Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial: Jury selection set to be finalized Friday in sex trafficking case
Court narrows down potential jurors from 600 to dozens, with opening statements set for Monday, May 12
The final round of jury selection will begin Monday in the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs.
The court must seat a panel of 18 New Yorkers — 12 jurors and six alternates — before opening statements are set to begin on May 12.
On Monday, lawyers will use peremptory challenges to strike off some of the remaining 43 potential jurors they do not want at trial to narrow that number down to 18. Opening statements will start after.
The music mogul is facing a five-count indictment accusing him of sex trafficking, transportation to engage in prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy.
The rapper was arrested in September 2024 as federal authorities alleged Combs and his associates threatened, abused, and coerced victims “to fulfill his sexual desires.” This included “Freak Offs,” recorded sex performances that prosecutors say Diddy arranged and forced victims to participate in. During searches of his homes, authorities seized narcotics and 1,000 bottles of lubricant and baby oil.
Two superseding indictments against the music mogul were added. In March, fresh allegations of “forced labor,” and in April, an additional charge of sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
Diddy has denied any accusations of wrongdoing and has rejected the government’s plea deal offer.
Questioning moves to the group stage
The non-excluded or excused jurors have been brought back into court together to give biographical information about jobs, hobbies, where they live, and what media they consume.
What do we know about today's jurors?
As with Monday’s jury pool, this final stage of questioning has provided some insight into the lives of the potential jurors.
They live across the New York region, though Bronxville, Manhattan, Westchester, the Bronx, and Hell’s Kitchen were mentioned. It’s worth noting that the city boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, and the suburbs of Long Island are not in the Southern District of New York federal court area.
Professionally, they work in oncology, legal services for women, kitchen design, manufacturing, medical services, banking, teaching for the blind, and for the MTA. One person recently left a job at WWE; another is a retired Navy Ship repairer; and another is a pilot for American Airlines.
For news, they go to NBC Nightly News, Today, Facebook, 1010 WINS, Morning Joe, YouTube, Reddit, or rely on alerts on their phone.
Other media mentioned included Essence magazine, The Athletic, ESPN, FS1, The New Yorker, and Men’s Health.
For entertainment, they watch Chicago PD, Chicago Fire, Chicago Med, Severance, Law & Order, American Idol, Survivor, Amazing Race, The Real Housewives, Basketball Wives, or stream Netflix, HBO, or Disney+.
Musically, they are into R&B, hip hop, Dave Brubeck, salsa, reggaeton, jazz, emo rock, Billy Joel, bachata, afrobeat, house music, gospel, alternative rock, and country.
In sport, they support Ohio State Football, the Knicks, the Mets (”since they became good again”), and in the WNBA, the New York Liberty.
And in any spare time they have left, they enjoy running, shooting hoops, dancing, going to Trader Joe’s, woodworking, biking, hiking, scuba diving, and surfing.
Court adjourns
After a brief sidebar with the lawyers, Judge Arun Subramanian adjourns court for the day, warning potential jurors not to read or post anything about the case.
After the panel departs, the lawyers agreed to strike more jurors from the pool.
Judge Subramanian intends to build a pool of 45 prospective jurors from which the 12 members of the jury and six alternates can be selected.
By the close of Monday, 19 had been picked, and by lunch on Tuesday, another six were added, so the group should be well over halfway to reaching the target.
Good morning
Good morning and welcome back to our rolling coverage of jury selection at the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs.
We’ll be bringing you the latest from the court throughout this morning as the panel of jurors is formed.
Could jury selection end today?
A jury could be in place as soon as today.
Judge Arun Subramanian wants the 600 potential jurors narrowed down to a group of 45 from whom the final panel of 12 jurors and six alternates will be chosen.
By lunchtime on Tuesday, 25 had been chosen, and that number had risen to approximately 35 by the end of the day.
The final ten should emerge today as would-be jurors are questioned about their experiences with domestic violence and sexual assault, attitudes toward law enforcement, and other factors that may inject bias into their handling of the case.
Lawyers from both sides will then be allowed to strike a number from the group without giving reason, finally arriving at the chosen 18.
Court back in session
Court is back in session for day three of jury selection in the trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Judge Arun Subramanian returns to the bench, and proceedings kick off with the prosecution suggesting that peremptory challenges — where jurors can be struck off without giving cause — take place on Friday morning, and not today, to give jurors time to think about whether they are able to serve.
The judge agrees.
HBO juror excused for cause
Marc Agnifilo, Diddy’s lead defense lawyer, then asks for the so-called “HBO juror” to be removed.
The juror works for the streaming service that made the documentary The Fall of Diddy and was initially permitted to remain part of the pool.
Teny Geragos, part of the prosecution team, established from emails with the production company that people were paid.
Judge Subramanian asks if the documentary will come up at trial, and the prosecution says they believe it will.
Both sides agree to exclude her for cause.
Defense concerned by juror who works for 'Her Justice'
The defense team also raised concerns over a juror who works for Her Justice, a nonprofit organization that provides free legal help to women living in poverty in New York City.
They have discovered that prior to her work there, she was at the Legal Aid Society for juveniles in family court, and note that she did not disclose this on her questionnaire.
After a back-and-forth about whether an office manager would get legal training, Judge Subramanian says that maybe the defense just doesn’t like her prior employment.
That’s why you have peremptory challenges, the judge notes.
He later returns to the issue and says he will think about it.
Two more jurors added to pool
Two more jurors have been added to the pool from which the final panel of 12 and six alternates will be chosen.
After losing the “HBO juror,” we are still hovering around the 35 mark (there is some discrepancy as to whether we began the day with 34 or 35 people in the jury pool).
Another potential juror is out for cause concerning the lack of an answer as to whether he could discuss matters of a sexual nature with fellow jurors.