Meek Mill. Photo: Shutterstock

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has denied rapper Meek Mill's latest bid to have Philadelphia Judge Genece Brinkley tossed from his case.

In a one-page order issued Tuesday, the justices denied the hip-hop star's request to have a new judge assigned, and said Mill will have to bring his claims to the state Superior Court before the justices will consider his appeal. The order marks the third time the justices have ruled in the case since November when Brinkley sentenced him to a two-to-four-year prison sentence for violating his probation.

Mill had asked the high court to take up his case through its King's Bench jurisdiction, which is rarely used, but has proven successful for the rapper, whose case has garnered national attention and sparked an outcry for criminal justice reforms.

Mill, whose real name is Robert Williams, has been seeking to overturn his decade-old conviction on drug- and gun-related charges, based on arguments that newly uncovered evidence casts serious doubts about the credibility of a key witness at his trial. Brinkley, who handled his initial trial, denied those efforts in a ruling in June that followed a contentious court hearing and claims from Mill's legal team that Brinkley had been acting more as a prosecutor than a judge.

Mill's attorney, Joe Tacopina, said in an emailed statement that the legal team intends to now bring their appeal to the Superior Court.

“Time after time, Judge Brinkley has continued to display unethical behavior as she has presided over Meek's case, and we will work diligently to rectify this grave miscarriage of justice and ensure that Meek's wrongful conviction is overturned and he is granted the new and fair trial that he deserves,” Tacopina said.

The rap artist has been on probation since 2008. After being arrested twice in 2016 on charges that were later dropped, Brinkley sentenced him in November to two to four years in prison. The sentence stunned both Mill's fan base and criminal justice attorneys alike, since neither Mill's probation officer nor the prosecutor on the case had sought jail time.

In March, Mill filed a King's Bench petition with the justices, asking that Brinkley be tossed from the case and that he be allowed out on bail. The justices agreed to release Mill on bail, but said it would not rule “at this juncture” to remove Brinkley.

In the lead-up to the June 18 evidentiary hearing, Mill's legal team asked the judge who supervises Philadelphia's criminal courts to remove Brinkley, but that judge said only a higher court would have the power to remove another Common Pleas Court judge. Mill's team quickly made its second bid to the Supreme Court, saying Brinkley's recent activity, including having a private attorney make public statements about the case and filing lawsuits claiming she suffered potentially disabling injuries, should disqualify her from handling his appeal.

The court split 3-3 on that appeal, with three justices saying Brinkley's “continued involvement has created an appearance of impropriety that tends to undermine public confidence in the judiciary.” One of the justices who denied the petition also suggested Mill could file another appeal after the June 18 hearing.

Brinkley issued a lengthy opinion in late June, saying Mill failed to convince her that newly discovered evidence about possible misconduct of the sole officer who testified at his trial created enough doubt to warrant a new one.

The King's Bench appeal would have sidestepped the state Superior Court, which, according to attorneys, has very little leeway when it comes to reversing a trial court judge's ruling on a post-conviction appeal.

The District Attorney's Office declined to comment.