Meek Mill. Photo: Randy Miramontez/Shutterstock.com

After recently being released on bail, hip-hop star Meek Mill has asked the head of the First Judicial District's criminal court to appoint a new judge to handle his case.

Mill, who was released late last month after spending roughly five months in jail for violating his parole, filed a motion May 4 asking Judge Leon Tucker, the supervising judge of Philadelphia's criminal division, to administratively transfer or reassign Judge Genece Brinkley from his case. Brinkley, who handled Mill's 2008 trial and subsequent probation, has denied multiple previous requests that she step down from the case.

The motion, filed May 4 by Ardmore attorney Peter Goldberger, said Brinkley was disqualified from handling Mill's case, and that the rapper, whose real name is Robert Williams, is not being treated the same as other defendants.

“Judge Brinkley's conduct has disqualified her within the meaning of Pa.R.Crim.P. 903(D) from further presiding over this matter,” Williams said in the filing. “This court's intervention, in its administrative capacity, is therefore needed to reassign the PCRA proceedings concerning Mr. Williams, including the supervision of his bail, to a different judge of this court, such as the president judge.”

The filing focused on how the court has handled the numerous post-conviction appeals in cases that were based on the testimony of Philadelphia Police Officer Reginald Graham. Graham was the only witness who testified at Williams' nonjury trial, but two officers from his unit recently provided sworn affidavits refuting Graham's testimony. Graham has also been identified as one of the police officers on a list of officers that the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office does not call to testify due to credibility concerns.

More than 100 appeals have recently been filed regarding testimony that Graham provided, and in late April Philadelphia President Judge Sheila Woods-Skipper granted unopposed appeals in three of those cases without holding a hearing.

In arguing that he is being treated unfairly, Williams' recent motion noted that Brinkley has called for a hearing regarding Graham's testimony in the case, even though the District Attorney's Office has said it does not oppose Williams' request for a new trial. The motion also said that ”dozens of similar cases from dockets of many different trial judges,” all dealing with Graham, are pending before Woods-Skipper “to assure consistency of treatment and disposition.”

“Ironically, while refusing to join his case with the cases of all other defendants in this court similarly situated, Judge Brinkley insisted at that same hearing that Mr. Williams' case would and must be treated the same as that of any other defendant,” Williams said in the motion.

Regarding arguments that Brinkley is disqualified from handling the case, the motion noted that Brinkley has hired A. Charles Peruto Jr. to make statements on her behalf, and cited an interview Peruto gave to TMZ.com hours after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted Williams bail on April 24. The motion also said that bail supervision orders Brinkley issued late last month call for direct judicial involvement on a level that is ”unique and essentially unheard of.”

Both Goldberger and a spokesman for the District Attorney's Office declined to comment for the story.