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Sean "Diddy" Combs' legal team is requesting a mistrial after the judge overseeing the proceedings dismissed a Black juror.
On Monday morning, June 16, Judge Arun Subramanian ruled to dismiss Juror No. 6 after he reportedly provided inconsistent information about where he lived. According to Variety, the Black male juror filled out a questionnaire during jury selection in which he said he lived in the Bronx with his fiancée and baby daughter. However, during the trial, he told another juror during a break that he had recently moved into a home in New Jersey with his girlfriend.
“There are serious questions about the juror’s candor and the juror’s ability to follow the court’s instructions,” Subramanian said. “Removal of the juror is required, in this court’s view.”
Before Judge Subramanian made his ruling, Combs' legal team objected to the removal of the juror. The mogul's legal team sent a letter to the judge on Sunday night in which they voiced their opposition. They argued that their client "would be severely prejudiced" if one of the two only Black men on the jury were to be replaced. The jury has four white people and eight people of color with five Black people in total. Although they acknowledged the prosecution's inquiry about the juror's inconsistency is valid, Combs' team accused the government of taking "advantage of an opportunity to strike yet another black male from the jury."
“That part is important to me and my client,” Combs' attorney Xavier Donaldson said about the diversity of the jury during Friday's hearing. "I don’t generally play the race card unless I have it in my hand."
In the letter, Combs' team also requested a mistrial if the juror was dismissed. They noted that there was no evidence pointing to a bias or agenda in favor of or against either party in the trial. They also highlighted that the "only reason why this situation even came up is because of a statement that was made on the juror’s own volition to jury department staff in a friendly and in an offhand banter.”
This is the third time Combs' lawyers have asked for a mistrial. As of this report, the judge has not ruled on their request.