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Fani Willis circus: Rapper Young Thug’s lawyer given 20 days in jail for calling out judge’s secret meeting

June 11, 2024 | | Print Article

It seems you can never tell what may happen in a Fulton County, GA courtroom.

On Monday, during rapper Young Thug’s racketeering trial brought by DA Fani Willis, the attorney representing the alleged gangster was sentenced to jail for questioning a secret meeting between the judge, prosecutors, and one of the state’s star witnesses, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Judge Ural Glanville demanded to know how attorney Brian Steel learned of the discussion. When Steel refused to divulge his source, he was sentenced to spend the next 10 weekends, totaling 20 days, at the Fulton County Jail, the newspaper reported.

Steel requested a mistrial, but Glanville said the talk was “ex parte,” which means it was only for the parties involved. The rapper’s attorney disagreed, citing the Georgia Constitution.

“You got some information you shouldn’t have gotten,” Glanville said.

“You’re not supposed to have communication with a witness who’s been sworn,” Steel countered.

The witness, Kenneth Copeland, was put in jail over the weekend after refusing to testify on Friday. On Monday, Copeland was singing a different tune and appeared on the witness stand while still wearing a blue, jail-issued jumpsuit. The court released him after his testimony, contingent on his return on Tuesday.

Steel said he learned of the meeting earlier that morning during a break for lunch.

“How about the witness, how about Mr. Copeland, who supposedly announced that he’s not testifying and he’ll sit for two years and, supposedly this honorable court, or let me rephrase that, this court, said I can hold you until the end of this trial,” Steel asked.

“If that’s true what this is is coercion, witness intimidation, ex parte communications that we have a constitutional right to be present for,” the outraged attorney added.

“I still want to know, how did you come upon this information,” the judge asked. “Who told you?”

“What I want to know is why wasn’t I there,” Steel shot back.

The attorney was adamant that he would not answer the question, prompting Glanville to say, “Listen, if you don’t tell me how you got this information, then you and I are going to have some problems.”

As for the legality of the meeting, the general feeling amongst those who knew the law was that it was not proper:

Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:

Tom Tillison
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