Diddy Trial: (LIVE UPDATES) Jury Enters Second Day of Deliberations.

What to know about the trial

• The 12-person jury has entered its second day of deliberations in Combs’ trial. They have already sent the judge five notes.
• Combs faces five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has vociferously denied the allegations against him.

Jury deliberating for second day

Jurors returned to the jury room today for day two of deliberations after completing five and a half hours yesterday.

They sent four notes to the judge, including a question about drug distribution, which the judge will answer after conferring with attorneys.

They went directly to the jury room and began deliberations around 9 a.m.

The jury has sent its fifth note

The jury sent its fifth note at around 10:27 a.m.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys returned to the courtroom, where they all looked at their phones and conferred about the note. Prosecutor Maurene Comey went to the defense table to chat with defense lawyer Teny Geragos.

Prosecutors were chatting and taking notes as the defense team huddled near the court artist.

Combs’ mother has entered the courtroom

Janice Combs has just arrived as we wait for the jury’s latest note to be read aloud. She had been waiting in the eighth-floor cafeteria. 

Jury note asked for testimony transcripts

The jury requested transcripts of testimony given by Cassie Ventura and Daniel Phillip, a sex worker who was hired for “freak offs” with Combs and Ventura.

They asked specifically for Ventura’s testimony about the March 2016 InterContinental Hotel assault, about when she and Combs were at the Cannes Film Festival and its aftermath, and about her “freak offs” with Phillip. The note also asked what Phillip told the court about a “freak off” at the Essex hotel.

Comey told the judge they reached an agreement on the Phillip testimony and one of the sections regarding the Cannes incident, though there was a dispute over where to cut off the events after the incident. The prosecution added that they are working through the testimony on the InterContinental hotel.

Court started with a heated debate on how to respond to the jury’s question

The morning started with a heated debate on yesterday’s jury question about a specific aspect of drug distribution. Both sides took the notes as critical opportunities to influence the response.

A note came in yesterday just before court closed for the day, asking whether an individual is considered a distributor if they gave substances to someone who asked for the drugs. Prosecutors pointed to lines on page 37 of the jury charge document, which said that distributing “simply means to deliver, to pass over, or to hand over something to another person.”

Combs is not charged with drug distribution specifically, but possession with intent to distribute is considered a predicate crime within his racketeering charge.

Defense attorney Marc Agnifilo argued that the answer didn’t go far enough, but U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian ultimately sided with the government on what to send back.

“I just listened to you and I have heard what you said,” Subramanian said to Agnifilo. “I don’t think your concern has any basis.”

S: NBC News

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