Rapper Meek Mill has filed an appeal after he was denied a new trial for a 10-year-old case earlier this week.
Meek, real name Robert Rihmeek Williams, was released from prison in Pennsylvania in April (18) after serving five months for probation violations linked to a 2008 conviction, and prosecutors sided with his lawyers in calling for a new trial after it was revealed the original arresting officer was involved in a massive police corruption scandal.
On Monday, Judge Genece Brinkley ruled against Williams’ request for a review and possible pardon, arguing he didn’t meet the “burden of proof”.
“After an in-depth review of the record, court history, notes of testimony, and evidence submitted at the evidentiary hearing, this court hereby denies defendant’s petition for PCRA (Post Conviction Relief Act) relief as defendant failed to meet his burden of proof,” she said.
Meek’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, called the ruling “a miscarriage of justice”, stating, “Judge Brinkley made clear during the hearing on June 18th that she had already decided the matter. 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.”
According to TMZ, Tacopina and his associates have now filed an appeal with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, arguing Brinkley made up her mind about a possible new trial before the hearing and “acted like a prosecutor, not a judge”.
She subsequently denied she had made any decisions prior to the hearing following a heated exchange with Williams’ lawyer Brian McMonagle.
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