(Philadelphia Inquirer) In the latest volley in a long-running court battle, a Philadelphia judge has denied rapper Meek Mill’s most recent attempt to have his decade-old conviction overturned.
Common Pleas Court Judge Genece Brinkley wrote in a 47-page opinion filed late Monday that Mill did not meet his burden of proof in seeking to cast doubt on the evidence used to secure his arrest in 2007 and subsequent conviction.
In her opinion, Brinkley took aim at what she characterized as an unsatisfactory investigation by the District Attorney’s Office into allegations that Mill’s arresting officer, Reginald Graham, lacked credibility.
“The District Attorney’s apparent lack of investigation did not bolster [Mill’s] claims or clarify for this Court the reasons for … their agreement to relief,” Brinkley wrote.
She also questioned whether a longstanding process by which the prosecutor’s office and the Defender Association review potentially tainted cases was sufficiently thorough.
She added that one of the officers accusing Graham of corruption, Jeffery Walker, had credibility issues of his own, and that she was more inclined to believe testimony from Graham.
Ben Waxman, spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office, declined to comment on Brinkley’s opinion.
If Mill’s lawyers appeal Brinkley’s ruling, it would prolong an ongoing feud between the rapper and the judge, which has been marked by celebrity outcry and accusations of judicial misconduct.
In a statement, one of Mill’s lawyers, Joe Tacopina, said Mill’s representatives were “not at all surprised by Judge Brinkley‘s decision” due to her behavior in court earlier this month, when she laughed at a defense witness.
“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,” Tacopina said.
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