10 shocking revelations about the judge in Meek Mill’s case that should lead to his release

Mar 15, 2018

Meek Mill broke his silence for the first time in an exclusive interview with Rolling Stone that outlined the questionable actions of Philadelphia judge Genece Brinkley.

Genece Brinkley has been widely criticized for the giving rapper Meek Mill a heavy-handed two to four year prison sentence for probation violation.

Here are 10 things you should know about the judge from his Rolling Stone interview that supports calls to free Meek Mill:

1. Creating Confusion: “When Meek got out of jail in the summer of 2009, he appeared before Brinkley for status hearings. The theme of those sessions is best summed up by a recurring phrase of hers: You’re thumbing your nose at me. She uses it over and over again to describe small mix-ups – a scheduling snafu here, a missed phone call there. Meek would explain himself and apologize profusely, but nothing seemed to salve her sense of outrage. “All the opportunities I’ve given you,” she said in a typical broadside. “Each and every time, you’ve done something to indicate that you have no respect for this court.”

2. Asking for a Performance: “Two years ago, he got the chance to talk to her in chambers, and hoped, out of earshot of the lawyers and reporters, to make her see how hard he was really trying. In February 2016, he came to court with his then-girlfriend, Nicki Minaj. “The judge said, ‘I’m not really the monster you think I am. In fact, a lot of people look up to me.’ ” Then she asked them to do a song for her, a remix of the Boys II Men hit “On Bended Knee.” “Fucking Nicki busts out laughing, but I grabbed her leg, going, ‘Yo, this is my life here,’ ” Meek recalls. “I tried to tell the judge, ‘All respect, but that ain’t me. I’m a Philly street rapper, not a bubblegum dude.’ She says, ‘Fine, then,’ in a real sarcastic way. ‘Suit yourself.’ ”

3. Handing Down Harsh Time: “Tacopina, Meek’s lawyer, rang his contacts at the FBI. Two agents came to Philly to talk to Meek. They asked him to wear a wire in front of Brinkley – just get her to out herself on tape and his long legal nightmare would be over. Meek declined. “In my world, that’s called snitching,” he says flatly. Instead, he served the year of house arrest, and got an additional six years of probation. In all, that comes to 14 years under Brinkley’s thumb. His original sentence called for 23 months. Between jail and house arrest, he’s done almost four years, and may spend that much again in state prison.”

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4. She’s Overly Severe: “It’s not uncommon, with harsher judges, to see 10-year probations for lesser offenses,” say one veteran criminal lawyer who represents the poor in Philadelphia. “Brinkley’s the judge you’d least want to be supervised by. Any failure to live by her rules will be punished.” She isn’t the only judge to hang long leashes, but is, according to every lawyer I spoke to, the most needlessly severe. “She had a parolee before her who was nine months pregnant – and sent her off to prison to deliver,” says another attorney who asked that I not name him.”

5. Intimidates People: “Anna Torres was the mother of an infant son when she rented a flat from Brinkley in 2006. Torres had been living there about a year when her son showed delays in speech development. Doctors diagnosed a severe case of lead poisoning. Building inspectors were summoned; they found dangerous levels of lead in the peeling paint. Brinkley was ordered by the city to fix the problem. According to Torres, who was seven-months pregnant at the time, Brinkley stormed in and started screaming at her. Brinkley sued to evict Torres in 2007; Torres sued for damages. Soon after Torres filed, she told QRI, she and her husband got threatening calls from a Brinkley courtroom staffer: “Don’t show up in court. You are going to lose, because she knows people in the system.” Torres was terrified. Still, she went to trial and got a judgement in her favor.”

6. Unethical Business Practices: “And then there’s Brinkley’s treatment of Richie Pacell. Pacell, a detective with the Northwest Detectives Division, is a second-generation Philly cop; his father walked a beat for 22 years. Like lots of other cops, Pacell works on the side: He does construction work. In the fall of 2010, Brinkley hired him to build an addition onto her house. According to Pacell, Brinkley regularly dropped by, demanding extensive changes. Those discussions led to arguments, which led to name-calling. She fired him on Valentine’s Day 2011. That night, she hired Bill Nicholson, Pacell’s friend and the plumber on the job, to do the finish work. Nicholson says he arrived to find Brinkley calling the cops. She accused Pacell, a 10-time Officer of the Month, of burglarizing her house to take back his tools. Squad cars roared up and cops investigated, but found no evidence of a break-in and didn’t arrest Pacell. That night, in her kitchen, Brinkley seethed. “I’m gonna get him, you watch,” Nicholson claims she told him. “I’m gonna take his badge and pension.”

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7. She Sues Anyone: “In 2014, she sued the Hotel Hershey, claiming she was “traumatized, unable to sleep and experienced flashbacks.” Why? She said she rolled over in her hotel bed and found the name tag of an employee between the sheets. The hotel settled for an undisclosed sum. In 2003, according to QRI, she threatened a tenant, Alan Oswald, after he refused to pay a mid-lease rent hike. “ ’I’m a judge, you know. I can sue you,’ ” according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Brinkley did, in fact, sue him, claiming damages. She was awarded $900 – his security deposit.”

8. Purposely Crushing Meek’s Career: “It became a grim ritual: Each time he dropped a record, she’d jail him for some violation or restrict his travel. Before Dreams Worth More Than Money hit stores in 2015, she sent him back to prison for six months – he’d tested positive for Percocet. (Meek says he’d had wisdom teeth pulled in 2013 and developed an opiate habit the way most people do: A doctor prescribed them to him. He wrestled with the addiction for several years, then sought treatment in Atlanta and recovered.) Though Dreams went platinum, it might have doubled its sales if she’d allowed him to tour more than four cities. Ditto the performance of his last LP, Wins & Losses. Just after its release last summer, she benched him again, after he popped wheelies in New York. “Meek lost $5 million in shows last fall,” says Saunders, his booker.”

9. Worked to make Meek Miserable: “She replaced his probation officer. Meek’s dealings with his PO’s had always been cordial, but his new one, Treas Underwood, was a “dragon.” “Straight out the gate, she hated me, talking to me like I’m some kind of rapist,” says Meek. “She would follow me around and pop up at my house, looking for some way to do me dirty.” “Before her, we would fax Meek’s schedule once a week,” says Smith. “Now, we had to tell her every hour of our day: ‘Meek’s check-in is at so-and-so; we leave Miami at midnight.’ Man, that ain’t the way the rap game works. Half the time, you don’t know when you’ll go onstage.”

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10. Deliberately Hurting His Pockets: “Incensed about the change in Meek’s travel plans, Brinkley hauled him in for a drug test. At a violation-of-parole hearing three weeks later, she ordered a second drug test. (Both screens came up clean.) Nevertheless, she barred Meek from touring, which cost him “$7 or $8 million,” says Clint Saunders, Meek’s booking agent.”