Meek Mill’s legal team is fighting back against his 2-4 year prison sentence for violating probation.
One of the Philly rapper’s attorneys, Joe Tacopina, explains why his camp feels his punishment was unjust. “It was an enormously grave mischaracter of justice,” he told Billboard. “A really despicable version of what the justice system is supposed to be.”
Tacopina claims that Judge Genece Brinkley went against the prosecutor’s and district attorney’s recommendation for no prison time. “But this judge, excoriated both of them, challenged their credibility and overrode both law enforcement agencies recommendations and went from zero to two to four years, which shows that she clearly had a personal vendetta against this guy,” he added.
The lawyer is also accusing Judge Brinkley of being “inappropriate” and “crossing the line of professionalism and traditional conduct.” He claims that Brinkley requested Mill re-record Boyz II Men’s “On Bended Knee” with a personal shoutout to her. “He, of course, was laughing and thought it was a joke,” Tacopina added. “She said, ‘I’m serious.’ He refused to do that. So, that, right there, was a totally an inappropriate request.”
This wasn’t the only request from Judge Brinkley, according to Tacopina. “When she requests he leaves his current management Roc Nation — which is one of the most important management companies in the world — and goes back to a local Philadelphia guy who has a spotted past because she had a personal relationship with him as manager, again, she’s doing something that a judge would never be doing, having a personal interest. Another really credible example is she stopped him for violation of probation was when he went to Atlanta for a rehabilitation clinic, without her approval she said. Then, we showed her the e-mail, in which the request was made for him to go to Atlanta for rehabilitation, and she approved it, but she said that she never got it, even though she was CC’d on it and that it was addressed to her.”
Tacopina also alleges that Judge Brinkley is “enamored” with Meek, calling it an “infatuation” and “some sort of obsession.” “From 2008 — this thing was supposed to be over since 2013,” he explained. “We’re going to 2018. She keeps extending the probation, extending the probation for technical violation because she wants her thumb over this guy. She’s enamored with him. She showed up at his community service for the homeless people. She showed up and sat at the table. She’s a judge. You could pull any judge in America and ask them how many times they’ve showed up at a community service for a probation and the answer is zero.”
As a result, Meek’s camp is looking to change the ruling and they are optimistic about the move. “We’re going to appeal,” Tacopina confirmed. “We’re going to appeal until this gets rectified and it will get rectified. I’m sure of that.”
Mill has been on probation since a 2009 drug and gun case. He’s served time in jail and on house arrest for violating the terms of probation and parole throughout the years. This year, he was arrested twice — once in St. Louis for assault and once in New York for reckless driving. Both of those charges were dropped, but the arrests were seen as violations of his probation, according to Judge Brinkley.
“I’ve been trying to help you since 2009,” she said at yesterday’s hearing, noting a failed drug test, failure to comply with travel restrictions, and his latest arrests. “You basically thumbed your nose at me.”