On Wednesday afternoon, Assistant District Attorney, Adriane Love, representing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office, got into a heated exchange with Judge Ural Glanville during the a trial involving rapper “Young Thug.”
The clash erupted with the judge ruling in favor of the defense, excluding evidence that Love sought to enter into the trial. Love tried to tell Glanville that the district attorney’s office had made efforts to discuss the evidence in question with the defense, but the judge instructed her to file a motion instead.
As Love expressed her frustrations with the ruling, Glanville told her,
Well, then you all should have gotten yourself together beforehand.
Glanville then instructed that the jury be summoned, turning back to Love and saying,
Have a seat, madam. Have a seat. You better exclude that and next time, make sure you’re prepared.
Before Love could rebuttal the judge’s assertions that the prosecution was ill-prepared, Glanville cut her off, saying,
I’m not going to do this anymore, I’m just not. We are starting right now.
Love continued to argue, speaking over the judge and asserting that the evidence was “not inadmissible.”
Glanville replied,
Oh, it’s going to be inadmissible right now I am not going to have any more discussion about this, madam.
Love shouted back that the prosecution was being “punished,” and the judge again interrupted, saying,
I’m not punishing anybody. But prior preparation prevents poor performance.
Love yelled back,
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!
Glanville told her the jury was coming in and asked her to take her seat.
Love is the lead prosecutor in Fanni Willis’ RICO case against rapper “Young Thug” (Jeffrey Williams) and 27 others. In May 2022, Fanni Willis announced a sweeping 88-page indictment, accusing Williams of being the kingpin behind Young Slime Life (YSL), an Atlanta street gang linked to the Bloods.
In a June 2022 hearing, a prosecutor said of Williams,
He is the one they’re all afraid of. He’s the one that’s King Slime.
The trial, already deemed to be the lengthiest in Georgia state history, has nationalized a debate over whether rap lyrics should be permitted as evidence in criminal cases. Love is responsible for handling the lengthy trial that has been characterized by courtroom tensions and curveballs, such as a witness expressing that he preferred to return to prison rather than testify in the case.
State witness D’Angelo White, who is seven years into a 10-year sentence, is the alleged victim of an attempted murder by a co-founder of the YSL gang back in 2015. White refused to look at a screen where prosecutors were showing a map and told them,
You can’t make me look at the screen. I just want to go back to prison. Give me my 10-year bid, go on. You disturbed me from when I was at prison doing my time. Talking about something that happened 10 years ago that I don’t know.
The lengthy and high-profile criminal case has dragged on for more than a year, with an elongated pretrial process eclipsed by an even longer jury selection process, the trial began in earnest in November. Meanwhile, the co-defendant list dwindled with plea deals and other circumstances.
The slow-going trial prompted the presiding judge to try to speed up the hearings. Addressing jurors directly last week, the judge said that if they don’t hold court during the weekends, “we’ll be here until 2027, and that’s not what I want for this jury.”
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office has been plagued by controversy, with several scandals erupting amid her marquee RICO case against former President Donald Trump, including a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor Willis’ office hired on the case, necessitating his resignation.
