Anyone who’s followed the RICO trial against Young Thug knows it’s been as all over the place as the charges that have been levied against him. This week, the case took another twist when not one but two judges recused themselves from the trial.
On Monday, Judge Ural Glanville recused himself after Young Thug’s defense attorney, Brian Steele, revealed that Glanville had a private meeting with a major witness and prosecutors. On Wednesday, his replacement, Judge Shukura Ingram, recused herself from the case, too. According to Atlanta’s 11Alive, she cites the fact that her court’s deputy was accused of trying to give “contraband” to Thug’s former YSL co-defendant, Christian Eppinger. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker is now all set to take over.
With a third judge presiding over the trial in less than two years, there are many questions about what’s next. Speaking with famed legal affairs reporter Meghann M. Cuniff before the second recusal, Okayplayer tried to get some answers.
Cuniff, who fans anointed Meghann Thee Reporter following her extensive coverage of the Tory Lanez trial, has also been updating folks on the significant happenings in the RICO trial against Young Thug. Speaking to OKP, she explains why the future of the trial is in doubt, when — and if — Young Thug will get bond, and who she believes has the upper hand in the case thus far.
The interview below has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Okayplayer: What does Judge Glanville’s recusal mean for the future of this trial?
Meghann M. Cuniff: I’ve never heard of a judge being removed from a case in the middle of trial and the trial just resuming under another judge. There’s a law in Georgia that says if a judge is recused, the case is supposed to be rewound to a certain point regarding the recusal; [either] when the recusal motion is made or when the conduct that the recusal motion is based on starts. There was a lot of testimony from [YSL] Woody, [YSL] Kenneth [Lil Woody] Copeland after all this stuff began with Glanville. Question is, how do you invalidate that? How do you rewind that? The jury’s already heard it and has notes on it. So that’s one big question of how could the case proceed? And then it’s just a logistical question of having another judge try to get up to speed on all the facts of the case — all the rulings, just everything she needs to know. That could be a substantial period of time.
What do you think this means for the future of the trial?
It definitely puts into question whether this case is going to continue before the current jury. It also raises questions about what the defense actually wants going forward. I’ve heard conflicting ideas from the defense attorneys that some of them aren’t sure they want a mistrial, and that perhaps it’d be better to try to proceed with the current jury because they thought things were going well. The end game for the defense here is an acquittal. They want the jury to say “not guilty” so there’s no chance of a retrial. I know there are some questions right now based on my conversation with [YSL Defense Attorney] Max Schardt about what exactly they are going to do and ask for, and the chances that this trial could just pick up with another judge. In my eyes, it doesn’t seem possible.
Young Thug has been behind bars for a long time. Do you think his team will file a motion for bond?
Doug Weinstein was talking about that with me last night, that he intends to file a motion for bond. Max Schardt was saying he’s reluctant to do a motion for bond immediately, because a motion for bond also assumes the case is going to proceed. And their first choice is that the indictment would get dismissed with prejudice, [like] what happened in the Alec Baldwin case, so they wouldn’t be able to proceed. So he said he’s going to hold off right now on a bond motion, but it definitely opens the door now that they have another judge to go to. Doug Weinstein said a couple of weeks ago that they didn’t see a point of asking Judge Glanville again because he had already done the hearing for bond and denied a rehearing. Now that they have another judge, yes, there is a chance. Whether the judge will actually grant it remains to be seen.
Thug is not charged with murder himself, but the RICO charge he has includes murder as overt acts. A couple of the defendants, Shannon Stilwell and Yak Gotti, are both charged with murder, including the murder of Donovan Thomas. So the idea that a judge would grant them bond might still be an uphill battle. But it’s definitely less of an uphill battle than it was with Judge Glanville. I think we’re going to see motions for that.
For people who are only paying attention to this trial peripherally, it can be hard to know what’s going on. But in your mind, who’s winning so far: The prosecutors or the defense (Young Thug)?
The defense, for sure, because the case is so big. As somebody who’s watched a lot of trials, I can’t understand why this case is so big. It’s crazy to me to have a trial that’s two years long because it’s impossible for the jury to keep track of all this stuff. But then when you just look at the evidence, especially for the murder charges, to have this be a first-degree murder trial for the Donovan Thomas case, it’s like, ‘Okay, they have to have way more evidence than this, right?’ Because they have not proven anything. The idea that [the defense] could get convictions beyond a reasonable doubt, it’s like, no way.
In the RICO conspiracy charges, I think the same thing — they could definitely be found not guilty. Max Schardt said they feel things were going in their favor [and] that they’re glad Judge Glanville’s off. If they get another judge who is willing to restrict the prosecutors more in terms of time, they could finish this by the end of the year. The idea of restarting is scary: Is it going to be a repeat of what we’ve already had with another judge? Is it just going to be the same marathon trial?
How much longer do you expect this trial to last?
Gosh, if they restart as is, at least another six months. But the idea that they would restart as is seems impossible. Who knows? At this point, anything could happen
