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 alleged relationship between another YSL defendant not in this trial and a deputy formerly assigned to her courtroom. “Behind the scenes, there has to be a real question of whether she wanted to stay on this case, because it’s such a mess and it’s going to take years,†says Neama Rahmini, a former federal prosecutor. The case has now been assigned to its third judge, but it’s far from cleaned up yet. Here’s what’s going on.
Who’s judging this trial now?
Judge Paige Reese Whitaker has been assigned to the YSL case following Ingram’s recusal. She was once touted as a potential Georgia Supreme Court candidate in 2018 and has one of the lowest criminal caseloads in Fulton County, the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Jozsef Papp noted. But the question now becomes whether Whitaker will decide to take on the case and its yearslong commitment or recuse herself too. “We had a problem getting jurors; imagine a judge seeing this case,†Rahmani says. “I wouldn’t be surprised if more judges recuse themselves.†(And, he notes, a judge’s own recusal decision cannot be reviewed.) If recusals continue, though, the defendants could eventually try to have the case dismissed under the Speedy Trial Act. “Eventually, a judge will have to take this case,†Rahmani adds.
What will a new judge need to do?
Whoever eventually takes over the case will need familiarity with the case up to that point. To catch up, they could read the transcripts — which Fleischman guesses could be over 10,000 pages at this point and take months to produce — or be briefed on the trial, but that still wouldn’t compare to having been in court. “It’s really hard to step into a case, especially a complex case like this with so many different moving pieces,†Rahmani says. “There’s really no substitute for being there in court and hearing the testimony live.†Pausing the trial too long for preparation would also affect the jurors who are still committed to the case. “It already feels like a 13th Amendment violation,†Fleischman says.
Even if a judge is able to catch up on the case, their previous absence will continue to cause issues. For instance, once the prosecution rests, the defense can motion for a “directed verdict,†arguing the prosecution did not present sufficient evidence. “How can she intelligently rule on a directed-verdict motion for a trial she wasn’t there at the beginning?†Fleischman asks. Later on, problems would certainly arise when finalizing instructions to the jury. Attorneys “have to have some evidence to support the jury instructions [they’re] requesting,†Fleischman adds. “How is she going know what evidence there was other than taking their words for it?â€
For the trial to continue, the next judge would have to handle the testimony that occurred between June 12, when the defense filed its first recusal motion against Glanville, and June 17, when Glanville paused court for the motion to be reviewed — all of which is now nullified under Georgia law. Yak Gotti’s attorney, Douglas Weinstein, already told Rolling Stone that he believed rewinding the case back to June 12 “will be difficult, if not impossible,†and would be grounds for a mistrial. From the outside, Rahmani agrees. “How would you even explain that to the jurors?†he says. “I don’t think that’s a particularly good idea.â€
So the case is heading for a mistrial, then?
It sure looks like it. Attorneys for Young Thug filed a new mistrial motion after Judge Glanville’s July 15 recusal, and attorneys for other defendants reportedly have similar motions in the works. One of Young Thug’s attorneys, Keith Adams, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the case has been “irrevocably tainted†amid Glanville’s recusal. The defense will likely argue for a mistrial with prejudice. “They have to argue successfully that the state goaded them into a mistrial because the trial was going bad,†Fleischman says. “That’s very hard to do here, because while I believe the state engaged in misconduct, they did it with the intent of not being caught. That cuts against the goading narrative.â€
Both Fleischman and Rahmani agree that a mistrial without prejudice is much more likely, which would lead to the case being retried. “It is a real possibility that we’re going to start all over,†Rahmani says. But another trial may not be inevitable after a mistrial — prosecutors could take the mistrial as an opportunity to cut their losses and offer the defense more favorable plea deals to avoid another lengthy and costly retrial. It would be up to defendants, though, to accept those plea deals. “Brian Steel is tasting blood,†Fleischman says of Young Thug’s attorney. “His client is swearing by his innocence. He’s got a good case. He might not accept it. He might want to go forward to another trial.â€
What about bond?
A new judge would also offer fresh opportunities for defendants to request bond, after Glanville had previously denied all of their motions. “I think they have a strong argument for bond,†Fleischman says. “They all showed up for trial. They have excellent, prepared counsel. There’s no evidence of threats to witnesses.†Never mind that defendants would only be left waiting in prison longer after a mistrial. “You should not be holding people in jail for years before they get a trial,†Fleischman adds.
So how much longer is the case going to take?
If a new judge declares a mistrial, it could take months or even years for a retrial. But after Judge Glanville was criticized for the snail’s pace of his trial, a new judge could speed up the next trial by being more efficient in jury selection, limiting the prosecution’s witnesses, or even condensing the case by severing off some defendants off. “Whoever is the judge on the next case, I hope they exercise more restraint,†Fleischman says. “Judges are allowed to control the order of witnesses, our rules permit it, and that is something a judge needs to do to take control of the courtroom.â€
Still, whenever this trial finally ends, an appeal will be almost guaranteed, stretching things out even longer. “So you might as well start over [now] and do it right,†Rahmani says. “Do what you should’ve done the first time.â€