Diddy's legal team suffered a major blow, this week, after Judge Arun Subramanian ruled against their request to block certain alleged evidence relating to his sex trafficking charges from trial. They argued that the prosecution introduced it too late and they didn't have enough time to properly prepare an adequate defense for it.
“It is impossible for the defense to investigate and respond to those new allegations in the next two weeks," they wrote in a filing obtained by HipHopDX. On the other hand, prosecutors argued the request was “a transparent attempt to narrow the scope of the proof against him at trial by any means necessary, and to yet again make a last-ditch effort to secure an adjournment of trial.”
Shooting down the request wasn't the first blow Subramanian handed Diddy's legal team in recent days. He also denied their attempt at pushing the trial back two months. He ruled that he didn't want to allow a “fishing expedition” for them to seek even more evidence, as caught by NBC News.
Diddy's Jury Selection Questions
In other news, TMZ published a number of questions Diddy's legal team intends to ask potential jurors, earlier this week. They will touch on topics of celebrity, sex, drugs, and more. They plan to ask, "Do you believe that wealthy people get away with things that the less wealthy do not?" as well as whether they have opinions about "hip hop rap music industry or artists in that genre?"
Authorities initially arrested Diddy on charges of alleged sex trafficking and racketeering in September of last year. He pleaded not guilty at the time and has continued to maintain his innocence in the months since. He's been awaiting trial at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York.
As Diddy's attempt at delaying the case failed, jury selection will begin on May 5th with opening statements coming on May 12.
