Ashleigh Merchant-the attorney who led the effort to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the election interference case against former President Donald Trump and his allies-is wading into another major RICO case prosecuted by Willis' office.
Lawyer Brian Steel, who is representing rapper Young Thug in the Young Slime Life trial, was held in contempt of court on Monday after he confronted Judge Ural Granville about a conversation reportedly held between the judge, prosecutors, and a star witness.
Monday's developments sent shockwaves through Atlanta's legal community, and a group of criminal defense attorneys showed up in support of Steel, including Merchant, who chairs the state's criminal defense attorney association.
Merchant defended criminal defense attorney Brian Steel after he was held in contempt of court on Monday.
Although the judge overseeing the Trump case ultimately decided that Willis could remain on the prosecution so long as Wade resigned, the co-defendants in the case are appealing the judge's ruling to the Georgia Court of Appeals.
On Monday, Steel requested a mistrial after telling the judge: "You're not supposed to have communication with a witness who's been sworn." In response, Granville demanded to know how Steel learned of what was said in that meeting, and when the defense attorney refused to disclose his source, Granville had Steel arrested and ordered him to spend the next 10 weekends in jail.
Steel told Granville earlier in the day that "None of the defense team, to my knowledge, was aware that this was going on." "He shouldn't have had to learn it from wherever he learned it," Merchant said.
"It's hard enough being a criminal defense attorney, and we shouldn't be threatened with jail." Granville's decision to put Steel behind bars stunned many lawyers.
Merchant told the judge on Monday that about 20 to 25 other lawyers came with her to the courthouse to support Steel.
On X, formerly Twitter, Georgia-based criminal defense attorney Andrew Fleischman commended Steel as "a goddamn lawyer's lawyer," while attorney Scott Greenfield applauded for having the "Fortitude" that "Every criminal defense lawyer should have." "Brian Steel is one of the most reputable lawyers you will ever find," conservative legal analyst Phil Holloway wrote.
"Judges can't just jail lawyers for doing their job Judges can't have secret meetings with DAs either." Georgia-based criminal defense attorney Ben Mozingo added, "Brian Steel just asked if he could be housed with his client while he's in custody on his criminal contempt so they can prepare for trial. This guy is so good it's hard to articulate." After the judge held Steel in contempt, he asked Granville if he could spend the weekends with his client at the Cobb County Jail instead so that they could work on their case.
https://www.newsweek.com/fani-willis-rival-wades-another-fulton-county-case-1911280
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