The Young Thug and YSL trial recently took a turn as two lawyers of codefendants are now pregnant. Now, both YSL members potentially face separate trials at a later date that could keep them incarcerated for longer. Moreover, prosecutors filed a motion this week to eliminate Tenquarius Mender and Kahlieff Adams from Thug’s trial. Furthermore, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that prosecutors referred to “impending and imminent personal leave of absence.” However, the pregnant lawyers in question dismissed these notions and maintained they can fully represent their clients.
“I don’t think pregnancy should be treated as a disease or a disability,” Nicole Fegan, who represents Mender, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “If Rihanna can do it, I’m sure that we can both adequately represent our clients.” While Thugger’s trial could last from six to nine months, it’s unclear how far along each lawyer is in their pregnancy. Interestingly, Fegan requested the judge to sever her client from the RICO case, and the court denied said motion. Following that, now she objected to the state creating a separate trial. From her statement, she seemed to specifically highlight that jury selection is already underway. As such, any initial plans she had for severance would now hurt the process too much.
“I think at this point, trying them separately would be expensive and potentially prejudicial because the jury selection process has already started,” Fegan remarked. “We’ve been on this case since May, and in May I wasn’t pregnant.” On the other hand, neither Mender nor Adams expressed desires for new lawyers after this revelation, at least as of writing this article. Moreover, the court will hear this motion on Tuesday (February 21) at the earliest.
Meanwhile, jury selection for YSL’s case already faced several delays and could take a while to complete. Considering that, these developments only mean more time and money for the court, and months behind bars for defendants. For example, after excusing many jurors for varied health and circumstance reasons, the court sought out an additional 300 potential jurors. Whether these pregnancies pose an obstacle for the collective remains to be seen. However, prosecutors seem keen on focusing in on the meat of the case and setting precedent for later convictions. Regardless, come back to HNHH for the latest on Young Thug and the YSL trial.