Jury instruction begins as judge charges the group of 8 men, 4 women
Sean “Diddy” Combs embraced the members of his legal defense team this morning shortly before proceedings began in his sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial.
Since jury selection began on May 5, the eight men and four women on the jury have spent 35 days in court between the selection process, testimony, and summations, with one juror replaced in the process with an alternate. Today will be the first day they can begin discussing the case among themselves.
Judge Arun Subramanian began the morning’s proceedings by instructing the jury on the law – a process known as charging the jury. The lengthy process of reading the jury charge is the last step before the jury can begin their deliberations.
“You have to decide which witnesses to believe and which facts are true,” Subramanian told the jury.
Subramanian noted that the jury could decide to fully disregard the testimony of a witness if they believe he or she intentionally provided false information on the stand.
“If you find that any witness has willfully testified falsely … you have the right to reject the testimony of that witness in its entirety,” Subramanian said. “A witness may be inaccurate or contradictory but be truthful or entirely credible in other parts of their testimony.”
Subramanian is now walking the jury through each of the counts in the indictment and what elements need to be proven for the jury to convict Combs, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
