YSL key witness Woody, attorney Kayla Bumpus ordered to appear at June 25 hearing.
By Tim Darnell
Published: Jun. 12, 2024 at 1:29 PM EDT
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - The man overseeing Atlanta’s trial of the century is determined to find out who disclosed a presumably private conversation to one of Young Thug’s lawyers, a conversation that landed attorney Brian Steel in jail for contempt of court.
On June 25, 2024, Fulton County Superior Court Chief Judge Ural Glanville has ordered Kenneth Copeland and his stand-in attorney, Kayla Bumpus, to a hearing to determine why either of them should not be held in contempt for disclosing an ex parte conversation to Steel on June 10, 2024.
Glanville is also ordering anyone else who were in attendance during the conversation to appear.
22SC183572 - Order to Show Cause 2 by Lindsey Basye on Scribd
Glanville’s June 11, 2024, order was filed at the height of one of the historically long trial’s most dramatic weeks. That round of upheaval actually began Friday, June 7, 2024, when Copeland - aka Woody - was jailed for refusing to testify. Copeland is widely believed to have informed police of crimes allegedly committed by Young Thug and the alleged YSL criminal gang.
By Monday, Copeland had changed his tune and agreed to testify. Then came Monday, June 10, when Glanville ordered Steel be held in the Fulton County Jail for no more than 20 days, consisting of every weekend for the next 10 weekends.
Steel is one of two attorneys - the other being Keith Adams - representing Jeffery Williams, more popularly known as the internationally acclaimed musician Young Thug.
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Steel was taken into custody Monday afternoon when he refused to answer repeated requests from Glanville on how he heard about a conversation during a meeting that involved prosecutors, the judge and a key witness.
The legal term ex parte, translated from Latin as “out of the party,” refers to a decision made by a judge without requiring all parties in a dispute to be present.
“The judge was having ex parte communications with the district attorney and a witness,” said Tom Church, a trial attorney who showed up in court in a show of support for Steel. “That means he was talking to the attorney and the witness without anyone from the defense being present. And that is generally considered improper.
“So Mr. Steel found out about that, he made a motion for a mistrial, and the judge demanded that Mr. Steel reveal that source,” Church said.
According to the trial’s court reporter, Steel received information about what took place during an ex parte conversation between Fulton County prosecutors and Glanville. When Glanville asked Steel how he received the leaked information, Steel refused to disclose the source.
Glanville said Steel will remain in contempt until he shares where he got the information. Steel is allowed to continue giving counsel in the trial while he is being held in contempt.
Steel and Young Thug’s other attorney, Keith Adams, moved for a mistrial, as did attorneys for some of the other defendants in the trial. Glanville has denied all of the repeated motions.
Williams was arrested on May 9, 2022, along with 27 other suspected gang members in Buckhead as part of a 56-count indictment.
The trial’s jury selection lasted longer than any other in Georgia history, and actual witness testimony itself will likely surpass state records. Both records were set by the Atlanta Public Schools teacher scandal and trial of 2014-15.
The trial – which has been repeatedly plagued by arrests, charges and disruptions – began on Nov. 27, 2023. Defense attorneys have repeatedly raised concerns that the trial could go on for years based on the number of witnesses the state plans to call up.
Prosecutors are attempting to show YSL, or Young Slime Life, is a criminal street gang responsible for numerous offenses. Defense attorneys say YSL is not a gang but simply the name of a record label, Young Stoner Life.
Young Thug himself is facing eight criminal counts under a federal law that was originally enacted to fight organized crime. Georgia is one of 33 states that has its own RICO law, but in the Peach State, the alleged criminal enterprises do not have to have existed as long as the federal law.
Williams is also charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute; possession of codeine with intent to distribute; possession of cocaine; possession of a firearm; and possession of a machine gun.
Attorneys for Williams argue the artist is not the leader of an alleged gang like prosecutors claim.
A total of 18 jurors have been selected, with six of them being alternates. Two jurors have already been excused; one had a medical emergency, and the other moved out of Fulton County.
Atlanta News First is broadcasting gavel-to-gavel coverage of Young Thug’s trial on its live stream and YouTube channel. Download our Atlanta News First app for the latest details on Young Thug’s historic trial.
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