primarily focused on issues related to Copeland’s immunity, which were considered ancillary to Kendrick’s rights.
Another argument raised by Kendrick was that the former judge and the prosecutors coerced Kenneth Copeland:
The argument said they coerced Copeland into testifying by potentially providing inaccurate information regarding the law of derivative use immunity. While the court acknowledged that some information given to Copeland might have been inaccurate, it found no evidence of coercion that would warrant a mistrial. The court further noted that Copeland was recalled to provide correct and clarifying information in the presence of all parties involved.
Finally, the motion contended that comments made by the previous judge during the ex parte meeting indicated bias against Kendrick, violating his due process rights. The court dismissed this claim as moot, given that the former judge had already recused himself from the case.
In a related development, in tis exhausting trial, Fulton County Judge Paige Reese Whitaker responded to a motion filed by Shannon Stillwell’s attorney seeking a fair trial by ordering the entire prosecution team in the Young Thug/YSL trial to undergo training on Brady and other professional obligations of a prosecutor. According to the order, this training will involve watching a replay of a session previously presented by the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia. The court will provide the video, and the viewing will occur under court supervision.
Defense attorneys have aggressively and repeatedly accused the prosecution, led by the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, of withholding evidence. The most recent allegation came earlier this week when Brian Steel, Young Thug’s attorney, discovered a phone number during late-stage discovery. Initially, the prosecution claimed that the omission was “inadvertent,” later explaining that it was because the individual associated with the phone number had not yet been arrested. However, they eventually demonstrated that the number had been included in earlier discovery materials.
And on and on this trial goes.
The post Here’s What You Need to Know in Young Thug’s RICO Trial, Third Judge Denies Defense Motion For Mistrial first appeared on The Source.
The post Here’s What You Need to Know in Young Thug’s RICO Trial, Third Judge Denies Defense Motion For Mistrial appeared first on The Source.