Meek Mill. Photo: Shutterstock.com

The First Judicial District received a bit of a black eye recently in the ongoing dust-up over hip-hop star Meek Mill's parole violation case when it had to fire a court clerk in the wake of revelations that she had asked the rapper to help pay her child's college tuition.

But there is still no clear vindication for Meek Mill—whose legal name is Robert Williams—as he presses his claim that the judge who handled his case had inappropriately sought to influence his management team.

On Tuesday, a spokesman for the court confirmed that a court clerk had been fired when it became known that she had asked Williams to help her pay for her son's college tuition. The clerk, Wanda Chavarria, was terminated following a review of the incident, court spokesman Gabriel Roberts said.

“The Philadelphia courts have always prioritized fairness, impartiality and the highest ethical standards. The courts fully expect all employees to conduct themselves in a principled and professional manner so as not to infringe upon the neutrality of the courtroom,” Roberts said in an emailed statement. “Because this is a personnel matter there will be no further comment.”

Chavarria declined to comment for the story.

The termination came soon after Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Genece Brinkley, who is overseeing the case, ordered that a key transcript in the controversial case be unsealed. Williams' legal team has pointed to the transcript as evidence that Brinkley had attempted to pressure Williams into dropping his New York-based management team and hiring Philadelphia-based manager Charlie Mack.

Although the transcript of the Feb. 5, 2016, hearing showed that Mack was the focus of much of the in-chambers discussion, according to the transcript, it appeared to be Williams' probation officer, not Brinkley, who suggested that Williams should hire Mack.

“What I like about Charlie, is he is not invested in Meek Mill,” the probation officer said, according to the transcript. “He is invested in Robert Williams. He is invested in your life as a man.”

Later in the hearing, according to the transcript, the probation officer said, “Working with Charlie Mack, hands down, he is phenomenal. Conah Howard and Phil Smith [who were Williams' managers], they continue to get you back to where you are. Those are the guys that are a problem for you. Because they don't understand. This is what the judge wants. The judge's mission. What she wants. They go outside what the judge asks for.”

For the past few months, Williams has been seeking to overturn the controversial two- to four-year prison sentence that Brinkley handed down after he violated his probation. That sentence came more than nine years after Williams was initially placed on probation, and came after he was charged in two incidents that occurred outside Pennsylvania, neither of which resulted in criminal charges being dropped.

Since the sentence was handed down, Williams' legal team has sought to have Brinkley taken off the case, claiming, among other things, that she was “enamored” with the rap star and that the FBI had been reviewing her conduct—although reports have since suggested that it was Williams who had requested that the FBI review his case and that the inquiry was dropped shortly thereafter.

The case is currently on appeal to the state Superior Court, and, along with arguing that the sentence is excessive, one of Williams' main contentions is that Brinkley repeatedly acted inappropriately throughout the proceedings.

The defendants have pointed to multiple transcripts where Mack was the topic of conversation, but the Feb. 5 hearing seemed to have the potential to shed light on whether Brinkley directed Williams to change managers.

The Feb. 5 hearing, however, occurred in chambers, and had been under seal until recently.

Williams' team initially had requested that the record of the hearing be kept under seal, but later asked that the transcript be released only to them. Brinkley, however, said the record could only either be released to the public, or kept under seal, and the unsealing request had initially been withdrawn.

It was during the dispute about whether the record could be unsealed that Brinkley talked about the Feb. 5, 2016, in-chambers hearing, saying that Mack had been discussed during the hearing.

“There was also some discussion concerning the defendant's management,” Brinkley said, according to court papers. “I don't want this to be taken out of context by anyone down the road either for appeal purposes or whatever, that there was some discussion because the defendant, prior to Roc Nation, had been represented by Mr. Alston whose stage name is 'Charlie Mack,' and that there was some discussion about his involvement in continuing to assist Mr. Williams because it seemed as if while Mr. Mack was representing him there were fewer problems with the probation department and I think I said on the record Mr. Williams chooses who he wants for his management and he's obviously chosen to have whoever he wants as his management, his lawyers, or whatever.”

Her statement had been raised as part of Williams' request to have Brinkley recuse.

However, the recently released transcript shows that the probation officer and the assistant district attorney on the case, Noel DeSantis, led the discussion about Mack.

According to the transcript, toward the end of the hearing Brinkley appeared to attempt to distance herself from any insinuation that she was directing him to change management.

“I don't want the record to suggest who your management is or is not. I am just—I am just trying to decide what I am going—I don't know what I am going to do,” she said, according to the transcript.

Another example that the defense has pointed to regarding Brinkley's allegedly inappropriate conduct was the allegation that Brinkley had asked Williams to record a version of the Boyz II Men song “On Bended Knee” that included a specific reference to her in the song. Court documents, however, said that Brinkley made the request during an off-the-record meeting that occurred with only Brinkley, Williams and Williams' then-girlfriend Nicki Minaj present, and no transcript of that meeting exists.

Matthew Mangino, a defense attorney and former prosecutor, said the court clerk's letter to Williams asking for money is embarrassing for the court, but he said, ultimately, it is unlikely to have any effect on Williams' case.

“It's not as though she said, can you help me with my son's education and I'll lose your file,” Mangino said. “If there was a jury and the clerk slips a note to a juror saying, 'Get this guy, he's terrible,' that could have an impact. But you have a judge presiding over the case, and not a jury. I don't really see how this note is prejudicial.”

Regarding the issue of Mack, Mangino said the court has a lot of latitude about what can be discussed in a violation of parole hearing. He also said it is not, on its face, inappropriate for court officers to discuss the issue if those who the defendant is currently surrounded by are becoming problematic. However, he said, there's a fine line for when those topics could become inappropriate, especially for a judge.

“It's one thing to say your current situation may lead to problems, as opposed to, 'Go with this guy and things might work out better for you.' That's problematic,” he said. ”Who manages your entertainment product doesn't seem to be an appropriate area of inquiry, unless you think that person or entity is causing you to violate your probation. But it's questionable certainly, and it needs to be explored.”

Williams' legal team declined to comment. Brinkley's chambers referred a request for comment to the FJD spokesman, and Roberts said the court was declining to comment about the case.