(NewsNation) — Sean “Diddy” Combs’ federal sex crimes trial jury selection continues with concerns jurors could drop out over the weekend. The court was dark Thursday.
Combs arrived in court at 9:09 a.m. ET. The imprisoned rapper, who is charged with federal crimes of sex trafficking, sexual assault and racketeering, acknowledged the press, public and continued to look back at the audience. The disgraced music mogul has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Jurors were not present in the courtroom, which was open to the public Friday.
Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, was in attendance. Ventura is the prosecution’s lead witness. She is expected to be the third witness. The first witness set to testify is a male escort, and a second witness hasn’t yet been identified.
Footage of Ventura being allegedly assaulted by Combs has been allowed by the judge for jurors to watch. Wigdor did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.
An attorney, Arick Fudali, partner at The Bloom Firm, also attended. The law firm represents two Combs accusers, Dawn Richard, formerly of pop group Danity Kane, and a man identified as “John Doe” in civil cases. It also represents a government witness who will testify in the federal trial.
Fudali spoke to NewsNation on Friday after court concluded for the day about concerns over potential jurors dropping out over the weekend.
“Selecting a fair and impartial jury is a very important aspect of a trial for both sides. The parties and the judge work very hard to select the right individuals to be the fact finders on the case,” he said.
Fudali continued, “In my experience trying high-profile sexual abuse cases in civil court, there is always a concern, especially when there are weekend or holiday gaps in the trial, that the selected jurors may drop out or just not show up. There is an even greater concern at this early stage that certain factors could cause a juror to second-guess their participation in a case like this with so much media attention, a high-profile defendant, the nature of the allegations and the length of the trial.”
However, the attorney noted that this should not cause a delay on Monday’s anticipated opening statement because the court is bringing “enough jurors in that even if a few drop out, there will be enough for jurors and alternates to be sworn in.”
The trial is expected to last eight weeks.
A juror wrote an email asking not to participate in the case, citing cold feet. The prosecution asked to strike her, and the defense agreed.
The plan is to have 12 jurors, six alternates and three backups.
Judge Arun Subramanian proposed juror strikes begin at 9 a.m. ET, and opening statements potentially could start at 9:30 a.m. Monday.
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Author: Diana Falzone
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