There’s been a enjoyable twist in the best way judges are coping with contempt of court docket, and it comes amidst a authorized controversy surrounding the rap music scene in Atlanta: the felony prosecution of the notorious artist, Jeffery Lamar Williams.

“Who?” Okay, Williams is best recognized—perhaps ​solely​ recognized—by his stage identify, Younger Thug.

The Racketeering Rapper

Younger Thug has been on the rap and hip hop scene for over a decade, and is the artist behind many ​Billboard chart-topping songs, together with “Scorching.” You may additionally know him from his options on different artist’s hits, corresponding to Camila Cabello’s “Havana.” Thug has additionally collaborated with variety of main artists, such as Chris Brown in “Go Loopy” and Infantile Gambino in “That is America.” The latter monitor received the 2019 Grammy Award for Tune of the 12 months and Report of the 12 months, and was the primary hip hop monitor to win both of those classes in 61 years.

The now not-so-young 31-year-old has been charged in Georgia with a number of counts of violating the RICO Act, in addition to with a number of counts of firearms and narcotics possession. Fulton County police data point out that Thug has additionally been charged with conspiracy, beneath Georgia’s “Conspiracy to Violate the Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations Act.”

Considered one of 14 defendants named within the indictment, Younger Thug is accused of organizing a avenue gang beneath the guise of his file label, Younger Stoner Life (often shortened to “YSL”). Going through 55 totally different prices, all his co-defendants are affiliated with the label/gang. The costs vary in severity, from hijacking a motorized vehicle to tried homicide to assault with a lethal weapon to varied types of theft.

Anticipated to take a 12 months to finish, the trial will function over 300 witnesses, the prosecution has mentioned. A number of of the unique co-defendants have taken plea offers and can not be tried alongside the rapper. 

Eccentric Decide Likes to Give Homework

When you’d suppose the well-known defendant would proceed to monopolize the media’s consideration, the choose within the trial has truly been making some main headlines. Decide Ural Glanville of Fulton County, Georgia, has been recognized to dish out the whackiest penalties for contempt of court docket. Now, Younger Thug’s felony protection lawyer finds himself on the mistaken facet of this eccentric choose. 

In April, Decide Glanville assigned Thug’s lawyer, Eric Johnson, a 17-page writing task, as a substitute for spending time in jail or paying a tremendous for being held in contempt of court docket. The choose instructed Johnson to title his essay, “The Significance of Professionalism within the Authorized Subject and Treating One’s Opponents with Civility.” Decide Glanville demanded that the paper be accomplished by April 28, additional requiring that the task be executed as a scholarly work appropriate for a regulation journal. Amongst the necessities had been that the task function 10 major and 10 secondary sources.

Johnson wasn’t the primary individual within the Thug case to be given homework. Throughout jury choice months in the past, a juror that failed to look following a summons obtained an identical task—a 30-page paper on the significance of jury obligation. Reporter Shaddi Abusaid of the Atlanta Journal-Structure: wrote concerning the penalty levied upon the jury-dodger: “Glanville needs it APA fashion with 10 major sources and 10 secondary sources. [The absent juror] come[s] again on Feb. 13 to debate her essay. Wild.”

In her protection, the lady, recognized to the general public solely as “Juror 64,” claimed she notified jury service of her plans to journey to the Dominican Republic on a enterprise journey. However the choose wasn’t glad. And so now, like Thug’s attorneys, she should additionally execute an educational work, or face time in jail or a tremendous.

However essay assignments aren’t the one bizarre punishments Decide Glanville likes at hand out. After one other considered one of Thug’s protection attorneys, Suri Chadha Jimenez, was a couple of minutes late to a court docket continuing, he was additionally held in contempt. This time, the choose ordered the offender to “buy lunch for every of [his] lawyer colleagues . . . from Jason’s Deli.” Jiminez did find yourself shopping for the court docket lunch, nevertheless it was wings from an iconic native strip membership. Fairly a deviation from subs.

Guess all three of those guys will suppose twice earlier than slacking in Decide Glanville’s courtroom once more.

Contempt of Courtroom

All of those weird punishments got for “contempt of court docket.” You may need heard of this precept, however what precisely is it?

It’s believed that, within the curiosity of a good, simply, and environment friendly authorized system, order and course of should be maintained and noticed in court docket rooms and through authorized proceedings. To that finish, a choose might hand down penalties upon anybody at trial deemed to be unruly or who has violated or interfered with authorized process. Often called “being held in contempt of court docket,” such offenses virtually all the time entail fines or temporary intervals in jail. 

Whereas the choose in Thug’s case solely took challenge with the non-appearance of the juror and claimed unruliness on the a part of the rapper’s protection lawyer, an individual can also be held in contempt of court docket for different causes, together with refusal to yield subpoenaed proof or refusal to supply testimony. So, why has Decide Glanville himself deviated from process by handing down penalties that are fairly tutorial and unorthodox? We do not know, nevertheless it actually brings some much-needed leisure in what are often fairly dry court docket proceedings. 

To be taught extra about legal guidelines and authorized points associated to what’s at stake within the case of Younger Thug, assessment FindLaw’s Study Concerning the Legislation pages: