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Judge Paige Whitaker denied a motion for a mistrial despite her tense exchange with the prosecution during Young Thug and YSL's ongoing trial.
During a hearing held on Monday, September 30, Judge Whitaker heard a motion for a mistrial from the defense after prosecutor Adriane Love allegedly misrepresented a social media post she was trying to enter as evidence. Despite Love's explanation, Whitaker lashed out at the lead prosecutor for being unprepared and "hiding the ball" throughout the trial.
“I don’t want to malign the prosecutor standing in front of me right now, so I’m not going to say the possible things it could be," Judge Whitaker said.
“But it is baffling to me that somebody with the number of years of experience that you have, time after time after time, continues to seemingly and purposefully hide the ball to the extent you possibly can, for as long as you possibly can," she continued. “I really don’t want to believe that it is purposeful, but honestly, after a certain number of times, you start to wonder how it could be anything but that. Unless it is just that you are so unorganized that you are throwing this case together as you try it. This case is being made much more difficult for everybody because of the haphazard way in which it is being presented.”
Judge Whitaker left the bench to take a recess to consider the motion for a mistrial. She ultimately decided not to grant the motion. However, the tense moment proved how fragile the State's argument against Thug and his YSL crew has become. The rapper and his co-defendants are embroiled in the longest criminal trial in Georgia's history. Jury selection began eight months after Thug and co. were indicted on RICO charges in May 2022. The trial officially began in November 2023 and has dragged on thanks to a series of delays including a hunt for replacement judges amid some drama behind the scenes.
The trial was expected to last at least a year. As the first anniversary quickly approaches, it seems as though the trial is nowhere near over yet. Watch the entire hearing from Day 138 below.