Young Thug’s lawyers filed a motion to prevent prosecutors from using his lyrics and “social media poetry” in the RICO trial against YSL members.
According to court documents obtained by AllHipHop, Young Thug’s legal team asked Judge Ural Glanville to exclude songs, lyrics, music videos and more from the evidence in the upcoming trial.
Attorneys claimed their client’s lyrics were protected under the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution as well as Article I, Section I of the Georgia Constitution.
“The admission and use of these lyrics/poetry/artistry against [Young Thug] in his upcoming trial would be a Constitutional violation and an abuse of discretion, too prejudicial and unconstitutional,” his lawyers contended. “Moreover, using these lyrics/poetry/artistry/speech against [Young Thug] is racist and discriminatory because the jury will be so poisoned and prejudiced by these lyrics/poetry/artistry/speech.”
Attorneys said the use of lyrics as evidence amounted to “character assassination.” Young Thug’s legal team sought to protect his freedom of speech.
“[Young Thug] has the absolute right, like all persons in America, to exercise lawful speech/expression,” his lawyers argued. “Therefore, these lyrics/poetry/words/speech/artistry must be excluded from the Indictment and excluded from all testimony and evidence presented in trial.”
They added, “Further, any videos, photographs, posts or like images that deal with these lyrics/words/speech/poetry/artistry must also be excluded from trial. Said videos et al. are protected speech/expression.”
Young Thug, Gunna and more than two dozen YSL members were indicted for racketeering and gang activity in May. Thugger was hit with six more felony charges in August.
The YSL RICO trial is scheduled to start in January. Prosecutors wanted to delay the trial until March, but Judge Glanville ruled against them.
Jury selection begins on January 5, 2023. Judge Glanville expects the trial to last six to nine months.