Young Thug’s lawyer, Brian Steel, was held in contempt of court during the rapper’s ongoing racketeering trial. The judge presiding over the case, Judge Ural Glanville, made the ruling after Steel refused to disclose how he learned about a private conversation that took place between the judge, prosecutors, and one of the state’s key witnesses.
Steel was escorted out of the courtroom and sentenced to spend the next 10 weekends at Fulton County Jail, totaling 20 days. He has been ordered to report to the Rice Street facility by 7 p.m. on Friday. Steel requested to serve his time at Cobb County Jail instead, so he could work on the case with his client. Judge Glanville agreed to consider the request and offered to speak with the sheriff about it.
“You got some information you shouldn’t have gotten,” Glanville told Steel before directing a deputy to take him into custody.
The incident arose after Kenneth Copeland, a witness in the trial, refused to testify on Friday despite an immunity deal. Copeland was jailed over the weekend but decided to testify on Monday, appearing in court in a blue, jail-issued jumpsuit. He was released on the condition that he would return to the witness stand on Tuesday.
During the proceedings, Steel requested a mistrial, arguing that he should have been present during the private meeting between the judge, the prosecutors, and Copeland. Glanville, however, continued with the trial, despite Steel’s objections and his temporary removal from the courtroom.
Steel’s co-counsel, Keith Adams, expressed his reluctance to continue without Steel present, but Judge Glanville insisted that the trial proceed. “You don’t get to extort the court,” Glanville stated.
Attorney Max Schardt, representing another defendant in the trial, requested the release of the transcript from the private meeting, arguing that all parties involved in the trial should have been included in the discussion. Judge Glanville dismissed the request, asserting that nothing improper occurred during the ex parte conversation.
After Steel was allowed back into the courtroom, Glanville warned that the contempt charge still stood unless Steel disclosed his source. Marietta attorney Ashleigh Merchant, representing Steel, advocated for his release and called for Glanville to recuse himself from the contempt case due to his involvement in the ex parte communication.
Several Atlanta attorneys voiced their support for Steel, criticizing his contempt charge. Steel’s wife, attorney Colette Resnik Steel, announced that she would appeal the criminal contempt finding and seek his release on bond.
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