Georgia Supreme Court Won’t Stop YSL Trial Despite Efforts to Replace Judge

Attorneys for defendant Deamonte Kendrick asked the appeals court to suspend the trial and order Glanville to allow another judge to determine whether his recusal is warranted. Kendrick’s attorneys also asked the state Supreme Court to order Glanville to produce an unredacted transcript of the June 10 private meeting in his chambers.

“Before seeking a writ of mandamus from this court, Kendrick must show that he first sought access to proper avenues for seeking relief in a higher court and was denied that opportunity,” the state Supreme Court said. “He admits that he did not file a stand-alone petition for mandamus against Chief Justice Glanville in a higher court.”

Mandamus is a legal term for a court order directing a person or organization to do something.

In the petition to the state Supreme Court, Kendrick’s attorneys said it would be futile to seek relief in the trial court because the request would be assigned to Glanville, who would simply dismiss it.

The state Supreme Court said Glanville “would be disqualified from presiding over the case” if Kendrick filed a motion seeking an order requiring Glanville to assign the recusal requests to another judge.

“Another judge would hear Kendrick’s motion, and either side could appeal the final decision,” the state Supreme Court said. “While this court has the power to grant initial relief in the form of mandamus (under Georgia law), it has chosen to retain its general status as an appellate court and exercise original jurisdiction only in extremely rare situations where necessity has been demonstrated.”

Doug Weinstein, one of Kendrick’s lawyers, said on social media Thursday that “we are not done looking for relief.”

“The (State Supreme Court) has set a clear path that must be followed not only by us, but also by Fulton and (Chief Justice) Glanville,” Weinstein wrote in a public post about the decision .

Defense attorneys raised concerns that during the closed-door meeting, Glanville and prosecutors put undue pressure on witness Kenneth Copeland to testify. Copeland was granted immunity in exchange for testifying against the defendants. He was jailed for contempt of court when he initially refused to answer questions on the witness stand.

Copeland testified after the private meeting in the judge’s chambers.

When Young Thug’s lead attorney, Brian Steel, found out about the meeting and asked Glanville to explain what happened, Glanville found Steel in contempt of court and sentenced him to 20 days in jail – the maximum possible sentence. The judge demanded to know how Steel knew about the meeting and Steel refused to disclose his source, citing confidentiality rules.

The judge’s handling of the case outraged many Georgia lawyers who said Steel was just doing his job and did not have to reveal how he learned of the meeting.

The state Supreme Court suspended Steel’s sentence on June 12 while it considers whether Glanville’s contempt finding was appropriate. The court’s decision is expected to take months.

Glanville scheduled a hearing to determine whether any of the people involved in the meeting should also be held in contempt of court for telling the defense attorney. In Georgia, criminal contempt can be punishable by a fine or imprisonment for up to 20 days.