Jury selection for Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs sex-trafficking federal trial in New York is expected to end on Friday.
The rapper, 55, has kept an upbeat demeanor throughout the closed process – the trial will not be televised because it is in federal court and all recording devices are banned.
Over the last week, Judge Arun Subramanian has been questioning prospective jurors one at a time to see who can be fair and unbiased.
Combs has watched from his seat at the defense table, scanning the courtroom for supporters and even shockingly addressed pregnant FOX 5′ reporter Michelle Ross, asking her ‘how are you?’
On Friday, lawyers on each side will be permitted to eliminate several individuals from the panel of jurors — for reasons they usually do not have to explain. That procedure, which typically takes an hour or less, produces the final jury of 12 plus alternates.
Diddy’s question for a reporter in court
The rapper apparently recognized Fox5 reporter Michelle Ross, who is seven months pregnant, in court this week.
Ross shared her reaction after Combs mouthed, ‘how are you?’ in court.
‘That’s just another example of how observant he’s been throughout jury selection so far,’ FOX 5’s Michelle Ross said of the moment.
Judge slams Diddy star attorney after he calls prosecutors a ‘six-pack of white women’
Judge Arun Subramanian admonsihed Mark Geragos in court after he made comments in a podcast calling Diddy’s prosecutors a ‘sick-pack of white women.’
According to prosecutors, Geragos has been advising Diddy’s team during the jury selection process even though he is not one of the rapper’s officials attorneys in the trial.
Subramanian, who is of South Asian descent, called Geragos’ comments ‘outrageous,’ but Geragos’ whose daughter Teny is a member of Diddy’s legal team, pushed back at the judge.
‘I think when you’ve got a Black man who’s being prosecuted and the client feels like he’s being targeted, it’s a — it’s an observation,’ Geragos said.
But the judge wasn not having and shot back: ‘I think this is ridiculous.
‘I think referring to the prosecution in this case as a six-pack of white women is outrageous. All right. And I understand what you’re saying about the cases and everything else, but I think this is outrageous and this would not be tolerated in any court from any lawyer anywhere across the nation.’
Final stage of jury selection
The final stage of choosing jurors is known as ‘peremptory’ or discretionary strikes: jurors that either side does not want to sit on the jury.
Diddy’s defense gets 10 strikes for the main jury of 12 people and the prosecution wil have six.
Then each side gets three each for the six alternate jurors.
There are 45 jurors who are qualified for this final stage: none of them will be in court and they are due to return on Monday for opening statements.
Diddy jury will not be sequestered
Diddy jurors will be able to leave court and go home after each day of the trial.
‘There are no plans to sequester the jury, which means you will go home every day after court,’ the jury questionnaire obtained by the outlet read.
However, jurors were instructed to “avoid all media coverage and not to go on the Internet or social media with regard to this case for any purpose.”
They are advised to avoid discussing the case with family, friends and colleagues until after the trial is done.
Potential jurors down to a pool of 45
Judge Arun Subramanian was seeking to build a pool of 45 prospective jurors from which a panel of 12 jurors and several alternates can be chosen.
Opening statements are scheduled to be presented on May 12 for a trial projected to last up to two months.
Diddy admitted being ‘nervous’ in court
Composed and with his hands in his pockets, Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs greeted potential jurors who hold his fate in their hands with a slight nod as the sex trafficking trial that could send him to prison for life began Monday.
And despite the gravity of the crimes against him, Combs, 55, remained composed and calm, hugging his lawyers as he came in and nodding his head slightly when he faced the jurors with his hands in his pockets.
Until he cracked midway through the process after Diddy’s legal team requested a bathroom break. When the judge asked if they could carry on, Diddy put up his hand and said: ‘I’m sorry your honor, I’m a little nervous today.’
Some potential jurors dismissed after admitting they have seen damning Diddy video
Several who were eliminated from the jury pool had seen or heard media reports related to the case, including some who said they saw a video in which Combs was hitting and kicking one of his accusers in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.
But one man who had written on a questionnaire that the video left him with the ‘impression of an angry hostile person who is entitled’ was not dismissed from the jury pool.
After the video aired on CNN last year, Diddy apologized, saying, ‘I take full responsibility for my actions in that video. I was disgusted then when I did it. I’m disgusted now.’
Read the full list of charges against Diddy
Rapper Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs faces a slew of charges related to his alleged sexual and physical abuse of women.
He was charged with three crimes – racketeering, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution.
What happens after jury selection?
The last step in the jury selection process will occur when lawyers on both sides strike a limited number of individuals off the jury for reasons they usually are not required to disclose.
The judge has scheduled peremptory challenges for Friday.
Opening statements are set for Monday.
Will Diddy’s trial be televised?
Unlike other high-profile cases, the rapper’s trial will not be televised as it is in federal court.
Electronic media, including cameras, are banned in the Manhattan court room.
A sketch artist’s work will be the only visuals coming out of the courtroom.
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Diddy trial latest: Why case won’t be televised as list of witnesses and jurors takes shape
