The judge delays Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs jury selection, worried about ‘cold feet’

The selection of the jury for Sean Combs’ racketeering and sex trade attempt was delayed on Friday because some jurors could receive “cold feet” before the top-class case.

The judge Arun Subramanian, who monitors the case, commented that the jury, if they were selected before the weekend, could become restless and that the committee could submit the committee before the start of the court proceedings on Monday. The decision came after a potential jury sent an email to the court to leave out the committee for “questions of personal well-being”, said the defense.

Twelve jurors and six deputies will be selected and sworn in at the Federal District Court in Manhattan on Monday before openings opened in the case.

The jury is commissioned to decide whether the music mogul was a “swinger” with unorthodox sexual tendencies, or a predator who started his power to abuse victims in drug -bound encounters. When he was convicted, Mr. Combs, who was once a famous figure in the music industry, could spend the rest of his life in prison.

The jury will be anonymous, which means that their names are not disclosed before the public court. However, they are not confiscated, so it is up to you to protect yourself against the case from reporting on the media and another chatter.

For over three days, dozens of New Yorkers took the witness stand in the courtroom, where they were asked to describe in detail what they had seen on the case against the artist and the managers who have been the subject of swirling allegations of sexual abuse in the past year and a half.

Mr. Combs, who vehemently contested the allegations, observed the potential sworn what they had learned what they had learned on the Internet and through word of mouth: in news reports, in group-text talks with friends, in speculative chatter between employees, Joe Rogan’s Podcast and in one case in a satirical song of a Russian comedian in one case a satirical song.

In the survey of some potential jurors, judge Subramanian asked about her own social media activities.

“Do you remember retweeting a meme about Mr. Combs or a joke about Mr. Combs?” The judge asked a man.

“Probably not, yes,” he replied.

Many of the candidates were firmly convinced that they were able to put a previous exposure to the case to make a decision exclusively about what is being brought to court.

“I am old enough to have heard many stories in court, and if the evidence is actually presented, things are things, you know – the truth comes out,” said a potential jury.

Mr. Combs was transferred from a prison in the Sunset Park district of Brooklyn every day and has a sweater of the crew neck, pants and lace-free shoes every day, which is permitted by the judge.

The public prosecutor has accused Mr. Combs of having used violence and financial manipulation over a period of years to force several women into sexual sexual marathons with drug footing. His lawyers have argued that the encounters, which are sometimes referred to as “freak-offs”, were completely mutual and accused the government of penetrating Mr. Combs private life with long-term friends.

His hair gray and his beard trimmed, the defendant nodded when potential jury told about her past, and he smiled when a candidate found that he saw the show “American Idol” religious.

A few times, Mr. Combs showed obvious dismayed head or looked like a sigh, when the jury’s candidates announced that in the center of the government’s sexual case, she had seen film material with the center of the government, in which he had attacked his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura.

Many of the potential jurors said they had seen the parts of the film material published by CNN last year. It shows Mr. Combs, who only bears a towel, Ms. Ventura – the star witnesses of the government in the case, a singer named Cassie – near a hotel elevator bench.

A potential juror said in a questionnaire to check those who could be selected for the panel that the video “appears to be an angry, enemy person who claims. Another wrote that the attack” could be “damn evidence”, although “of course everyone was considered innocent until they have been guilty.” Sorry.)

The familiarity with the film material was not necessarily disqualified. Judge Subramanian asked potential jurors who had seen the video if it dipped their judgment. Did it make you an opinion on Mr. Combs’ guilt or innocence?

“No, it didn’t make me form an opinion,” replied a woman who had seen pictures of the attack in the evening news. “Basically, I just watched it and was surprised or shocked.”

If a jury candidate reveals the bias – to Mr. Combs or the public prosecutor – or did not seem certain whether they could be impartial, the judge put them out of the pool.

A woman was excused after recognizing daily discussions about the case between employees may have influenced her view of Mr. Combs. “My bias is, I have two daughters,” she said. “When we discuss it, I think of my children.”

Another woman was removed after she had found in her questionnaire that Mr. Combs had “used a lot of money at his own discretion” and “could possibly buy his way out of prison”.

The judge also asked potential jurors whether they had experience with law enforcement authorities that they could possibly affect criminal prosecution? How about sexual assault or domestic abuse?

Some discussed personal reports about sexual abuse that did not disqualify as long as the candidates agreed that these experiences would not dye their approach in the event.

Some people were cut with the understanding of English due to health conditions, financial hardship or problems. A man admitted that it would be difficult to do without marijuana about an eight -week legal proceedings. Another man said that he worked in the metropolitan dation center in Brooklyn, the prison in which Mr. Combs was recorded.

And a woman detailed her crime about the discussion about sexual situations in a case in which the alleged sex trade with male prostitutes is plentiful. “I could pass out or black,” she told the judge.

As part of the screening process, a list of people who could be mentioned in court gave the jury pool to see if someone had conflicts. Some on the list were known to have accused Mr. Combs of misconduct. Some were important celebrities and triggered online speculations on how these numbers could occur in the case.

The jury selected on Monday comes from a selected list of 43 candidates who have crossed the first screening phase.

In the past few days, Mr. Combs defense team has been involved in eight lawyers. The latest additions include Brian Steel, who, in this case, rose to national importance due to the defense of the rapper Young Thug in Atlanta and Nicole Westmoreland, which in this case represented another defendant. The government has six prosecutors in their team.

The government team was the focus of a dramatic exchange in the judge on Tuesday in the judge in which judge Subramanian prepared another lawyer who represented Mr. Combs, Mark Geragos, even though he is officially not a member of the defense team.

According to a copy of the conversation in the Robation room, judge Subramanian Mr. Geragos admonished a comment that he made in a podcast he made with Harvey Levin, a founder of TMZ. During a discussion about the case in the podcast, Mr. Geragos described criminal prosecution as a “six-pack of white women”.

“I think this is outrageous and this would not be tolerated by a lawyer anywhere all over the country,” said judge Subramanian. “And I’ll watch and I’ll listen.

Mr. Geragos did not agree that his comment was inappropriate, and told the judge that Mr. Combs was a black man who “has the feeling that the public prosecutor’s office is attacked”. (The government has denied that Mr. Combs will be prosecuted because of his breed.)

But Mr. Geragos did not refuse the judge, who was on his show.

“As long as they subscribe, I’m all for it,” he said.