Young Thug’s YSL RICO trial has begun as the rapper and his codefendants attempt to prove their innocence in a trial that has been 19 months in the making. Presiding over the case is Superior Court of Fulton County Chief Judge Ural Glanville who has, at times, taken center stage in the proceedings, which has been unlike any other trial in hip-hop history.
Who Is Judge Ural Glanville?
Judge Ural Glanville was born in Columbus, Ohio. He moved to the South in 1982 where he attended the University of Georgia and enlisted in the United States Army ROTC program. After earning a Juris Doctor Degree from the UGA School of Law, he began 33 years of military service, most notably as Brigadier General, Chief Judge of the United States Army Court of Criminal Appeals. In December of 2022, Glanville was sworn in as the Chief Judge of Fulton County, Ga.’s Superior Court.
Young Thug and YSL’s RICO Trial Has Placed Judge Ural Glanville in the Spotlight
Following the indictment of Young Thug, Gunna and 26 other YSL affiliates on charges of murder, armed robbery and violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in May of 2022, Judge Glanville was assigned to the case and has been in the spotlight ever since.
In June of last year, Glanville faced scrutiny for denying a request for Young Thug’s bond. He referred to the Atlanta rapper as a “danger to the community” despite emotional testimonies from 300 Entertainment cofounder Kevin Liles and others regarding Thugger’s character.
Judge Glanville also made headlines throughout the pretrial hearings for bold decisions that included ordering a juror to write a 30-page essay for taking a trip to the Dominican Republic and threatening a lawyer with jail time for refusing to buy lunch for other attorneys. During the jury selection process in January of 2023, Glanville went viral for reciting the lyrics to Young Thug’s 2016 song “Slime S**t” in front of the entire courtroom.
Read More: Here Are 20 Bizarre Moments in the YSL Trial, The Wildest Trial in Hip-Hop History
Judge Ural Glanville Brings a Dog to Work
When Ural Glanville took the bench on Nov. 27 for the first day of opening statements in Young Thug’s RICO trial, the earring-donning judge instantly became a central character in the courtroom. Before the trial officially kicked off, Judge Glanville addressed the members of the jury, explaining that they may become distracted by Jack, his dog.
“Here behind me is this ball that starts jingling,” Glanville explained in the video below. “And if you hear a jingling sound like a bell, please don’t think that I’m doing anything creepy up here, alright? I have a service dog behind me. His name is Jack. I think some of you may have seen him already. He lives the best life ever. He’s pampered. He’s a Labrador Retriever and he’s about 2-and-a-half, 3 years old at this point in time.”
He continued: “If you hear that bell, that’s him moving around. He doesn’t bark. He rarely gets interested in what’s going on, so he might come up here and look, but that’s about it. Don’t bring him any food either, OK? He is spoiled rotten. Please don’t try to throw him any food back here behind me or anything like that. He doesn’t need anything else.”
Read More: Here’s What Happened on Day 1 of the Young Thug YSL Trial
Judge Glanville Scolds Attorneys on First Day of Young Thug Trial
The formal introduction of Jack the Labrador was followed by a moment in which Judge Glanville scolded both the defense and the prosecution. He was not at all enamored with the fact that each side did not follow his guidelines regarding the use of PowerPoint presentations in their opening statements.
“No PowerPoints because you didn’t do what I told you to do, and that was to exchange PowerPoints,” the esteemed judge declared. “We have wasted almost two hours trying to get this stuff done. My orders to you are not aspirational. They’re given for a reason, and when you don’t follow them, then I have a way to remedy that.”
In the clips below, check out some of Judge Ural Glanville’s moments that made headlines during the Young Thug and YSL RICO trial.
