Why jury selection in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' trial will be more challenging than your average case

The newly unsealed federal indictment charges Sean Diddy Combs with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and interstate transportation for prostitution. Combs abused, threatened and coerced victims to fulfill his sexual desires, protect his reputation and conceal his conduct. Graphic details. In the indictment accused Combs and his associates of allegedly forcing female victims to engage in sex acts with commercial sex workers. Combs allegedly planned and controlled the sex performances which he called freak offs and he often electronically recorded them. Combs is accused of using drugs to keep his victims compliant among other tactics. He was violent and he subjected victims of physical emotional and verbal abuse so that they would participate in the freak offs earlier this year. Law enforcement raided homes owned by combs in Miami and L *** seizing *** cache of weapons and digital recordings along with other evidence. He's not guilty. He's innocent of these charges. Combs defense attorney firm in his client's innocence to his great credit. He voluntarily came to New York. Not *** lot of defendants do that. The rapper appeared in court Tuesday afternoon and joined by family members seen arriving earlier if he's convicted. Prosecutors say he faces up to life in prison. He's going to fight this with all of his energy and all of his might and the full confidence of his lawyers. I'm Laura Aguirre reporting.

Updated: 10:47 AM CDT May 5, 2025

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Why jury selection in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' trial will be more challenging than your average case

Updated: 10:47 AM CDT May 5, 2025

Editorial Standards ⓘ

Sean Combs, a music mogul who once topped the charts before experiencing his headline-grabbing fall, is in a New York court on Monday to watch as attorneys attempt to select a jury of his peers who will decide his fate amid a slew of federal charges.The challenge, says one expert: Finding a jury that will listen to the facts and, to the best of their ability, render a fair verdict for a man who is a defendant, not a man known to many as Diddy.“This is the rare case where you have to go into it assuming that every potential juror knows who the defendant is and knows something about the case and probably has some predisposition about the case,” CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said in a recent interview. “And so the task of jury selection is to weed out people who simply cannot put aside what they already know and believe and can’t render a fair verdict.”Combs faces five counts on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted on all counts, he could face life in prison.Combs, who has been in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn since his September 2024 arrest, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.CNN previously reported that the pool of prospective jurors could be questioned on topics that include their views on sex with multiple partners, drugs and hip-hop. They may also be asked their feelings, beliefs or experiences related to intimate partner violence, cheating in a relationship, prostitution, the distribution of illegal drugs and the music industry, according to court filings reviewed by CNN.Headlines about the case have at times focused on its more lurid details, like the roughly 1,000 bottles of baby oil and personal lubricant seized from his home during a March 2024 search conducted by federal authorities. Then there’s the dozens of civil cases that have been filed against Combs from alleged victims, including people who were minors at the time of the alleged incidents, who claim they were drugged and sexually assaulted by the embattled music mogul. (Combs has denied all the allegations.)While the civil suits are not part of Combs’ federal criminal trial, it will be a challenge to know how much, if at all, jurors are familiar with them.“It’s become almost a universal punchline that nobody wants to be associated with Sean Combs,” Honig, a former federal and state prosecutor, said. “I think that’s a concern for the defense, but there always is this sort of fascination with celebrities, good or bad. And there are people whose judgment can be clouded a bit either way.”For example, he said, the prosecution might attempt to remove from a pool any prospective juror who seems to idolize Combs or “has remained loyal to (him) as a fan.” Alternately, they may also attempt to remove a potential juror who “displays some negativity towards the alleged victims and their motives.”Prosecutors and defense will both try to fill the jury box with individuals they believe are inclined to see the case in their favor.The voir dire process involves two types of dismissals – so-called for cause dismissals and peremptory strikes. The judge determines those excused for cause while attorneys for both sides are allowed a certain number of premptory strikes, which are used strategically.“This is part of the strategic game that we’ll see playing out,” Honig said.Combs’ trial is expected to last several weeks.Once the jury is seated, the judge will instruct them to avoid media coverage of the case for the duration of the trial to help ensure the jury’s verdict is based strictly upon the testimony and exhibits received in evidence at trial.This is an instruction that has become more difficult – if not impossible – in the age of TikTok and social media, Honig said, and is “especially a challenge for the defense because the coverage of the case has been so overwhelmingly – I’m not saying unduly – but overwhelmingly negative towards Sean Combs.”That said, “our courts are equipped for this,” he emphasized.“There’s nothing that the courts haven’t dealt with before, but it’s a challenge.”

NEW YORK —

The challenge, says one expert: Finding a jury that will listen to the facts and, to the best of their ability, render a fair verdict for a man who is a defendant, not a man known to many as Diddy.

“This is the rare case where you have to go into it assuming that every potential juror knows who the defendant is and knows something about the case and probably has some predisposition about the case,” CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said in a recent interview. “And so the task of jury selection is to weed out people who simply cannot put aside what they already know and believe and can’t render a fair verdict.”

Combs faces five counts on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. If convicted on all counts, he could face life in prison.

Combs, who has been in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn since his September 2024 , has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

CNN previously reported that the pool of prospective jurors could be questioned on topics that include their views on sex with multiple partners, drugs and hip-hop. They may also be asked their feelings, beliefs or experiences related to intimate partner violence, cheating in a relationship, prostitution, the distribution of illegal drugs and the music industry, according to court filings reviewed by CNN.

Headlines about the case have at times focused on its more lurid details, like the roughly 1,000 bottles of baby oil and personal lubricant seized from his home during a March 2024 search conducted by federal authorities. Then there’s the dozens of civil cases that have been filed against Combs from alleged victims, including people who were minors at the time of the alleged incidents, who claim they were drugged and sexually assaulted by the embattled music mogul. (Combs has denied all the allegations.)

While the civil suits are not part of Combs’ federal criminal trial, it will be a challenge to know how much, if at all, jurors are familiar with them.

“It’s become almost a universal punchline that nobody wants to be associated with Sean Combs,” Honig, a former federal and state prosecutor, said. “I think that’s a concern for the defense, but there always is this sort of fascination with celebrities, good or bad. And there are people whose judgment can be clouded a bit either way.”

For example, he said, the prosecution might attempt to remove from a pool any prospective juror who seems to idolize Combs or “has remained loyal to (him) as a fan.” Alternately, they may also attempt to remove a potential juror who “displays some negativity towards the alleged victims and their motives.”

Prosecutors and defense will both try to fill the jury box with individuals they believe are inclined to see the case in their favor.

The voir dire process involves two types of dismissals – so-called for cause dismissals and peremptory strikes. The judge determines those excused for cause while attorneys for both sides are allowed a certain number of premptory strikes, which are used strategically.

“This is part of the strategic game that we’ll see playing out,” Honig said.

Combs’ trial is expected to last several weeks.

Once the jury is seated, the judge will instruct them to avoid media coverage of the case for the duration of the trial to help ensure the jury’s verdict is based strictly upon the testimony and exhibits received in evidence at trial.

This is an instruction that has become more difficult – if not impossible – in the age of TikTok and social media, Honig said, and is “especially a challenge for the defense because the coverage of the case has been so overwhelmingly – I’m not saying unduly – but overwhelmingly negative towards Sean Combs.”

That said, “our courts are equipped for this,” he emphasized.

“There’s nothing that the courts haven’t dealt with before, but it’s a challenge.”

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