Brian Steel is an American attorney best known for representing the Grammy Award-winning rapper Jeffery "Young Thug" Williams in the YSL racketeering trial. Steel served as the lead defense attorney for Williams in what would become the longest trial in the state of Georgia with the trial lasting over 22 months.[1][2]
Early life and education
editSteel graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan in 1987 and graduated with a Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law in 1990.[3]
YSL racketeering trial
editOn May 9, 2022, Williams was arrested and charged alongside 27 other individuals in a 56-count Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) indictment filed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Fulton County Chief Judge Ural D. Glanville denied bond for everyone who was charged and scheduled the trial for January 9th, 2023.[4]
During the nearly two year trial, Judge Glanville committed numerous questionable acts including holding multiple ex parte meetings without the defense, jailing Steel for refusing to disclose his sources when the defense attorney had learned about the secret meetings and coercing key witness Kenneth Copeland to testify.[5][6][7]
On July 15, 2024, Glanville was removed from the case.[8] He was replaced by Superior Court Judge Paige Whitaker.
On October 31, 2024, Williams pled guilty to the drug-related and gun-related charges and no contest to charges of conspiracy and participating in a street gang which allowed him to go home free after serving over two and a half years in custody.[9]
References
edit- ^ Coscarelli, Joe (October 31, 2024). "Young Thug Released After Guilty Plea in Lengthy YSL Case". The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ Papp, Jozsef Papp (September 30, 2024). "Young Thug trial: Frustrated judge scolds prosecutor for 'really poor lawyering'". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ Manins, Rosie (June 18, 2024). "Meet the marathon-running Atlanta lawyer representing rapper Young Thug". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ Heyward, Giulia (January 9, 2023). "Rapper Young Thug's RICO trial begins". NPR. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ Darnell, Tim (July 31, 2024). "Defense attorneys erupt over another secret meeting in Young Thug trial". Atlanta News First. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ Fung, Katherine (June 18, 2024). "Judge in Fani Willis Case Hit With 'Nuclear' Recusal Filing". Newsweek. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ Coscarelli, Joe (June 11, 2024). "Young Thug Lawyer Clashes With Judge in Chaotic Gang Case". The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ The Associated Press (July 15, 2024). "Judge removed from long-running gang and racketeering case against rapper Young Thug and others". NBC News. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
- ^ Ortiz, Erik (October 31, 2024). "Young Thug changes plea to guilty in Georgia's longest-running criminal trial". NBC News. Retrieved November 1, 2024.