PHILADELPHIA _ Meek Mill's legal journey will take another step Tuesday afternoon, but it will take time to determine how much closer that step will move the celebrity rapper toward his long-desired goal of removing a decade-old conviction from his record.
Attorneys for Mill are scheduled to appear before a panel of Superior Court judges at 3:30 p.m. and to reiterate that they believe Mill, 32, deserves a new trial for a drug-and-gun conviction secured in 2008, and that all future proceedings should be transferred to another judge in Philadelphia's Common Pleas Court.
Their position is likely to be largely supported by the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, which has previously stated in court documents that it agrees that Mill deserves a new trial and a new judge.
Still, despite the unity between the two sides, the three-judge panel is not likely to render a decision anytime soon. Mill, a Philadelphia native born Robert Rihmeek Williams, has been out on bail since April 2018, when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court freed him from a prison sentence for probation violations as he continues to argue his appeals.
Mill's incarceration in 2017 became a rallying cry for celebrities and advocates of criminal justice reform, and his case seemed to gain a new ally last year when Larry Krasner was sworn in as the city's top prosecutor.
Krasner's office did not oppose Mill's early release from prison, agreed Mill deserved a new trial due to questions about the credibility of his arresting officer, and in May said Common Pleas Court Judge Genece E. Brinkley _ whom Mill's supporters have long accused of treating him unfairly _ had exhibited bias against the entertainer.
But Brinkley, who presided over Mill's initial trial and subsequent probation, has consistently denied any wrongdoing and last year denied his bid for a new trial, saying in court papers that she did not believe Mill or the DA's Office had sufficiently proved the evidence used to secure his 2007 arrest was tainted.
