For the last 30 minutes, the lawyers have been hunched over their laptops in the courtroom following the latest, as-yet unspecified note from the jury. Combs is on a laptop with one of his lawyers.

The judge and jury have not yet entered the room.

The jury has sent back a note.

This is the jury's fifth note since deliberations began Monday, including the first note that named the foreperson.

U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian said he plans to answer the jury’s question from yesterday about narcotics distribution by referring them to a section of their legal instructions.

“The word ‘distribution’ means actual, constructive, or attempted transfer. To distribute simply means to deliver, to pass over, or to hand over something to another person, or to cause it to be delivered, passed on, or handed over to another. Distribution does not require a sale,” the instructions state.

In their third note yesterday, the jury asked, “If a recipient wants, requests, or asks for controlled substances, and an individual hands over controlled substances to the requester, has the individual who hands over the controlled substances distributed?”

Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo objected to the judge's instruction, saying he doesn’t “believe it goes far enough” to answer the jury’s question.

“The court is about to make something that amounts to a mistake,” he argued. “Can I give your honor an example?”

“No,” Judge Subramanian replied. “Can you do what I am asking?”

Subramanian denied the defense’s request to modify the language in the response, saying it would “confuse” the jury further.

“This is an attempt to mislead the jury,” prosecutor Maurene Comey argued.

Combs stroked his chin and looked directly at the judge while the argument played out. When the judge denied his lawyer’s request, he stared at Agnifilo.

The structure of the verdict form instructs jurors to only consider the drug offenses and other underlying crimes “if and only if” they find Combs guilty of the racketeering conspiracy.

Jurors in the trial of Sean Combs return to Manhattan federal court today for their first full day of deliberations after sending several notes to the judge on Monday.

Little more than an hour into deliberations, jurors sent a note to Judge Arun Subramanian that said they were concerned that one of them, Juror #25, “cannot follow your honor’s instructions.” The note didn't say what led the other jurors to raise concerns. The judge sent back his own note reminding the jury that they have a “duty to deliberate” and an “obligation to follow my instructions on the law.”

Then several hours later, the jury sent another a note asking for clarity about the drug allegations that underpin the racketeering conspiracy charge.

“If a recipient wants, requests, or asks for controlled substances, and an individual hands over controlled substances to the requester, has the individual who hands over the controlled substances distributed?” the note said.

The note specifically referenced page 36 of the jury instructions, which reads: “The elements of distributing or possessing with intent to distribute a controlled substance are: 1. The conspirator distributed a controlled substance, or possessed a controlled substance with intent to distribute it; 2. The conspirator did so knowingly and intentionally; and 3. The substance was in fact a controlled substance.”

The verdict form instructed jurors to consider the drug offenses and the other racketeering predicates “if and only if” they find Combs guilty of racketeering conspiracy.

Prosecutor Maurene Comey argued that the judge should tell the jury that someone asking for drugs does not have an impact on how the jury should view the allegations. Whether or not the drugs were requested, she argued, does not change that the actions amount to illegal distribution of a controlled substance. Comey had previously argued that the jury can convict Combs for racketeering conspiracy based on two instances of narcotics distribution alone.

“There is clearly some misunderstanding about what the recipient thought or did. It doesn't,” Comey told the judge.

Combs’ attorneys requested more time to consider how to respond to the question.

Judge Subramanian brought the jury back into the courtroom, thanked them for their service and reminded them to avoid any news about the case. He also told them that they would have an answer to their question about narcotics distribution by Tuesday morning.

There have been about five-and-a-half hours of deliberations so far. Jurors were instructed on Monday to arrive at court Tuesday and go straight to the jury room to resume their deliberations at 9 a.m. Subramanian will convene the attorneys this morning to discuss his response to the jury’s question about the drug allegations.