A top prosecutor in the office of Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis was sternly reprimanded in court on Thursday in what spectators said devolved into a shouting match with the presiding judge.
Fox News reports that Chief Deputy District Attorney Adriane Love and Fulton County Judge Ural Glanville got into a heated argument over the admission of evidence in the trial of Young Thug, a hip-hop artist who was previously rumored to have carried on an affair with Willis. Love is leading efforts to prosecutor Mr. Thug, whose given name is Jeffery Lamar Williams, and six others in connection with a criminal street gang tied to violent crimes.As Love prepared to introduce new evidence, Judge Glanville swiftly denied the motion, saying the evidence wasn’t properly filed with the court.
“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 said during the evidentiary hearing.Asked if prosecutors had previously discussed excluding the materials, he added, “Well then you all should have gotten yourself together beforehand.”
The remark prompted Love to rise and object before Glanville ordered her to stop.
“Have a seat, madam. Have a seat,” he told her. “You better exclude that and next time, make sure you’re prepared.”After Love told the judge her team had attempted to discuss the evidence with the defense, he replied, “Oh it’s going to be inadmissible right now. I am not going to have any more discussion about this, madam.”
“Judge, we talked to them this morning about that! And I attempted to talk to them earlier this week!” Love shouted. “Your honor, so the court punishes the state because (of) the defense?”“I’m not punishing anybody,” the judge replied. “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!” she continued up until the point that the jury began to enter the courtroom.
Young Thug serves as CEO of his own record label Young Stoner Life, or YSL. However, prosecutors allege the acronym actually stands for Young Slime Life, which is the name of a violent gang that has been terrorizing residents around Atlanta since 2012. The Bloods affiliate was allegedly founded by Young Thug and two others and has maintained its profits from crimes including killings, shootings, and carjackings.Should the trial of Young Thug go sideways, it would be another black eye for Willis, who is already struggling to regain control of her case against former President Donald Trump and others after a judge ordered the dismissal of fellow prosecutor Nathan Wade. The attorney for a Trump codefendant first revealed the existence of an extramarital affair between Willis and Wade, raising questions about nepotism as well as disbursements related to the case. The U.S. House of Representatives as well as the Georgia legislature have launched separate investigations, and last month Republican Governor Brian Kemp authorized the formation of a state board tasked with stripping prosecutors of their powers if they are found to have violated their oaths of office.
