None of Meek Mill’s infractions this year warrant such a hefty sentence. The charges brought against him in St. Louis and New York were dropped in exchange for him performing community service, and the prosecutor wasn’t pursuing such action. According to the Fader , Meek’s lawyer is accusing Judge Brinkley of letting her “hostile relationship” with the rapper influence her decision. I don’t know whether or not that’s true, but even if it is, the fact remains that some combination of his arrests, failed drug tests and travel infractions were probation violations. And a judge with your freedom in her hands, who may or may not like you all that much, is all the more reason to stay on a straight and narrow. It’s possible that she threw the book at him to prove a point that his celebrity didn’t put him above the law. Under our current criminal justice system, the state of Pennsylvania empowered Judge Brinkley to make those kind of decisions.