Years of chaos could finally be catching up to the YSL case . Two judges have now recused themselves from the RICO trial against the alleged gang in Georgia that counts rappers Young Thug and Yak Gotti among its defendants. The recusals came following disagreements over a secret meeting, and amid the confusion, the jury has not heard new testimony in a month.
A new judge picking up the case mid-trial seems nearly impossible, making a mistrial a question of when, not if. “There’s no case I have ever read that dealt with what happens when a judge is recused mid-trial,” says Andrew Fleischman, an Atlanta defense attorney. The latest mess began when Judge Ural Glanville, who had been presiding over the case since 2022, held a private ex parte meeting with prosecutors and an uncooperative witness, rapper Lil Woody, on June 10, 2024.
The defense was not privy to the meeting, but Brian Steel, an attorney for Young Thug, found out about it, and Glanville held Steel in contempt of court when he did not disclose his source. Steel soon filed to have Glanville recused from the case , and another judge eventually ruled to recuse him. “We look forward to proceeding with a trial judge who will fairly and faithfully follow the law,” Steel said in a statement afterward.
It’s already a rarity for a case to be reassigned in the middle of such a complicated trial. But less than two days after Judge Shukura L. Ingram was assigned to the case, she also recused herself, citing an allege.