Last week prosecutors in Bad Boy Entertainment CEO, Sean 'Diddy' Combs' human trafficking and RICO trial sought to remove one of the Black jurors because of inconsistencies regarding their residency during the preliminary hearings [click here if you missed that].
Now Diddy is arguing for a mistrial if the juror is kicked out...
From TMZ
The rapper's legal team filed a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian Sunday evening ... claiming that -- while the Court might believe the prosecution's questions about a juror's inconsistent answers during voir dire are sincere -- the government is just finding pretense to dismiss a juror because of their race.
Diddy's team says by putting the dismissal attempt into the context of the overarching proceedings, it's easy to see that they're trying "to take advantage of an opportunity to strike yet another black male from the jury."
The juror's inconsistent answers about their residency during voir dire, Diddy's team says, doesn't necessarily mean they're not fit to serve on an a jury ... and, they cite Judge Subramanian's own words from Friday when he said "the subject matter of what was being addressed is so far afield from the juror's performance."
However, Diddy's team adds, the judge changed his mind by the afternoon ... signaling his intent to dismiss the juror without further inquiry -- and, Diddy's side feels there's no justification for it.
By dismissing a juror of color, Diddy argues, the people of color will be less likely to serve on a jury in the future.
Diddy's side also lays out a series of alleged abuses by the government during their investigation into him ... claiming law enforcement used excessive force during the raids on his properties and investigators steadily leaked "false and prejudicial" information to the public.
His demand is clear ... Diddy says that if the Court insists on dismissing this one particular juror, then he believes he deserves a mistrial.
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