“The defense has to be feeling good” — Legal expert says judge could declare mistrial if juror drama spirals further in Diddy trial
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ ongoing trial started trending on June 30, 2025, when Judge Arun Subramanian received two notes from the jury members during deliberations. One of them featured the jury claiming that a juror, who was a 51-year-old scientist living in Manhattan, could not follow the judge’s instructions.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani shared with BBC News on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, what might happen if similar issues continue from the side of the jury.
During the latest conversation, Rahmani stated that the judge would have two options in response to the juror drama, including dismissing or replacing the juror. Neama also mentioned that the judge can declare a mistrial or start everything again. Rahmani additionally referred to how Diddy’s defense team would feel in this situation and said:
“The defense has to be feeling good right now.”
According to CBS News, the panel of jurors included eight men and four women. Notably, the defense team attempted to convince the judge to provide an expansive response after he repeated the instructions to the jury members. However, the prosecutors refused since the jurors might get confused, and Judge Arun Subramanian also agreed to the same.
The defense team also argued with the judge, as they were reportedly not satisfied with his response, following which the judge questioned the defense on whether they would follow his instructions. One of Diddy’s attorneys responded by saying:
“Of course I can do what your honor is asking.”
On the first day of the deliberations, the judge also told the jurors that the foreperson should use a note to inform in case there are any other issues on their side.
Judge orders attorneys in Diddy trial to provide the necessary transcripts
On the latest day of Diddy’s trial, the jury sought transcripts and sent a note during the morning hours. The prosecution and defense reviewed the transcripts to find the details the jury requested to proceed in the case, as per CNN.
The transcript sections included Sean Combs’ ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura’s testimony about the assault that happened at the InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles and the freak-offs that reportedly involved male escort Daniel Phillip. Daniel’s testimony was also featured in the transcript sections, where Phillip opened up on the Essex Hotel incident associated with Cassie.
According to CNN, Daniel Phillip claimed in his testimony that he was allegedly paid to get intimate with Cassie Ventura. Apart from this, Daniel told the court that there were a few instances where Sean Combs reportedly used a phone and camcorder to record everything when Phillip and Cassie got intimate with each other.
As per the latest updates from the trial shared by CNN, the attorneys were told to provide the transcript excerpts linked to the InterContinental Hotel assault to the jury members by 1 p.m. ET on July 1, 2025.
The judge additionally declared that the transcripts would feature everything that happened before and after the assault incident. Details of Cassie Ventura’s Instagram post would also be provided to the jury members, where the dancer and actress spoke about the surveillance video that was reportedly captured at the InterContinental Hotel.
As per BBC News, Diddy has been in a holding cell in the courthouse and was initially taken to the Brooklyn-based Metropolitan Detention Center after his arrest in 2024.
