Rapper Meek Mill's attorney says judge's 'personal bias' led to a 'ridiculous' 2-4 year prison sentence
- Rapper Meek Mill was given a 2-4 year prison sentence on Monday for violating probation.
- Mill's attorney, Joe Tacopina, told Business Insider that his team will appeal what he called a "ridiculous" sentence.
- Tacopina cited multiple instances of the judge's alleged "personal bias," including asking Mill to record a song dedicated to her.
Rapper Meek Mill was sentenced in a Philadelphia court on Monday to a 2-4 year prison sentence for violating his probation on a 2009 gun and drug charge, and his lawyers are set to appeal the decision.
One of Mill's attorney's, Joe Tacopina, told Business Insider that his team is gearing up to appeal what he called a "ridiculous" sentence from the court, referencing multiple instances of the judge's alleged "personal bias" in the case.
"Because this case is subject to future litigation, there will not be a comment at this time," a representative for the court told Business Insider.
When sentencing the 30-year-old rapper, Common Pleas Judge Genece Brinkley cited a pair of arrests from Mill this year, a failed drug test, and a failure to comply with a court order restricting his travel for concert performances, according to an Associated Press report.
Mill, born Robert Williams, was arrested in March after a fight in a St. Louis airport, though those charges were later dropped. In October, he pleaded guilty to reckless driving after he was arrested following the surfacing of a video that showed him doing wheelies on a dirt bike in Manhattan.
In sentencing Mill to be imprisoned, Brinkley went against the recommendation of the Philadelphia district attorney and Mill's probation officer, both of whom suggested that Mill not be incarcerated for the violations.
Tacopina told Business Insider that Brinkley showed a "personal stake" in the decision, and he recounted an odd scene that allegedly occurred between Mill, former girlfriend Nicki Minaj, and the judge inside the courtroom chambers in 2013 as an instance of Brinkley's "inappropriateness."
Tacopina said Brinkley "requested that [Mill] re-record the Philadelphia group Boyz II Men song 'On Bended Knee,'" and include a shout-out to Brinkley on the song.
He said Mill and Minaj laughed at her, thinking she was kidding, and Brinkley said, "No, I'm serious." Tacopina said Mill declined the request and that Brinkley added, "Okay, suit yourself."
Tacopina also said that Brinkley at one point asked Mill to leave his Roc Nation management and return to his former Philadelphia-based manager Charlie Mack, who Tacopina said is a friend of Brinkley's.
Brinkley has overseen Mill's case since 2009, when he was sentenced to eight months in prison. The rapper was placed on probation for five years, a period that has been extended several times, including an added five years of probation following a violation in 2013.