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Sean Combs— Case Archive
2025 Federal Trialtrial-daytrial-dayJury Selection Day 1 - May 5, 2025The court set expert-testimony limits, adopted a confidential juror-sidebar process, and addressed uncertainty over victim three's availability.
2025 Federal TrialJury Selection Day 2 →

Jury Selection Day 1 - May 5, 2025

Evidentiary Rulings, Juror Privacy, and Victim Three Availability

Judge Arun Subramanian
6Proceedings
2Pages
0Witnesses
156Lines
Jury Selection Day 1

The court set expert-testimony limits, adopted a confidential juror-sidebar process, and addressed uncertainty over victim three's availability.

Full day summary

The court set evidentiary boundaries for proposed expert testimony on drug effects and video analysis, and required advance notice if the defense might question a government witness about consensual sexual encounters. It also established a confidential sidebar process for prospective jurors raising sensitive matters. The court declined to require an immediate decision on whether the government would call victim three, directing continued contact efforts and leaving further argument open later in the week.

1. Jury Selection and Evidentiary Rulings

The court set evidentiary limits and confidential juror-sidebar procedures before jury selection.

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Procedural
Jury-Selection Planning Conference
30 lines
Procedural
Pretrial Evidentiary Rulings and Notice Protocol
40 lines

The court set a notice procedure for proposed questioning and limited the scope of two proposed defense experts.

Procedural
Juror-Privacy Sidebar Procedure
37 lines

The court set a confidential-sidebar procedure for sensitive juror questioning, and the defense agreed to forgo Mr. Combs's live transcript feed to preserve that confidentiality.

jury selection
Jury Selection Followed (Marker Only)
1 lines

Highlights

Pretrial Evidentiary Rulings and Notice ProtocolrulingThe court required the defense to give advance notice, after direct examination and before cross-examination, if it might ask a government witness about consensual sexual encounters, so any admissibility issue could be addressed outside the jury's presence.Pretrial Evidentiary Rulings and Notice ProtocolrulingThe court allowed Dr. Aoun to testify about the expected and unexpected effects of drugs and combinations, including blackouts and intoxication episodes, but barred opinions about Mr. Combs's own drug use, the effects on him, or the propriety of his prescriptions.Pretrial Evidentiary Rulings and Notice ProtocolrulingThe court partly granted the motion concerning Mr. McCourt, limiting him to technical analysis of video transcoding and modifications and barring specified testimony about broadcast videos, generalized transcoding, viewer perceptions, and video authenticity.Pretrial Evidentiary Rulings and Notice Protocol“Dr. Aoun will be permitted to testify about those three things that I just identified.”— Arun SubramanianThe court permitted limited expert testimony on drug effects while setting the boundaries of that testimony.Pretrial Evidentiary Rulings and Notice Protocol“Mr. McCourt should just stick to the facts of the analysis, what is the effect on a technological level of the transcoding or the other modifications he points to in his report.”— Arun SubramanianThe ruling confined the video expert's testimony to technical analysis rather than characterizations of how the videos portrayed Mr. Combs.Juror-Privacy Sidebar ProcedurerulingThe court established that prospective jurors with sensitive privacy concerns could address issues at sidebar, with limited counsel attendance and provisional sealing of those portions of the transcript subject to objection.

2. Witness Availability and Defense Access

Defense counsel sought a prompt decision on whether the government would call victim three because it could affect the defense opening statement. The court declined to require an immediate commitment and left the issue open for later argument.

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Procedural
Victim 3 Witness-Availability Conference
34 lines

The court addressed uncertainty over whether the government would call victim three and directed continued contact efforts while leaving open further argument later in the week.

Procedural
Defense Access to Defendant and Adjournment
14 lines

Highlights

Victim 3 Witness-Availability ConferencerulingThe court declined to require an immediate decision, directed the government to continue efforts to contact victim three and promptly inform the defense if it could decide, and left open further argument later in the week if necessary.
2025 Federal TrialJury Selection Day 2 →