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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was warned this week that prosecutors in her office could face disciplinary actions, including jail time, over their courtroom behavior in the trial involving rapper Young Thug.
Newsweek reported that on Wednesday, Judge Ural Glanville, who presides over the case, warned some prosecutors from Willis’s office, saying, “None of you would do this if you were in the United States District Court, none of you.”
“My colleagues in federal court would probably jail most of you, and for those who have practiced in federal court, this is not the way it goes,” Glanville said. “From the state’s perspective as well as the defense perspective, everything’s filed in advance. So, why should you do anything less in this courtroom?”
Glanville’s warning followed a tense courtroom exchange between the judge and Assistant District Attorney Adriane Love during the trial. Glanville sided with the defense, ruling that certain evidence the prosecution sought to introduce would be excluded.
“Why didn’t we file this stuff months ago and let’s wind it out and air it out at that point in time,” Glanville told the defense before asking Love about the matter.
Love serves as the lead prosecutor in the RICO case against Jeffrey Williams, also known as Young Thug and 27 other defendants. The indictment, announced by Willis in May 2022, alleges Williams is the kingpin of Young Slime Life (YSL), an Atlanta-based street gang linked to the Bloods gang.
During the trial on Wednesday, Love engaged in an angry outburst over the judge’s ruling to exclude some evidence. The two were exchanging words in loud voices when Glanville said, “Have a seat, madam. Have a seat. You better exclude that, and next time, make sure you’re prepared.”
Love said that the evidence was “not inadmissible,” which led Glanville to scold Love and tell her that she should have filed it sooner.
“Oh, it’s going to be inadmissible right now,” Glanville replied. “I am not going to have any more discussion about this, madam.”
In response, Love shouted, “Judge, we talked to them this morning about that! And attempted … I talked to them earlier this week.”
Glanville cut her off though, saying, “I’m not punishing anybody … But prior preparation prevents poor performance.”
“We prepared, judge! That’s why I sent them what I sent them last week! A whole week and a half ago! Two weeks, your honor!” Love yelled before Glanville told her the jury was coming into the room.
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Separately, Willis faced allegations of having an “improper” relationship with the special counsel she employed to bring charges against Trump, Nathan Wade. Additionally, she was charged with profiting from Wade’s employment in her office. Wade and Willis refuted the accusations.
Wade left the case, enabling Willis to continue working on it.
Love is the chief prosecutor in the Atlanta-based hip-hop artist Young Thug’s trial. Young Thug’s real name is Jeffrey Lamar Williams.
Williams and six other individuals face charges related to their involvement in a violent street gang. He faces allegations of drug and firearm offenses in addition to racketeering conspiracy.
Meanwhile, Willis’ office is facing another scandal.
Recently, text messages were produced in court during the Young Thug trial that reveals an investigator working for Willis’s office made inappropriate advances on a witness while working on a case. While questioning a female witness identified as A. Bennett on the stand, an attorney for Williams asked about messages that the witness received from a county investigator named Hamilton.
Among the text messages was one from Hamilton that read: “Hit me up if you’re bored later. We’re not gonna talk shop.” Asked what it was the investigator wanted to talk to her about, Bennett told attorney Keith Adams that Hamilton wanted to discuss going out on “a date” with her.
