Photo by Victoria Ford/Sneakshot Photography for Okayplayer
Photo Credit: Victoria Ford of Sneakshot for Okayplayer
Photo Credit: Victoria Ford of Sneakshot for Okayplayer
The Meek Mill legal saga continues.
Judge Genece Brinkley has denied Meek Mill's request to overturn his 2008 conviction for drugs and illegal gun possession.
In a 47-page order filed Monday, the Common Pleas judge Brinkley, who has presided over the 31-year-old rapper's case and decade-long probation, denied his appeal under the Post Conviction Relief Act.
READ: Philadelphia District Attorney Says Meek Mill Conviction Should Be Tossed
The decision comes one week after a two-hour evidentiary hearing where Mill's lawyers asked Brinkley to reconsider the initial conviction.
The artist's legal team argued that the PCRA process has not been questioned in this way since the proceedings started in 1995. Since then, more than 1,000 cases have been thrown out, but Mill's case has not, the defense argued.
"We continue to believe that this miscarriage of justice will be corrected upon further review, and that the public’s confidence in the impartiality of the judicial system in Pennsylvania will be restored," Mill's lawyer, Joe Tacopina told NBC10.
It's unknown whether the defense will appeal Brinkley's ruling.
Mill's request to have Brinkley removed from his case was previously denied.
Mill, born Robert Mihmeek Williams, was originally sentenced to 11 to 23 months following his conviction on the 2007 offenses. Last year, Brinkley found him in violation of his 10-year probation and sentenced him to two to four years in prison. He served five months before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered his release while the appeal of Brinkley's sentence was pending.
