After several days of intense questioning, the small group of people who will help decide the fate of Sean Diddy Combs has been selected.
Prosecutors, defense attorneys, and the judge agreed upon 12 jurors and several alternates on May 12 to serve as jury members for a closely watched trial, which could result in a lifetime prison sentence for the disgraced music mogul.
Combs, a defining force in the entertainment industry for decades, is facing federal charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty on all counts.
The trial will not be televised, but USA TODAY will bring you inside with details. Here’s what we know so far.
Diddy trial updates: Jury that could decide Combs’ fate is set; opening statements next
Who will be on Diddy’s jury?
The jurors selected represent a wide cross-section of the surrounding state of New York, with ages ranging from 30 to 74 years old.
One juror is a deli clerk at Gristedes grocery store; another is a dietary aide at a nursing home; and another is an administrative officer in the cyberterrorism office at the United Nations. One juror is a retired Verizon field tech.
Who did not make the Diddy jury?
As lawyers on either side attempted to find a class of people unbiased enough to deliver a fair verdict for one of the most famous men in music, potential candidates were struck down for a host of different reasons.
One potential juror was dismissed after sharing that he was arrested seven years ago for possession of marijuana. “If I asked you not to use marijuana during the trial, would that be hard for you?” Judge Arun Subramanian, who is overseeing the case, asked.
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The man responded that it would be a difficult request and he was dismissed.
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Another was disqualified when he revealed he had read a USA TODAY article about jury selection during the process, while a separate juror was axed over a response in her questionnaire indicating she thought Combs might have enough money to buy a way out of jail.
Most of the grilling revolved around jurors’ preconceived views of Combs based on news consumption and their experiences with law enforcement or sexual assault.
Shortly before the jury was finalized, Combs’ defense team claimed prosecutors were unfairly excluding Black jurors.
“Your honor, the government has struck seven Black people out of nine strikes, which we believe amounts to a pattern,” Marc Agnifilo, a lawyer for Combs, told the judge.
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Prosecutors, in response, called their selections “very diverse” with “many non-white” jurors. One prosecutor ran through neutral reasons as to why they made the strikes the way they did: One juror said he had a lack of candor with past incidents with police; Another juror had “meandering and inconsistent answers”; And another juror “tried to walk … back” her statement that Combs is likely guilty of domestic violence in her jury questionnaire by later saying that victims can jump on a “bandwagon.”
Subramanian denied the defense’s applications about the jury strikes, saying the defense has “failed to show purposeful discrimination.”
What is Diddy charged with?
Diddy is charged with two counts of sex trafficking, two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution and one count of racketeering.
Racketeering is the participation in an illegal scheme under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Statute, or RICO, as a way for the U.S. government to prosecute organizations contributing to criminal activity.
Using RICO law, which is typically aimed at targeting multi-person criminal organizations, prosecutors allege that Combs coerced victims, some of whom they say were sex workers, through intimidation and narcotics to participate in “freak offs” — sometimes dayslong sex performances that federal prosecutors claim they have video of.
Contributing: Taijuan Moorman
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Diddy trial jury selection: Who will be on Sean Combs’ jury?
