On Friday, August 2, 2024, 11Alive reported that Fulton County Judge Paige Reese Whitaker issued an order granting a motion filed by attorneys for rapper Young Thug to strike all court proceedings that occurred in his racketeering trial after June 12, 2024.
Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, and over two dozen alleged members of his rap group YSL are facing charges related to criminal street gang activity.
The proceedings have been plagued by disputes over the presiding judge. In mid-June, Young Thug’s lawyers Brian Steel and Keith Adams filed a motion to recuse original trial Judge Ural Glanville, citing an improper ex parte meeting he held with prosecutors and a prosecution witness without defense counsel present.
While Judge Glanville initially denied he should be recused, another judge later determined he should be removed from the case due to the ex parte meeting. As a result, Judge Whitaker took over.
Citing Georgia case law, Steel argued in a July motion that because the recusal of Judge Glanville was ultimately granted, all court proceedings after the initial June 12th recusal motion must be invalidated and disregarded. Whitaker agreed, noting the case law cited by Steel was correct.
As a result of Friday’s order, the jury will have to essentially restart and disregard any testimony or evidence they heard after June 12th. Whitaker said she would work with prosecutors and defense attorneys on how to re-present affected evidence and testimony to the jury.
Steel had also requested in his original motion for the judge to instruct jurors to remove notes from the invalidated time period and “erase from their minds” that evidence, as well as any rulings from the replaced judge.
The order granting this “motion to strike” is the latest twist in the high-profile racketeering trial that has already seen two judge substitutions. It remains unclear precisely how testimony and evidence from the past several weeks of proceedings will be handled when the case resumes.
The trial, which also involves additional charges against Williams and other YSL members, will continue under Judge Whitaker’s supervision after effectively restarting from the June legal challenge over the original presiding judge. How jurors are guided through the complex process of disregarding their prior exposure to now-invalidated evidence could significantly impact the case’s outcome.
Source: 11Alive
