Georgia Supreme Court reverses contempt ruling against rapper Young Thug’s lawyer

ATLANTA — Georgia’s highest court on Tuesday reversed a judge’s contempt ruling against rapper Young Thug’s attorney, who refused to tell the judge how he found out about a meeting between the judge, prosecutors and a witness. indictment.

Defense attorney Brian Steel represents the rapper, who is currently on trial in Atlanta on numerous charges, including violating Georgia’s anti-racketeering and gang laws. Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville in June found Steel in contempt and ordered him to spend the next 10 weekends in jail, an order that was suspended pending Steel’s appeal.

Steel argued that his information was subject to attorney-client privilege, that he did not interfere in court proceedings, and that Glanville was required, under due process, to withdraw from the contempt proceedings since Steel was accusing the judge of wrongdoing. .

The Supreme Court justices agreed with Steel that due process required Glanville to step aside from handling the contempt issue.

“Because the court delayed punishment, the alleged contempt was directed at the court, and the court was involved in the controversy that formed the basis of the contempt, due process required the judge to decline the contempt proceeding. Therefore, we reverse the contempt imposed by the trial court,” wrote presiding judge Nels Peterson in the unanimous opinion.

Young Thug, a Grammy winner whose real name is Jeffery Williams, was charged two years ago in a broad indictment that accused him and more than two dozen others of conspiring to violate Georgia’s anti-racketeering law. He is also accused of gang, drug and firearms crimes and is on trial with five of the others indicted with him.

Jury selection in the case began in January 2023 and lasted nearly 10 months. Opening statements were in November and the prosecution has been presenting its case ever since, calling dozens of witnesses.

At a public hearing on June 10, Steel told Glanville that he learned of a meeting in the judge’s office that morning and asked for a mistrial. In an order finding Steel in contempt and ordering his arrest, Glanville wrote that he had “serious concerns about the manner in which this information was improperly disclosed” to Steel.

Although the judge stated that Steel had information he should not have had, Steel argued that the information had not been declared confidential by any court order.

Glanville was removed from the long-running case in July due to a meeting he held with prosecutors and a state witness. Another judge granted motions from two defendants seeking Glanville’s impeachment, saying she did not fault Glanville for holding the meeting, but that “the ‘need to preserve public confidence in the judicial system’ weighs in favor of excusing Judge Glanville” from the case. .

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker took over the case, which is expected to continue into next year.