Sean 'Diddy' Combs' Trial Jury Troubles Begin Within One Hour of Deliberations

Yahoo

16 hours ago

The New York jury now deliberating over the federal criminal case against former hip-hop and fashion mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs at a downtown Manhattan federal courthouse is off to a rocky start, complaining about one juror's refusal to follow the judge's instructions and asking multiple questions in notes to the judge in the first couple of days since the jury was sent off with the case on Monday.
Just over an hour had passed of the 12-person jury's first day of deliberation on Monday when Judge Aron Subramanian received a note from the jury's just-designated foreperson, stating that one of the jurors was creating an alarming issue that required him to intervene. The note was also viewed by prosecutors, the defense team and the defendant after it was issued to the judge.
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'[There's a juror who] we are concerned cannot follow your honor's instructions. May I please speak with your honor or may you please interview him?' the foreperson asked Subramanian.
The man referred to in the note is juror No. 25, a 51-year-old man from Manhattan who holds a degree in molecular biology and works as a veterinarian, according to Reuters. Subramanian seemed reluctant to take any immediate special action regarding the note and request, essentially telling the jury to buckle down and get back to work with the instructions they were given earlier in the day.
'I remind every juror of their duty to deliberate and their obligation to follow my instruction on the law,' Subramanian wrote in response. He instructed the jurors to 'please continue deliberating' the case.
Whether Subramanian decides to intervene in the juror No. 25 situation remains to be seen and will hinge on whether the issue persists; the judge's decision not to take action indicates he hopes that the issue can be resolved among the jurors. On Monday, he excused the five alternate jurors but asked that they be readily available in case they are needed by the court. This is not the first time an issue has arisen with one of the jurors selected to hear the case; toward the middle of the six weeks of testimony, a male juror was was dismissed after it was discovered that he spends half of his time in the Bronx and half with his daughter in New Jersey, out of the Southern District of New York's jurisdiction.
At the beginning this week, while giving instruction to the 12 jurors now deciding Combs' fate, Subramanian emphasized that they focus on the evidence presented to them, rather than what occurred as it was being presented.
'The rulings I have made during the trial are not any indication of my views of what your decision should be as to whether or not the guilt of the defendant has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt,' said Subramanian.
Combs has pleaded not guilty to five counts contained in an indictment, including sex trafficking and racketeering. He has remained incarcerated without bail in Brooklyn; the disgraced hip-hop icon faces life in prison if found guilty on all charges.
On Monday, Combs was present in the courtroom when the jury was handed the case. After they left the courtroom, according to reporting from the Associated Press, the defendant slumped in his chair for a period before standing and facing the rows of people seated in the gallery to watch proceedings. Members of his family and his close friends were there and, soon, bowed their heads as they began to pray. Combs stood feet from them, did the same and joined them in applause when finished. He was still clapping when he turned his back to the gallery again.
Combs also displayed two books he's reading to the crowd: The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale and Shawn Achor's The Happiness Advantage.
Federal prosecutors rested their case after six weeks of testimony from Combs' ex-girlfriends, personal assistants, federal agents and various members of his once-powerful media and music empire, which the feds argue was a 'criminal enterprise' used to traffic two of his girlfriends and coerce them into drug-fueled sex marathons. The defense rested its case shortly thereafter without calling a single witness.
The jury ended Monday with another note to Judge Subramanian, this time seeking clarification regarding what qualifies as drug distribution. This is a piece of the alleged crimes that the feds say Combs committed and relates to the racketeering conspiracy charge he faces. The question related to whether a person receiving an illegal substance had previously asked the person accused of distributing the drug for it, if that counted as criminal distribution. Subramanian planned to respond to the question on Tuesday.
On Tuesday morning, the jury sent a request for three transcripts, with two relating to testimony from Cassie Ventura, the defendant's ex-girlfriend of nearly a decade who was named as 'Victim 1' in the government's five-count indictment against Combs. The request related to three moments discussed: Ventura's testimony about the physical attack she endured at Combs' hands at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles; her testimony about what occurred at the Cannes Film Festival, where Ventura was allegedly shown video footage by Combs of her having sex; and escort Daniel Phillip's testimony about an Essex hotel incident in which Ventura was 'slumped over.'
As of Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors and the defense team were arguing over which excerpts of the requested testimony should be sent back to the jury.
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