Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has asked the court to postpone the start of the YSL RICO trial.
Per a report from regional outlet 11Alive, Willis asked for the trial to be pushed back in a filing on Thursday. In the filing, seen in full here, Willis asked the court to grant a continuance of the trial date to March 2023. Specifically, Willis has proposed a starting date of March 27 of next year. The delay is described in the filing as being requested to ensure defendants “receive effective assistance of counsel.’”
As noted in the filing, 25 of the total 28 defendants are presently in custody, while eight of those 25 don’t currently have counsel. For now, the trial is set to begin on Jan. 9, 2023. Mentioned in Thursday’s filing is Willis’ argument that “all defendants need to be tried together,” while she also acknowledged that several defendants have asked for a speedy trial. According to Willis, a postponement in the trial start date would “protect the rights” of all involved.
Presumably, attorneys for those involved in the case—including Young Thug and Gunna—are not in agreement with this push for a postponement.
In a comment to Complex on behalf of Gunna on Friday, co-lead counsel Steve Sadow said, “Sergio Kitchens (Gunna) is not guilty of the one charge against him and will be ready for trial whenever the Court directs. But it is time for his pretrial detention to end, and we are hopeful the Court will agree and release him on a reasonable bond at the hearing on Oct. 13.”
Complex has also reached out to a legal rep for Young Thug for comment. This post may be updated.
As highlighted throughout coverage of the much-scrutinized case, the indictment behind it all has served as another high-profile example of the importance of pushing for creative expression to be protected against use in court. Shortly after news of the YSL RICO indictment broke, the Protect Black Art petition was launched and has since garnered more than 64,000 signatures.
In September, Gunna filed his third bond motion. In documents viewed by Complex at the time, Gunna’s legal team argued that prosecutors have shown “no evidence” to support claims that their client should remain behind bars until trial.
