As the U.S. Department of Justice prepares for the sensationalized trial of Sean “Diddy” Combs on May 5, they have filed the questions they plan to ask prospective jurors.
Federal prosecutors have indicted the beleaguered Bad Boy boss on a trio of charges: sex trafficking, racketeering, and prostitution. He has been holed up since his arrest in September 2024 at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Some of the questions that the feds will ask Diddy jurors are routine
Some of the questions the U.S. Attorney’s Office plans to ask, according to the Daily Mail, are innocuous in nature, such as
- If jurors are regular consumers of police shows such as “Law and Order,” “CSI,” “Criminal Minds, “FBI” and similar programming.
- What other media sources do they subscribe to?;
- Whether any juror candidates have undertaken domestic violence training or classes.
Other questions to be asked of prospective jurors could be jarring
Other questions are deeper and possibly triggering:
- “If they had experienced any sexual assault or harassment in their lives;”
- “If they have been through a traumatic experience in their lives.”
According to the newspaper, jurors “may hear evidence in this case relating to acts of violence, including intimate partner violence and other assaults.”
As has been reported by multiple outlets, jurors can also be expected to view graphic sexual acts on video.
They are going to be asked, “Do you have any feelings, beliefs, or experiences relating to that aspect of the case that could affect your ability to be fair and impartial in this case?”
Some of the questions will get interesting, such as:
- “Federal attorneys also want the court to ask about paying commercial sex workers in exchange for sex;”
- “sex trafficking;”
- “personal feeling towards law enforcement;”
- “the distribution and use of illegal drugs and firearms.”
Many Americans are very sensitive or easily triggered when certain subjects are broached, particularly unreasonable or illegal search and seizures. Some of the key evidence federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security procured from Diddy’s mansions in Miami and Los Angeles is from cellphones, iPads and similar devices.
Therefore, prospective jurors will be asked: “Do you have any feelings, beliefs, or experiences regarding such searches by law enforcement that would influence your ability to evaluate this testimony fairly and impartially?”
Jury candidates will be asked about how police procured evidence
Some candidates could feel that federal agents overstepped their boundaries in securing some of the key evidence to be used in the trial.
“You may hear testimony in this case that law enforcement officers recovered certain evidence from cellular telephone records and iCloud accounts,” prosecutors’ filing stated. “These searches were perfectly legal.”
Some jurors may disagree with federal prosecutors on this case in regards to that issue, which is why they will ask the follow-up question: “Do you have any feelings, beliefs, or experiences regarding such searches by law enforcement that would influence your ability to evaluate this testimony fairly and impartially?”
