Acting state Supreme Court Justice Melissa Jackson said Thursday she wants proof that deafness looms unless the 28-year-old rapper goes to a Los Angeles clinic for treatment and repair of a cochlear implant.
Brown revealed her hearing problems during a court appearance in late 2004. Her petition says her condition is worsening in jail and her hearing faces serious harm unless she has the implant reprogrammed and repaired. Assistant District Attorney Cindy Chung objected, saying Brown had offered nothing to show the medical procedure could not be done in New York. She said a jail inmate has no right to the doctor of her choice. Brown, whose real name is Inga Marchand, was sentenced in September to a year in jail for violating probation. A judge had put her on probation after she pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault of two manicurists at a Manhattan nail salon in August 2004. Jackson ordered Brown's lawyer, Laura Dilimetin, to give the rapper's medical records to the district attorney, the Department of Correction and the Department of Probation so they could file position papers. She said the records would be sealed. "I need to have more information on this," the judge said.
Before being led out of the courtroom, Brown told the judge she had learned a lot in jail, including how to suppress her emotions and make better decisions.
"I have too much talent to throw it away," Brown said. "I know I will make you proud and my family proud." The judge told the rapper: "I'm glad you're learning some very hard lessons that needed to be learned."
