The Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed a contempt order imposed against Young Thug’s lawyer in the rapper’s lengthy gang and racketeering trial.
In a unanimous decision, the state’s high court ruled that Chief Judge Ural Glanville should have stepped aside in June after attorney Brian Steel questioned him about a secret meeting the judge held with prosecutors and a key witness in the case.
Glanville demanded to know how Steel learned of the private meeting in the judge’s chambers, but Steel refused to divulge his source, resulting in a heated back-and-forth.
“If you don’t tell me how you got this information, then you and I are going to have some problems,” Glanville told Steel.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
In a stunning decision, Glanville found the prominent defense attorney in contempt and ordered him to spend the next 10 weekends in jail.
Steel never served a day behind bars, and Glanville was ultimately recused from the longest trial in Georgia history over his handling of the matter.
Steel’s attorneys said in court filings that he did not interfere with the court’s administration of justice, that his information was protected by attorney-client privilege and that due process required Glanville to recuse from the contempt proceeding.
Georgia’s Supreme Court agreed, writing that Steel was entitled to a hearing before another judge.
“The exchange between Steel and Judge Glanville makes clear that Judge Glanville was involved in the controversy,” Presiding Justice Nels Peterson wrote. “For these reasons, a different judge should have presided over the contempt hearing, and the failure to do so requires reversal.”
Alex Susor, one of several Atlanta defense attorneys who represented Steel in his contempt appeal, said he was pleased with the court’s decision. Now, Steel can “put this in the rearview mirror” and focus on defending his client, he said.
“We are grateful that the court saw this contempt proceeding that Judge Glanville imposed was fundamentally unfair and didn’t follow the law,” Susor said.
Because the reversal was essentially decided on procedural grounds, Susor said he was disappointed the justices didn’t comment further on what he said were “egregious abuses of judicial authority” by Glanville.
Prosecutors say Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams, is the leader of Young Slime Life, which they contend is an Atlanta-based gang responsible for a spate of robberies, shootings and at least three murders. Defense attorneys maintain their clients are innocent and say YSL is simply the name of the Grammy winner’s record label.
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