Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has submitted a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian claiming that the government wants to get rid of one of the African-American jurors only because of the race, and that he wants a mistrial if the judge bangs his gavel for the dismissal.
What happened with the juror?
One of the jurors in the high-profile case with sexual harassment case of Diddy is being considered to face dismissal from the court due to conflicting statements about residency, raising concerns about the safety and honesty that the jury should hold. Juror number 6, the 41-year-old African-American man, claimed he lived in a New York apartment during the weekdays. However, the statements changed to being relocated to New Jersey to stay with his girlfriend, and at other times, he claimed to have been living with his girlfriend or aunt in the Bronx.
Diddy demands a mistrial...
Diddy submitted a letter, stating that the court may believe the prosecutor's judgment, but the government wants “to take advantage of an opportunity to strike yet another black male from the jury." Furthermore, he has claimed that the inconsistent answers about residency do not make the male unfit to serve on the jury, according to TMZ. While the judge had made up his mind to order the dismissal after the evidence emerged, the defendants think the decision is unjustifiable.
Diddy has argued that if the court dismisses the juror, people of colour would not serve on the jury in the future. This is the third time that the Bad Boy Records founder has asked for a mistrial in the particular case. According to the various reports, out of 12 jurors, 8 are people of colour. The Daily Mail reports that 5 are African-American in the jury. In the trial, the rules would be followed as given by the New York State, and the court has the authority to replace any juror who violates the rules.