Characters and Contempt in Young Thug’s Trial

If you’ve been following legal news or simply are a fan of rap music, you’ll be pretty familiar with Jeffrey Lamar Williams, aka Young Thug. Known for his eccentric style and melodic rap flow, Thug has been a major force in hip-hop and has even taken home a Grammy. But his career has been clouded by legal woes. Over the past decade, he's faced charges ranging from drugs to weapons to sex trafficking to racketeering. He's currently awaiting trial on these latest charges, which involve his alleged street gang.

A RICO Recap

For two years, Thug has been entangled in a high-profile legal battle with charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. The RICO Act was created over 50 years ago as a tool for law enforcement to weaken and dismantle criminal organizations, providing stiffer penalties and offering legal recourse to victims.

Unlike prosecuting individual crimes, RICO goes after the entire structure of a criminal enterprise. This disrupts their operations and weakens their hold over a community. A single crime wouldn't trigger RICO. Prosecutors need to prove a connected series of criminal acts (usually at least two) over a specific timeframe. This establishes a pattern of racketeering activity, a hallmark of organized crime.

RICO convictions come with harsher sentences compared to individual charges. This discourages involvement in criminal organizations and deters future criminal activity. The RICO Act also allows victims harmed by a criminal organization to sue for damages. This provides financial compensation and discourages organizations from profiting from illegal activities.

Thug’s Charges

The Fulton County District Attorney in Atlanta, Georgia, is using RICO to charge Young Thug. The same DA is using this Act to bring charges against former president Donald Trump and his allies, who are accused of a criminal conspiracy to overturn Georgia’s results from the 2020 election.

With regards to Young Thug, the Fulton County prosecutors claim that he co-founded a violent street gang called Young Slime Life (YSL) in 2012. The 88-page indictment connects Young Slime Life to Thug partly because it has a similar name to his record label, Young Stoner Life. Young Slime Life is affiliated with the national Bloods gang and has engaged in various criminal activities over a decade. The 56-count indictment accuses YSL of 182 "overt acts" in furtherance of this alleged criminal conspiracy, including murder and attempted murder, armed robbery, aggravated assault, drug dealing, carjacking, and witness intimidation.

RICO cases are complex by nature. Prosecutors must often prove some complicated facts, so no one was expecting this trial to be short and simple. On top of that, the case is not just about Young Thug, but includes another 27 alleged gang members that were arrested along with Thug two year ago. Five of these other alleged YSL members are being tried alongside Thug, and all six defendants have pleaded not guilty. You can see why all of these complexities would set up a pretty chaotic trial.

But the court proceedings in this case got even more unwieldy due to some hotheaded participants: a key witness for the prosecution and Thug’s own defense attorney. Let’s take a look at what these characters have gotten up to in court.

Lil Woody Loathe to Testify

One complication arose when one of the witnesses called by the prosecution to testify refused to do so. Kenneth Copeland, also known as Lil Woody, became a rather colorful character in Thug's trial. A former convicted felon, he purportedly agreed to provide information about the defendants in order to avoid being sent back to prison after being caught with a gun. Prosecutors considered Copeland a key witness, hoping his testimony would connect Young Thug to alleged YSL gang activity – but he did not make it easy.

Copeland initially refused to testify, and even after he was court-ordered to take the stand, he was not particularly cooperative. He would often respond to questions from the prosecutor with things like "I don't recall," "I don't remember,” and “Watchu mean?” His behavior has been described as “bored” or “annoyed,” and he would roll his eyes or yawn. He’s complained of being “lightheaded, hot, and thirsty” while testifying. 

Copeland's courtroom behavior soon became a spectacle. The trial judge had to remind him several times to follow court formalities such as standing up when the jury enters or exists the courtroom. At one point, he had to be told to stop spinning in his chair. At some point, he started disingenuously answering “yes” to every question. He even made a show of firing his own attorney mid-proceeding.  

Lil Woody's lack of cooperation undoubtedly weakened the prosecution's case to some extent. His testimony didn't provide the strong evidence they might have hoped for in linking Young Thug to criminal activity.

But it wasn't just the "key witness" that delayed things and got held in contempt. Young Thug's own defense lawyer had his own beef with the judge.

Lawyer Steels Himself to Call Out Judge

Thug’s lawyer is the prominent Atlanta criminal defense attorney Brian Steel. Steel has been a vocal advocate for his client, vehemently denying the RICO charges. He argued that YSL is a record label and a group of friends, not a criminal organization. But on the flip side, Steel was also responsible for a dramatic turn of events that led to his eventually being held in contempt of court.

Things got tense when Steel learned about an alleged "ex parte" meeting (a meeting without representation from both sides) between the judge, the prosecution, and Copeland. Steel argued this violated Young Thug's right to a fair trial and due process. The attorney claimed to have knowledge of this meeting but refused to reveal his source of information when questioned by the judge – which led to him being held in contempt of court.

The judge sentenced Steel to serve Saturdays and Sundays in jail for a period of 10 weeks, which sparked outrage and appeals from Steel's legal team. Those lawyers filed an emergency motion with the Georgia Supreme Court. Luckily for Steel, the state supreme court granted his request and stayed the jail sentence. This would allow him to remain free while his appeal is heard.

But the drama didn't end there. Steel filed a motion to disqualify the judge from the case, citing his participation in the alleged ex parte meeting as evidence of bias against the defendant Thug. The judge denied the motion last Tuesday, saying that the claims in the motions were insufficient. 

The trial continues for now, and will for some time. In the meantime, Thug may want to tell his people to simmer down and stop clowning around.

Related Resources:

• Rhymes and Reason: Lyrics as Evidence in Young Thug Trial (FindLaw's Legally Weird)
• Young Thug Trial Judge Hands out Homework​ (FindLaw's Practice of Law)
• What's All the Racket With RICO Law? (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)