The jurors who hold the fate of Sean ‘Diddy‘ Combs in their hands were selected Monday morning – but not before defense lawyers accused prosecutors of kicking blacks off the panel.
Of the nine strikes allotted to prosecutors, seven were non-white jurors. Diddy’s lead counsel Marc Agnifilo protested in a challenge.
He said that ‘amounts to a pattern’.
But Judge Arun Subramanian turned down the defense claims. ‘The defense failed to show purposeful discrimination,’ he ruled.
Eight men and four women are on the final panel of 12 with a further four men and two women listed as alternates. On the main juror panel, four are white, two are Hispanic, five are black and one is Asian. Of the six alternates, four are white and two are black.
Now, the trial that could see Combs, 55, put behind bars for the rest of his life is ready to kick off in federal court in Manhattan.
Diddy faces five serious federal charges: racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transporting individuals for prostitution.
Around 150 potential jurors were vetted before the final 18 were selected. Each was handed a binder containing dozens of names and places that may come up during the music mogul’s trial.
The jurors who hold the fate of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in their hands have finally been selected and are ready to get down to deciding the fate of the multi-millionaire rap mogul
Eight men and four women are on the final panel of 12. Four men and two women make up the six on the alternate’s panel
Combs’s former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, who is heavily pregnant with her third child, is expected to be one of the key witnesses and plans to use her own name when she takes the stand.
The list of at least 190 individuals includes comedian Mike Myers, actor Michael B. Jordan, rappers Kanye West and Kid Cudi and Destiny’s Child singer Michelle Williams. It was not made clear what role any of them would play in the trial or whether they would be called to testify.
Combs’s former girlfriend Cassie Ventura, 38, is listed as ‘Victim 1′ and will testify using her own name. However, Judge Subramanian has approved prosecutors’ request for three other alleged victims to testify under pseudonyms. One of those three is said to have gone missing and may not turn up for the trial, lead prosecutor Maurene Comey told the court Wednesday.
These are the jurors who were selected Monday will have to decide the guilt or innocence of Diddy in what is sure to be the most watched trial of 2025.
The Jury Panel:
Juror 2: White man, 69, massage therapist from Manhattan. The trained actor is single with no kids and has worked at two luxury hotels which could come up during the trial.
Juror 5: White man, 31, investment analyst from Manhattan. Called himself an ‘active’ church goer and a member of a country club. The juror said he was opposed to the death penalty but as that wasn’t an issue in this case, he could serve.
Juror 25: Hispanic man, 51, a scientist. Said he likes to watch nature documentaries and knew Diddy had been accused of ‘violent behavior’ and said that he saw the video of Diddy beating up his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura while he was at the gym. He also saw a report that people had been drugged but said he wouldn’t be biased.
Juror 28: Hispanic woman, 30, supermarket clerk. Single and doesn’t really watch the news, instead relying on ‘word of mouth’. Likes to read books, play video games and watch Netflix.
Juror 55: Black woman, 42, dietary aide in a nursing home from Manhattan. She has two children and likes reading Harry Potter books and watching Disney and Marvel movies. Her only criminal record was being caught with an open bottle of alcohol when she was younger, earning a joking admonishment from the judge.
Juror 58: Black man, 41, works in accounts for the New York City Department of Corrections. Engaged and has a daughter and lives in the Bronx. He said that he likes sports and supports the Mets. The juror reads the New York Post and GQ magazine.
Juror 75: Asian man, 75, retired formerly worked at JP Morgan. He lives in Westchester County with his wife, with whom he has a son. He watches the Discovery Channel and likes to listen to old Indian music. He plays cricket and volleyball.
Juror 116: White man, 68, field tech for a telecoms company before retiring. He lives in Westchester with his wife and daughter. He said he struggled with seeing violence, writing in his questionnaire that ‘when it comes to like skateboarders going down and crashing on to the ground, that’s something I just can’t look at’. But he claimed he could stomach grisly scenes during the trial.
Juror 160: Black woman, 43, lives in Westchester with husband and two children. Diddy smiled when she said ‘I wish’ I knew the names of the celebrities. The woman works as a physician’s assistant and is a former amateur actor.
Juror 184: Black man, 39, from the Bronx, a social worker program supervisor. He is also a security guard on weekends. Through his work he has worked on domestic violence cases. He said that he likes spending time with his family and walking
Juror 201: White man 67, senior logistics analyst from Westchester. Said in his questionnaire he was ‘unsure’ about Diddy’s guilt, but claimed he meant to say he had ‘no opinion’ about it. He lives alone and likes shows like Survivor and the Amazing Race.
Juror 217: Black woman, 74 retired treatment coordinator who worked with the blind, from Manhattan. She lives alone, reads the New York Times, watches CBS and ABC News and likes classical music.
The Six Alternates:
Juror 230: White man, 57, manufacturing architect from Westchester. He walked into court with a book by author David Sedaris under his arm. He lives with his wife and two kids and likes a variety of music but said that his children recently got him into country music
Juror 234: Black man, 34, unemployed former window cleaner from Manhattan. He is currently unemployed but used to clean windows. He is a fan of Chicago PD and Law & Order. The juror said they had seen some stories about the case in the news but he ‘didn’t really pay attention to it’.
Juror 247: White man, 40, physician’s assistant from Manhattan. He gets his news from the New York Times, New Yorker and Wall Street Journal. In his spare time he likes to surf, bike and hike.
Juror 292: White woman, 71, archivist from New York. She reads the New York Times, Wired and likes to watch costume dramas. She initially appeared unsure if she could talk about matters of a sexual nature with other jurors because she has never done that with a ‘group of strangers’ but told the judge she would be able to handle it.
Juror 321: Black woman, 24, from the Bronx. Works stocking snacks and drinks in different buildings. Married but her husband lives abroad. The juror said that she had seen the video of Diddy and Ventura but said it wouldn’t be hard for her to be impartial. She said: ‘There is both sides to every story. I don’t know the full story, so I can’t be completely one-sided.’
Juror 330: White man, 37, who works in administration at the United Nations. He has no children and is currently in a relationship. He gets his news from the New York Times, the BBC and reads heavyweight magazines like Foreign Affairs. Said he had only seen local news reports about the case as he ‘doesn’t follow this kind of celebrity cases’. He said in his jury questionnaire that he did ‘not like the allegations’ but said in court he could be objective.
Ventura dated Combs from 2007 to 2018 but in a lawsuit she filed against him, she said she suffered a decade-long ‘cycle of abuse, violence and sex trafficking’
Diddy’s mother Janice Combs (right) walking into the courthouse alongside fellow supporters for her son’s first day on trial
All of Diddy’s kids, including his adopted son Quincy Brown (right) – the biological son of the rapper’s late ex-girlfriend Kim Porter – showed up to support their father
Judge Arun Subramanian turned down a defense application that the prosecution used a ‘pattern’ of kicking blacks off the jury
The potential jurors were asked if they could be impartial in reaching a verdict and how much they knew about the allegations against Combs.
The final stage of jury selection, whittling down the panel from 43 to 12 jurors and six alternates came Monday morning with what are known as peremptory strikes, where either side can axe jurors without giving cause.
Diddy’s defense got up to 10 strikes for the main jury and the prosecution had six.
The prosecution struck seven black potential jurors out of nine strikes.
Then each side got three strikes for the alternates.
That final group is now set to hear opening statements which will kick off Monday.
The trial is expected to take six to eight weeks to complete. The prosecution will paint a picture of Diddy to the jury of him being the head of a criminal organization who exploited his fame and fortune to sexually abuse women and destroy young lives.
On the flipside, his defense attorneys will counter by saying the disgraced rap mogul was not committing crimes when he engaged in sexual activity with consenting adults.
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