Meek Mill scored a major victory in his decade-old case as the Pennsylvania Superior Court decided to throw out his conviction on gun and drug charges.
The decision, issued in an 18-page opinion signed by President Judge Jack A. Panella, means that the rapper is entitled to a new trial on those charges if the District Attorney’s Office decides to file it again. The decision also said Judge Genece Brinkley, who oversaw Meek’s 2008 trial and clashed repeatedly with the rapper and his legal team, should not preside over any further proceedings.
https://twitter.com/MeekMill/status/1154067293489553408
TMZ‘s sources say that it’s “highly, highly unlikely” that prosecutors will refile the case and retry Meek because the main witness in the case is dirty cop who is not seen as credible. “Williams’ right to be tried before an impartial judge is necessary in this case because the trial judge heard highly prejudicial testimony at the first trial, which was a bench trial, and made credibility determinations in favor of a now discredited witness and against Williams,” Superior Court President Judge Jack Panella said in the judgment.
“I’d like to thank the Pennsylvania Superior Court for overturning my conviction and granting me a new trial. The past 11 years have been mentally and emotionally challenging, but Im glad that justice prevailed and my clean record has been restored.” – @MeekMill#FreeMeek @reform pic.twitter.com/u2UUcwxpOA
— Roc Nation (@RocNation) July 24, 2019
Meek said on the matter: “I’d like to thank the Pennsylvania Superior Court for overturning my conviction and granting me a new trial. The past 11 years have been mentally and emotionally challenging, but Im glad that justice prevailed and my clean record has been restored.”
