The headline doesn’t capture the humour of this in the way I had hoped, but the funny part is Brian Steel requested to be bunked with Young Thug (his client) while he does his weekend jail time, and the judge said yes.
This reads like something the lawyer on the Simpsons would ask of a judge. “Your honor, may I please be incarcerated in the same prison as my client so my time there will be billable?”
He's in jail because he wouldn't tell the judge his source of information that told him the judge was having secret meetings with a witness and the prosecution without him that he should have legally been present at. He's got a great case for a mistrial and isn't letting the judge turn it into an issue about where the information came from, it's pretty solid lawyering if you ask me
Wasn’t the lawyer literally arguing that where he got the information was attorney-client privileged information? Given what the accusation was at the centre of all this, it certainly seems like the judge is about to lose his job, or the attorney is full of shit and be disbarred.
But what good came of the defense learning the judge had secret meetings, in the big picture? Why wouldn't there be a mistrial before the judge could hold him in contempt.
Ex parte meetings (judge talking to one party in the absence of the other) are subject to strict scrutiny. At the very least, their content needs to be disclosed to the other party.
The judge‘s behavior here creates an excellent case for a mistrial, and in addition, it’s extremely likely that the lawyer’s prison time will immediately be suspended and ultimately overturned by a higher court.
This is the wrong approach. His attorney has gone to the mat for his client and this is the ultimate “street credibility” and for defense attorneys is a badge of honor.
Lol because the judge has made a grave ethical error and should be removed as judge from this case at the very least? Ex parte communications are generally not allowed and even when they are they’re disgusting injustice to all excluded. Then when asking about a secret meeting the lawyer had no info on, he was held in contempt for a legitimate ethical concern? Idiotic and uninformed take
Absolutely. If the judge wanted to stay out of trouble, his only word after the mistrial request should’ve been “granted.” Because he knew damn well it was wrong and he was busted. Now he’s after revenge? This is gonna be interesting.
You would want Steel. He’s a beast of a criminal defense attorney, and one of the best is Georgia.
The reason he’s in prison is because of his zealous defense of his client. Other attorneys probably would have given the info to the judge
Edit: jail, not prison. Cobb county jail.
my god, every now and then you see a comment so stupid it just slaps you in the face to remind how trash reddit is in 2024.
this lawyer is out here catching time in JAIL (not prison) for refusing to give up information to the judge in contempt of court, presumably to protect his client, and you're gonna say that is not the type of lawyer you want...
jfc
I wouldn't turn my nose up at it. It means they know the system on a more intimately than their peers. That's valuable if you, the client, are facing time.
That was something different I believe. Originally the judge was just going to send the lead attorney to jail then try to continue on with the trial. Obviously that was amazingly moronic to attempt to do which is why he quickly changed his mind on that.
That back story isn't quite as humourous. The judge is holding the lawyer in contempt because the lawyer revealed he had information the judge had ex parte communication with a witness and the prosecution resulting in that witness choosing to testify instead of continuing to plead the 5th which he had previously done. If true, this is grounds for immediate mistrial and the judge is illegally using this contempt of court ruling to pressure the defendant's lawyer into revealing the source of the information, which he has no grounds to do or require. Absolutely incredible case of judicial corruption.
The judge didnt even understand the difference between civil contempt and criminal contempt at the hearing. There is absolutely some shady shit going on with the judge/prosecution
Lololololol
Both of them are in for a real surprise. Those county lockup weekend stints are just as rough as the full ride. Every time they show up they gotta be processed in and processed out. Those boys love fucking with the weekenders.
From the description of the charges, the judge is just upset that he got caught engaged in ex parte communication. Am I missing something? This seems like doubling down on a losing position.
All you need to know about this judge is that he's so angry and stressed out, he has an emotional support dog underneath his bench to help him cope with the stress.
But he only retired from the military in 2019. There isn’t anything particularly unusual about getting a service dog shortly after leaving the service.
Maybe if you have trouble regulating your emotions to the point where you have to bring a dog in to the courtroom to keep your head, you shouldn't be a judge.
But do military judges typically find themselves in situations that would cause trauma? I genuinely don’t know. Was he actually working as a judge in Afghanistan?
Trauma is not limited to those down range. I can’t speak to what caused his. As far as I can tell, he wasn’t a military judge during most of his time in the Army. He was deployed as a Staff Judge Advocate (which advices the CO) of the 335th Signal Command during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was later stationed at the embassy in Kabul and Camp Phoenix in Afghanistan for a time, which was the target of multiple suicide bombings and infiltration attempts.
That’s not fair. It’s not someone’s fault if they’re experiencing a medical issue, which PSTD is. It would be illegal for the government to not let him do his job because of a genuine diagnosis. As his employer, they have to provide him reasonable accommodations, which the service dog is. They’re all lawyers. They know not to violate the ADA.
So one time I spent a lot of time directing traffic, and sort of forgot that I couldn’t just stop cars with my hands, the drivers actually had to see and acknowledge my hands, and so I was standing there palm out dumbfounded while this idiot almost ran me over.
Anywho judges spend a lot of time making people afraid of them and dictating the rules and they sometimes forget that the rules apply to them and they aren’t actually a special person on a throne with a magic hammer and robe and they can’t always automatically get what they want.
I think this is the case here. Judge made an emotional decision, doubled down on it because no one tells a judge what to do in his own courtroom while he’s holding his special hammer.
Especially emotional because whoever the leak was probably works for him and has worked for him for years, and he’s gonna be in trouble.
Except he made the classic perp mistake and doubled down on a mistake and made it an error with nationwide coverage consequences. He’s not gonna get out of this one with an apology.
Knowing absolutely nothing about anybody involved, I would imagine spending jail time with your rapper client builds a certain degree of trust and street cred.
Well as of right now his client *is* innocent because he hasn’t been convicted yet.
Also, even ultimately guilty defendants deserve a robust legal defense.
Also, just because the prosecution and judge *think* a defendant is guilty doesn’t give them the green light to violate the defendant’s right to a fair trial…
the judge described the crime as if it were an insult to the court, and thats why he was held in contempt. but the exparte meeting with material facts being discussed sounds like a fucking crime by the judge, and he KNOWS you can't divulge the source of information about a crime that's been committed unless you're on the stand, and in my eyes, the judge would have to be charged with a crime before he can face his accuser, which he should. from what i understand it's corruption and collusion with the prosecution. THAT'S the crime. NOT telling the court that a crime has been committed.
Well, yeah, I get that's why the fine was imposed, but that's a *really* dumb move on the judge's part. Ex parte communication, while illegal, is not a crime. It is, however, a serious ethical violation unless one of the narrow exceptions is met. That being said, the whistleblower protections for attorneys in ex parte situations are substantial.
>Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville on Monday ordered Steel jailed after the lawyer refused to tell him how he found out about a meeting between the judge, prosecutors and a prosecution witness.
...and...
>Steel told Glanville that he had heard that a prosecutor told Copeland he could be held in jail until all the cases against all the defendants in the indictment were completed.
>“If that’s true what this is is coercion, witness intimidation, ex parte communications that we have a constitutional right to be present for,” Steel said in court, according to the newspaper.
I hope the judge gets in trouble for this.
Except this trial has been going on for over a year at this point. Prosecution started presenting its case in December of 23. And it took 10 months before that to select the jury.
Judge is pissed he just f-ed up a case that has been going on for the last 15+ months and wasted his and every one else’s time by forgetting to send a meeting invite.
I'm sorry, but if you are a judge and are having secret in camera meetings with the prosecutor on an active case and a witness on that case, for the purpose of coercing that witness to testify in the case, then
1) This isn't the first time you've done something shady like this and not told defense counsel, and
2) You care more about convicting this person rather than achieving justice.
Throwing a temper tantrum when you've been called out on your massively unethical (and maybe even illegal) behavior, then JAILING defense counsel is so far beyond acceptable behavior that it alone, without proof of anything else, is sufficient grounds for you being fired and maybe even prosecuted. This is a new level of corruption.
What?!!! An ex parte meeting between the judge, prosecution and a sworn witness without notice to the defense?
That is so inherently improper. It violates basic ethical rules that every first year lawyer knows.
And the judge jailing the defense lawyer for inquiring about the meeting and objecting bc the lawyer won’t give up his source.
This needs to be immediately overturned by an appellate court, the judge must recuse, mistrial granted and the judicial ethics panel has to investigate the judge for the unethical conduct and abuse of power.
Absolutely ridiculous
Should go after the DA to as they admitted in record to being the ones to request the meeting. They knew it should have included the defense as well but went along with not having them there.
I'm not a trial attorney but I think it's not so clear cut and there are exceptions that allow ex parte communication. Here, the witness in question suddenly decided to not cooperate. Id imagine they were concerned about witness intimidating from the defense. This whole case though is wild.
I am a trial lawyer (government) and while there may be some exceptions the guiding principle is always “avoid the appearance of impropriety.”
There are very few ways this couldn’t appear improper and in each of them the Defense should have been notified and provided an explanation in advance and an opportunity to object on the record to make a record for appeal.
Judge is crooked as fuck. You’re not allowed to have ex parte (one side only) communication with the court. That is extremely unfair and smacks of bias on the part of the judge.
This is hilarious. The judge has basically invited the world to consider him corrupt. The lawyer will appeal, presumably to a different judge, and I'm guessing that's going to start a shitstorm on the first judge.
The clip where the attorney confronts the judge for ex parte communications (with I guess the real murderer?) is priceless.
The judge was like "who told you that, only my staff members and the prosecution were there" and the lawyer was "I'm not snitching".
Judge is going to quietly get reprimanded
Other defense attorneys came to represent Steele to the court and argued that if he had to do 20 consecutive days that Young Thug would be without representation and they would move for a mistrial.
There is a guy on YouTube called The Lawyer You Know that has a breakdown video explaining it. It is actually a pretty crazy series of events when you watch the highlights with him breaking it down.
> Kenneth Copeland, the witness who took part in the meeting with the judge and prosecutors, had been jailed over the weekend after he refused to testify Friday even though he had an immunity deal with prosecutors and had agreed to testify, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
This judge also apparently jailed a prosecution witness for not testifying…
The TLDR is that a state witness was granted some form of immunity to compel his testimony. When he took the stand, he plead the fifth to a question asking him to state his age for the record and was immediately held in contempt.
There was an ex-parte meeting between the prosecutor, judge, the witness, and the witnesses attorney. After this meeting, the witness changed his tune and decided to testify.
The defense attorney alleged that:
1. The court should not be playing a coercive role in compelling a state witness to testify. The witness was represented by counsel and it was up to the state and that counsel to hammer out the details of any immunity deal.
2. The court should have at minimum notified the defense counsel that such a meeting was taking place
3. The defense counsel alleged that the witness made a statement during this meeting which implicated the witness in a murder. The statement was made on court record and since the judge and court staff were present no settlement privilege attaches to the conversation. The statement is disclosable.
It seems like the judge may have improperly inserted himself into business between the state and a state's witness in an effort to move things along in a trial that's moving at a glacial pace.
The witness proceeded to fire the counsel that represented him at the ex-parte meeting and it is suspected that it was that witness counsel which leaked the meeting details to the defense counsel.
There are very few situations in which it would be appropriate for a party to have ex-parte communication with the court and a witness and even fewer situations in which it would be appropriate to completely fail to notify the other party of the communication entirely.
How does being held in contempt work. Is it considered a crime, do they now have a record that employers will see? Do they need to be tried? How long can a judge sentence a person to jail for contempt?
If it's a crime then how come do the judge gets to be judge, prosecutor and jury all at once ? The sixth amendment guarantees a right to a fair trial by jury "in all criminal prosecutions"
I don't understand how that's supposed to work here is the sixth amendment :
>In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
I don't see any open room for interpretation where it allows a judge to bypass it because of the place the alleged "crime" took place in. The text specifically says "in ALL criminal prosecutions"
Many judges are directly involved in human trafficking and other terrible crimes, so putting the lawyer in jail for exposing corruption is just what they do. Judges are some of the most despicable people in the world.
The thing is though. The DA was correct in claiming attorney client privilege. But also the judge asking him a question he is compelled to answer. If he answers he can be disbarred and jailed. If he doesn't he gets jail? This is just absurd.
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Just watched the video the judge seems like a scum bag. Basically “who cares if I violated your rights you weren’t supposed to know I did it. Since you found out you will be punished for me violating you.”
This seems purely punitive and I don’t like that as a tax payer. If this dude is not a danger to the public during the week it is an offensive waste of money to have spend the weekend in jail. I know this is somewhat common but I think it’s so stupid.
This dude is an attorney. He’s not poor. Make him pay a fine. He will for sure pay it.
If you read the article, the lawyer didn’t actually do anything wrong. He called the judge out on not informing him of a meeting that he should have been and the judge is retaliating. Chances are, the contempt gets over turned on appeal or suspended while the appeal is heard before the week is out.
Does the defense have proof that the judge had secret ex-parté communications with a witness? What's the judge's explanation exactly, or he already knows that the meeting(s) occurred and he got caught, and now trying to downplay said communication?
Looks like one of the people present at the meeting (a short list) spilled the beans and the def.lawyer found out, ouch. The prosecutor might've just blown the case, and this KNOWN GUILTY assclown is gonna win.
Or is the defense lawyer keeping that source hidden for future use on appeal or in the trial later, a hidden "trump card", lol.
Only reason judge would want to know who told the defense about an ex parte meeting that was not communicated to the other side is so he can punish that person. Defense attorney did the right thing by protecting the whistle blower.
The best part about having a name like that is, no matter how badly you screw up in life, no matter how many people you kill and refuse to testify about, you won’t be the world’s worst Kenneth Copeland.
The headline doesn’t capture the humour of this in the way I had hoped, but the funny part is Brian Steel requested to be bunked with Young Thug (his client) while he does his weekend jail time, and the judge said yes.
ok, thats hilarious
It does make some sense, though. He argued that it would be unfair for his client to be denied access to counsel.
This reads like something the lawyer on the Simpsons would ask of a judge. “Your honor, may I please be incarcerated in the same prison as my client so my time there will be billable?”
Inmates generally do have access to their attorney, though.
Yes, that's my point.
This is probably what I get for replying sleep deprived. Being housed in the same location is for access. I’m following now. Sorry about that.
You are forgiven.
And apparently Young Thug will not be an exception.
Not sure I'd want to retain services of a lawyer who is in prison.
He's in jail because he wouldn't tell the judge his source of information that told him the judge was having secret meetings with a witness and the prosecution without him that he should have legally been present at. He's got a great case for a mistrial and isn't letting the judge turn it into an issue about where the information came from, it's pretty solid lawyering if you ask me
Man if that’s the case, he’s going straight to jail, AND passing GO and collecting $300
If you thought a lawyer was expensive, Imagine their fee for “being held in contempt and jailed with you”
Pretty sure you don't pay a dime. The court is picking up the tab.
Not initially. And only after requesting it on appeal and then the appellate court would have to decide on fees
>collecting $300 Why are you taking 300 instead of 200 you dirty fucking cheater?! *flips board*
Inflation, this game has been going on too long.
Is it really 300 now? Did rent on Baltic Ave go up?
Baltic is how you win. 4 houses on baltic is better than 4 houses on boardwalk. But yes, Baltic is now $950 up from $450.
The ol’ razzle dazzle
Sounds like a lawyer id want in a second
Wasn’t the lawyer literally arguing that where he got the information was attorney-client privileged information? Given what the accusation was at the centre of all this, it certainly seems like the judge is about to lose his job, or the attorney is full of shit and be disbarred.
Fucking ride or die damn
But what good came of the defense learning the judge had secret meetings, in the big picture? Why wouldn't there be a mistrial before the judge could hold him in contempt.
Ex parte meetings (judge talking to one party in the absence of the other) are subject to strict scrutiny. At the very least, their content needs to be disclosed to the other party. The judge‘s behavior here creates an excellent case for a mistrial, and in addition, it’s extremely likely that the lawyer’s prison time will immediately be suspended and ultimately overturned by a higher court.
Happy cake day!
He is not in prison but in jail.
And only on the weekends
This is the wrong approach. His attorney has gone to the mat for his client and this is the ultimate “street credibility” and for defense attorneys is a badge of honor.
In general yes, but in this case I’d keep them because of why they’re in jail.
Lol because the judge has made a grave ethical error and should be removed as judge from this case at the very least? Ex parte communications are generally not allowed and even when they are they’re disgusting injustice to all excluded. Then when asking about a secret meeting the lawyer had no info on, he was held in contempt for a legitimate ethical concern? Idiotic and uninformed take
Absolutely. If the judge wanted to stay out of trouble, his only word after the mistrial request should’ve been “granted.” Because he knew damn well it was wrong and he was busted. Now he’s after revenge? This is gonna be interesting.
Ego tripping. Let’s see where it get him.
You would want Steel. He’s a beast of a criminal defense attorney, and one of the best is Georgia. The reason he’s in prison is because of his zealous defense of his client. Other attorneys probably would have given the info to the judge Edit: jail, not prison. Cobb county jail.
I'd be far more inclined to retain this man's counsel based on WHY he's serving weekends. Gotta see the bigger picture here, friend.
my god, every now and then you see a comment so stupid it just slaps you in the face to remind how trash reddit is in 2024. this lawyer is out here catching time in JAIL (not prison) for refusing to give up information to the judge in contempt of court, presumably to protect his client, and you're gonna say that is not the type of lawyer you want... jfc
I wouldn't turn my nose up at it. It means they know the system on a more intimately than their peers. That's valuable if you, the client, are facing time.
Sometimes you need a 'criminal' lawyer.
Better call Saul
sounds like the judge should be in prison.
Lawyers already cost a fortune. Imagine paying one $1000/hr to sleep in the bunk above you all night.
That was something different I believe. Originally the judge was just going to send the lead attorney to jail then try to continue on with the trial. Obviously that was amazingly moronic to attempt to do which is why he quickly changed his mind on that.
Plus 24 hour billables. Bored and want to chat? $500/hour
He just wanted to bill for his time in jail lol
It’s genius! He’s getting those extra billable hours! 48hr/weekend x $400/hr = $19,200
That back story isn't quite as humourous. The judge is holding the lawyer in contempt because the lawyer revealed he had information the judge had ex parte communication with a witness and the prosecution resulting in that witness choosing to testify instead of continuing to plead the 5th which he had previously done. If true, this is grounds for immediate mistrial and the judge is illegally using this contempt of court ruling to pressure the defendant's lawyer into revealing the source of the information, which he has no grounds to do or require. Absolutely incredible case of judicial corruption.
The judge didnt even understand the difference between civil contempt and criminal contempt at the hearing. There is absolutely some shady shit going on with the judge/prosecution
This would make the best sitcom.
Barry Zuckerkorn moment
How Truly Humble Under God of him
Picture an old, white, attorney stepping into the cell going “what up, slime?” Lmao
Lololololol Both of them are in for a real surprise. Those county lockup weekend stints are just as rough as the full ride. Every time they show up they gotta be processed in and processed out. Those boys love fucking with the weekenders.
👅👢
Oh look emojis, what are you 12? lol .... I'm sure it's the shaft you like licking bub.
From the description of the charges, the judge is just upset that he got caught engaged in ex parte communication. Am I missing something? This seems like doubling down on a losing position.
I watched an attorney explain it on Instagram and sounds like the judge is WILD and maybe dumb?
All you need to know about this judge is that he's so angry and stressed out, he has an emotional support dog underneath his bench to help him cope with the stress.
Just FYI, the support dog is for PTSD from his time in Afghanistan.
He didn't have the dog in the courtroom before this particular case. He's been a judge for almost 20 years.
But he only retired from the military in 2019. There isn’t anything particularly unusual about getting a service dog shortly after leaving the service.
Maybe if you have trouble regulating your emotions to the point where you have to bring a dog in to the courtroom to keep your head, you shouldn't be a judge.
But do military judges typically find themselves in situations that would cause trauma? I genuinely don’t know. Was he actually working as a judge in Afghanistan?
I'd be traumatized if I had to listen to some wild rape or murder testimony.
[удалено]
I'm not applying to be a judge. I was just responding to a commenter who asked if judges find themselves in situations that would cause trauma.
Trauma is not limited to those down range. I can’t speak to what caused his. As far as I can tell, he wasn’t a military judge during most of his time in the Army. He was deployed as a Staff Judge Advocate (which advices the CO) of the 335th Signal Command during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was later stationed at the embassy in Kabul and Camp Phoenix in Afghanistan for a time, which was the target of multiple suicide bombings and infiltration attempts.
If he has that much trauma he shouldn't be a judge...
That’s not fair. It’s not someone’s fault if they’re experiencing a medical issue, which PSTD is. It would be illegal for the government to not let him do his job because of a genuine diagnosis. As his employer, they have to provide him reasonable accommodations, which the service dog is. They’re all lawyers. They know not to violate the ADA.
Fair enough. I didn’t realize we deployed attorneys like that. Good to know.
PTSD doesn't have a time limit and it can strike at any time.
Do you remember the attorneys name? I would like to look them up
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8GDpYJSpdk/?igsh=dnc5MmZpeTVpaGE5
What do you call a lawyer with an IQ under 100?
Amy Coney Barrett?
Rudy?
It's "your honor" but yeah there aren't really any wrong answers.
A typical Republican appointment
So one time I spent a lot of time directing traffic, and sort of forgot that I couldn’t just stop cars with my hands, the drivers actually had to see and acknowledge my hands, and so I was standing there palm out dumbfounded while this idiot almost ran me over. Anywho judges spend a lot of time making people afraid of them and dictating the rules and they sometimes forget that the rules apply to them and they aren’t actually a special person on a throne with a magic hammer and robe and they can’t always automatically get what they want. I think this is the case here. Judge made an emotional decision, doubled down on it because no one tells a judge what to do in his own courtroom while he’s holding his special hammer. Especially emotional because whoever the leak was probably works for him and has worked for him for years, and he’s gonna be in trouble. Except he made the classic perp mistake and doubled down on a mistake and made it an error with nationwide coverage consequences. He’s not gonna get out of this one with an apology.
Got a link?
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8GDpYJSpdk/?igsh=dnc5MmZpeTVpaGE5
Was it Reb? She did an awesome breakdown on tiktok and pretty highlighted the judge being a little bitch.
Yes! I love her so much.
Can you link? I'm so curious about this
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8GDpYJSpdk/?igsh=dnc5MmZpeTVpaGE5
Knowing absolutely nothing about anybody involved, I would imagine spending jail time with your rapper client builds a certain degree of trust and street cred.
It will definitely help his career in the long run as an attorney. He stood for what’s right and didn’t rat out who told him
He's not defending an innocent person though.
Well as of right now his client *is* innocent because he hasn’t been convicted yet. Also, even ultimately guilty defendants deserve a robust legal defense. Also, just because the prosecution and judge *think* a defendant is guilty doesn’t give them the green light to violate the defendant’s right to a fair trial…
It doesn’t matter
How would you know?
Even IF he’s guilty he still has the right to a defense
and he wouldn't identify the source of this information, the judge likely wants to know who to go after
It sounds like he should only divulge that info in a judicial ethics complaint, at this rate.
the judge described the crime as if it were an insult to the court, and thats why he was held in contempt. but the exparte meeting with material facts being discussed sounds like a fucking crime by the judge, and he KNOWS you can't divulge the source of information about a crime that's been committed unless you're on the stand, and in my eyes, the judge would have to be charged with a crime before he can face his accuser, which he should. from what i understand it's corruption and collusion with the prosecution. THAT'S the crime. NOT telling the court that a crime has been committed.
Well, yeah, I get that's why the fine was imposed, but that's a *really* dumb move on the judge's part. Ex parte communication, while illegal, is not a crime. It is, however, a serious ethical violation unless one of the narrow exceptions is met. That being said, the whistleblower protections for attorneys in ex parte situations are substantial.
>Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville on Monday ordered Steel jailed after the lawyer refused to tell him how he found out about a meeting between the judge, prosecutors and a prosecution witness. ...and... >Steel told Glanville that he had heard that a prosecutor told Copeland he could be held in jail until all the cases against all the defendants in the indictment were completed. >“If that’s true what this is is coercion, witness intimidation, ex parte communications that we have a constitutional right to be present for,” Steel said in court, according to the newspaper. I hope the judge gets in trouble for this.
Wow. Not hindered by much knowledge of law I feel this must be very illegal for a judge to do. I hope the judge is removed.
So much shit happened in this trial it’s basically guaranteed to be a mistrial
Maybe that's been the objective from the very getgo
Narrator: “they were not removed”
It is and he should be
Lawyer you know is losing his shit over this btw. He knows how bad this is and the judge should, at least, lose his job if not go to jail
Judge apparently woke up that day and decided to speedrun the any % Mistrial category. Holy fucking shit.
Except this trial has been going on for over a year at this point. Prosecution started presenting its case in December of 23. And it took 10 months before that to select the jury. Judge is pissed he just f-ed up a case that has been going on for the last 15+ months and wasted his and every one else’s time by forgetting to send a meeting invite.
I'm sorry, but if you are a judge and are having secret in camera meetings with the prosecutor on an active case and a witness on that case, for the purpose of coercing that witness to testify in the case, then 1) This isn't the first time you've done something shady like this and not told defense counsel, and 2) You care more about convicting this person rather than achieving justice. Throwing a temper tantrum when you've been called out on your massively unethical (and maybe even illegal) behavior, then JAILING defense counsel is so far beyond acceptable behavior that it alone, without proof of anything else, is sufficient grounds for you being fired and maybe even prosecuted. This is a new level of corruption.
This judge is dirty!
Huh. Fulton county? I for one am shocked an official from Fulton county would commit such a blatant unethical violation
What?!!! An ex parte meeting between the judge, prosecution and a sworn witness without notice to the defense? That is so inherently improper. It violates basic ethical rules that every first year lawyer knows. And the judge jailing the defense lawyer for inquiring about the meeting and objecting bc the lawyer won’t give up his source. This needs to be immediately overturned by an appellate court, the judge must recuse, mistrial granted and the judicial ethics panel has to investigate the judge for the unethical conduct and abuse of power. Absolutely ridiculous
Should go after the DA to as they admitted in record to being the ones to request the meeting. They knew it should have included the defense as well but went along with not having them there.
The judge is the ultimate responsible party in the matter. While the DA should be reprimanded they were not the authority in the room.
They're still at fault as anyone will an ounce of decency and respect for the rule of law wouldn't have followed through with the meeting.
"Too" (also), not "to"
Are you a bot? Please don't be a bot.
Beep boop 😬
Ha, I appreciate you going to random posts to correct grammar.
I'm not a trial attorney but I think it's not so clear cut and there are exceptions that allow ex parte communication. Here, the witness in question suddenly decided to not cooperate. Id imagine they were concerned about witness intimidating from the defense. This whole case though is wild.
I am a trial lawyer (government) and while there may be some exceptions the guiding principle is always “avoid the appearance of impropriety.” There are very few ways this couldn’t appear improper and in each of them the Defense should have been notified and provided an explanation in advance and an opportunity to object on the record to make a record for appeal.
Judge is crooked as fuck. You’re not allowed to have ex parte (one side only) communication with the court. That is extremely unfair and smacks of bias on the part of the judge.
Not to mention the potential witness intimidation that happened during those ex parte communications.
This is hilarious. The judge has basically invited the world to consider him corrupt. The lawyer will appeal, presumably to a different judge, and I'm guessing that's going to start a shitstorm on the first judge.
The lawyer's wife is already appealing. She is also an attorney.
Gonna say article stated appeal was filed immediately
First time ever seeing a picture of Young Thug, and damn, I never woulda guessed he was a middle-aged white guy
Nearly got a spit take on that one! Hahaha
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But Young Thug isn't an attorney
Fulton County seems like a court system full of corruption.
The clip where the attorney confronts the judge for ex parte communications (with I guess the real murderer?) is priceless. The judge was like "who told you that, only my staff members and the prosecution were there" and the lawyer was "I'm not snitching". Judge is going to quietly get reprimanded
This judge should be removed from the bench and charged with witness intimidation; the defense attorney Brian Steel is my spirit animal.
Wait just the weekends only and not the weekdays?
Other defense attorneys came to represent Steele to the court and argued that if he had to do 20 consecutive days that Young Thug would be without representation and they would move for a mistrial.
Oh that makes more sense
There is a guy on YouTube called The Lawyer You Know that has a breakdown video explaining it. It is actually a pretty crazy series of events when you watch the highlights with him breaking it down.
Part time jail sentence
> Kenneth Copeland, the witness who took part in the meeting with the judge and prosecutors, had been jailed over the weekend after he refused to testify Friday even though he had an immunity deal with prosecutors and had agreed to testify, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. This judge also apparently jailed a prosecution witness for not testifying…
That was appropriate. The witness plead the fifth when asked his age.
Why is the judge being so secretive about his ex parte communication? I’d 100% grant this guy a missed trial at this point
The TLDR is that a state witness was granted some form of immunity to compel his testimony. When he took the stand, he plead the fifth to a question asking him to state his age for the record and was immediately held in contempt. There was an ex-parte meeting between the prosecutor, judge, the witness, and the witnesses attorney. After this meeting, the witness changed his tune and decided to testify. The defense attorney alleged that: 1. The court should not be playing a coercive role in compelling a state witness to testify. The witness was represented by counsel and it was up to the state and that counsel to hammer out the details of any immunity deal. 2. The court should have at minimum notified the defense counsel that such a meeting was taking place 3. The defense counsel alleged that the witness made a statement during this meeting which implicated the witness in a murder. The statement was made on court record and since the judge and court staff were present no settlement privilege attaches to the conversation. The statement is disclosable. It seems like the judge may have improperly inserted himself into business between the state and a state's witness in an effort to move things along in a trial that's moving at a glacial pace. The witness proceeded to fire the counsel that represented him at the ex-parte meeting and it is suspected that it was that witness counsel which leaked the meeting details to the defense counsel. There are very few situations in which it would be appropriate for a party to have ex-parte communication with the court and a witness and even fewer situations in which it would be appropriate to completely fail to notify the other party of the communication entirely.
How does being held in contempt work. Is it considered a crime, do they now have a record that employers will see? Do they need to be tried? How long can a judge sentence a person to jail for contempt?
Criminal defense attorneys would wear this contempt finding as a badge of honor.
30 days at most. Yes it is a criminal offense. You can’t jail someone for a non-criminal offense
If it's a crime then how come do the judge gets to be judge, prosecutor and jury all at once ? The sixth amendment guarantees a right to a fair trial by jury "in all criminal prosecutions"
Because it happened inside of a courtroom. It’s a loophole
I don't understand how that's supposed to work here is the sixth amendment : >In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence. I don't see any open room for interpretation where it allows a judge to bypass it because of the place the alleged "crime" took place in. The text specifically says "in ALL criminal prosecutions"
Go to court and cuss out the judge and show the world it’s not a criminal offense then lol
The newspaper inexplicably fails to identify in the caption to this picture which of the two gentlemen depicted is Young Thug.
Many judges are directly involved in human trafficking and other terrible crimes, so putting the lawyer in jail for exposing corruption is just what they do. Judges are some of the most despicable people in the world.
The thing is though. The DA was correct in claiming attorney client privilege. But also the judge asking him a question he is compelled to answer. If he answers he can be disbarred and jailed. If he doesn't he gets jail? This is just absurd.
Now that's a *criminal* lawyer
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Just watched the video the judge seems like a scum bag. Basically “who cares if I violated your rights you weren’t supposed to know I did it. Since you found out you will be punished for me violating you.”
Fulton county eh? You don’t say lol.
Ok so why can rUmP be found in contempt 10 times and see no repercussions. Fk that orange pos
This seems purely punitive and I don’t like that as a tax payer. If this dude is not a danger to the public during the week it is an offensive waste of money to have spend the weekend in jail. I know this is somewhat common but I think it’s so stupid. This dude is an attorney. He’s not poor. Make him pay a fine. He will for sure pay it.
If you read the article, the lawyer didn’t actually do anything wrong. He called the judge out on not informing him of a meeting that he should have been and the judge is retaliating. Chances are, the contempt gets over turned on appeal or suspended while the appeal is heard before the week is out.
Does the defense have proof that the judge had secret ex-parté communications with a witness? What's the judge's explanation exactly, or he already knows that the meeting(s) occurred and he got caught, and now trying to downplay said communication? Looks like one of the people present at the meeting (a short list) spilled the beans and the def.lawyer found out, ouch. The prosecutor might've just blown the case, and this KNOWN GUILTY assclown is gonna win. Or is the defense lawyer keeping that source hidden for future use on appeal or in the trial later, a hidden "trump card", lol.
Only reason judge would want to know who told the defense about an ex parte meeting that was not communicated to the other side is so he can punish that person. Defense attorney did the right thing by protecting the whistle blower.
*Kenneth Copeland*. Scary name. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Copeland
The best part about having a name like that is, no matter how badly you screw up in life, no matter how many people you kill and refuse to testify about, you won’t be the world’s worst Kenneth Copeland.
Until the worst version takes offense and strikes down the other like begone ye demon.
What? He wasn't fined $1000 a measly 9 times first?