Diddy trial: Rapper faces jury in opinionated NY hometown in bid for freedom on sex trafficking charges

Sean "Diddy" Combs faces jury challenges in his hometown of New York. The rapper is working to clear his name after being accused of sex trafficking.

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Sean "Diddy" Combs' legal team and the prosecution in his sex-trafficking case will set out to pick a jury of 12 on Monday.

Combs will appear in court alongside his lead lawyers – Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos – to begin voir dire. The questioning process will be conducted by Judge Arun Subramanian, Diddy's lawyers and the prosecutors who have been working on the case.

Authorities charged Diddy with multiple counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transporting for prostitution in an indictment unsealed in September. Since then, the government has filed two superseding indictments against the rapper that added charges and an additional victim. Diddy has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

Diddy's team and the prosecution were allotted five days to seat the jury, which will likely be a "difficult" process, legal experts told Fox News Digital. Diddy and the government are facing off in the rapper's hometown of New York, creating an uphill battle for the disgraced music mogul.

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"Everyone in the country, and the entire world, knows about the allegations against Diddy, so moving the trial to another venue outside of New York won’t change anything," former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital. "The prosecution wants to make sure there aren’t any Diddy fans or stealth jurors on the panel. The defense wants jurors who are skeptical about #MeToo and victims who make allegations years later and file civil lawsuits seeking damages. The only person who wants a fair and impartial jury is the judge."

The true challenge for Diddy's defense and the prosecution is finding jurors who don't have an opinion on the disgraced music mogul's case.

"Diddy is one of the most recognizable names in music and pop culture, and the public attention surrounding the allegations is enormous," New York-based defense attorney Duncan Levin told Fox News Digital. "In high-profile cases like this, the challenge isn’t just finding jurors who have heard of the defendant – it’s finding ones who haven’t already formed an opinion based on media coverage. That’s why voir dire in this case will be lengthy and strategic.

"The defense will be focused on rooting out bias, and the prosecution will be working to ensure the jurors don’t bring preconceived celebrity favoritism into the courtroom."

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Media coverage of Diddy exploded in March 2024 after the rapper's Miami and Los Angeles homes were raided in connection with a human trafficking investigation by Homeland Security. The sexual assault allegations brought against Diddy in civil cases and the federal indictment have been largely covered, creating a possible issue for an impartial jury.

"Most potential jurors will have heard of the case and will have formed some opinion of what happened," entertainment lawyer Tre Lovell told Fox News Digital. "That being said, the real question is: Can the jurors put aside whatever initial thoughts they have and be able to decide the case based solely on the evidence?"

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While high-profile jury selection can be difficult, it's not impossible, as seen in President Donald Trump's recent New York City trial. The criminal trial regarding his hush money payments began on April 15, 2024.

"Just by way of example, they were able to seat a Manhattan jury for someone like Donald Trump," New York-based attorney Mark Weissman explained to Fox News Digital. "I think they will be able to seat a jury for Diddy’s trial. And the jurors will fill out questionnaires before they meet the judge, which will help the judge to further limit the pool to jurors who have limited knowledge about the case, and the participants."

"But, of course, even jurors in Manhattan will likely know about Diddy, and I expect many will have heard of or read about the allegations against him, and many may have an opinion about him," he added. "This is true in every high-publicity case."

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Of the potential New York jurors, many will most likely hold opinions of Diddy and the sex trafficking allegations against him.

"Honestly, most of them probably do have an opinion, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be fair," Levin emphasized. "New Yorkers are famously skeptical and media-savvy. What matters isn’t whether a juror has heard of Diddy – it’s whether they can set aside what they’ve heard and evaluate the evidence impartially. Judges often remind jurors that the courtroom, not the press, is where the facts get sorted out."

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Selecting the jury is "not necessarily" about picking the right people, but truly about "eliminating the wrong jurors."

"Thus, all questions are designed to find those jurors that have bias or are unable to put their personal feelings and beliefs aside and focus on just the evidence," Lovell noted.

"Jurors will be asked how they feel about a lifestyle of sex and drugs, how do they feel about someone who is having sex with multiple partners, have they been a victim of domestic violence or rape, have they had issues with police or law enforcement, etcetera," he explained. "They will be told they will see a very disturbing video of Diddy physically assaulting his girlfriend, and no matter how disturbing it is, can they look at the specific charges in this case and render a verdict on the applicable evidence?"

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The prosecution and defense will be looking for certain types of people to fill out the 12-person jury that will decide the fate of Diddy.

"The prosecution does not want a Diddy fan club in the jury box, or jurors who have had negative experiences with law enforcement or the government," Lovell noted. "They also do not want jurors that presume anyone going to a sex party has consented to everything that happens."

Diddy's defense is likely looking for "independent-minded jurors who don’t automatically trust government institutions, and who are less likely to be swayed by emotionally charged allegations," according to Levin. "They’ll want jurors who understand the difference between public image and provable criminal conduct."

The legal team will hone in on people who don't "have a negative view of consensual and lavish sex parties," Lovell explained. "They don’t want people who were victims of rape or sexual violence, fathers with young or teenage daughters."

However, both sides will want to avoid "jurors who have an alternative motive to sit on a jury – like seeking their 15 minutes of fame or in hope of getting a book deal."

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