Joe Tacopina Feeling Confident A$AP Rocky Will Be Exonerated

Joe Tacopina is ready to flex his legal muscles in court again ... telling us he's feeling good about getting A$AP Rocky off the hook in a criminal assault trial.

The high-powered attorney joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday and we asked him about the Rocky case and some of his legal wins over the years for clients like President Trump and Alex Rodriguez.

Rocky's case is now in the jury's hands after Joe forcefully defended the rapper in court ... telling us it should be easy for a jury to reach a not-guilty verdict, even though it's not guaranteed.

We asked him about one of the Rocky highlights, when things got so heated with prosecutors he took off his jacket and looked like he was ready to throw down.

Cross-examination is one of Joe's biggest strengths -- on display in Trump's trial with E. Jean Carroll -- and he put the prosecution's star witness in the Rocky case, A$AP Relli, through the ringer ... to the point he claims he caught Relli in a web of lies.

As Joe tells it ... he defends his clients like family ... and it shows in court. He's painted the case as a money grab and claims Rocky used a prop gun in a dispute with a former friend who he claims is trying to extort Rocky.

The trial had some dramatic moments too ... like when Rocky yelled out to A$AP Twelvyy during testimony, telling his A$AP Mob member not to reveal what 'AWGE' means.

Joe says he had to stomp on Rocky's foot under the table to warn him ... joking he was glad Rocky didn't have a similar outburst in a more meaningful part of the trial.

Rocky's got a lot at stake here -- his career hangs in the balance -- and the verdict is going to see him walk free or be thrown in jail for years ... with no in-between.

Brand deals hang in the wings too ... Rocky's got a cologne campaign coming out with Gucci for its Gucci Guilty scent ... and Joe tells us why he's been wrestling with the fashion house to hold off on marketing Rocky with Guilty ... at least until the verdict is in.

We also asked Joe the question on everyone's minds ... just when will that verdict come in?!?

Hard to say, but sounds like Joe's not losing any sleep over it ... he's confident with his defense and his track record backs it up.

It's an interesting look inside Rocky's defense and Joe tells us about some of his other big cases ... lots of wins to choose from here, but some stick out in our minds.