Saying that the YSL RICO case was a failure from the start brings much to mind. There’s the 10 month long jury selection process, apparent in-court drug deals, and whatever Cordarius Dorsey was doing. But Brian Steel began the case arguing against a more fundamental error, namely that the prosecution skipped over the mens rea requirement to charge Jeffrey Williams with RICO. Judge Glanville largely ignored this line of reasoning and Steel promised to bring it back up in front of a different judge. The case’s recent handoff to Judge Whitaker finally gives him that opportunity.
To further clarify Steel's "problem" with the indictment, a necessary component of charging someone with RICO is that they KNOWINGLY joined a conspiracy.
No where in the entire indictment does the grand jury actually accuse the defendants of KNOWINGLY joining the conspiracy.
— THUGGERDAILY ひ (@ThuggerDaily) July 31, 2024
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You can read the motion here.
The judge has yet to fully respond to Steel’s motion, but ruling in his favor could quickly bring an end to one of the most interesting legal sagas in recent history. Great win for due process, but the vacuum that will be left if this case gets dismissed will be massive. You win some, you lose some.
Earlier: Judge Whitaker Is Cleaning Out The Mess From The Shoes She’s Filling In YSL Trial
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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.