Niamh Shackleton
An expert has explained why the judge presiding over Diddy's trial issued a verbal warning to the rapper this week.
The rapper is currently on trial for racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges following his arrest in September 2024.
Diddy, real name Sean Combs, has remained behind bars ever since, despite his lawyers efforts to have him put on bail. They offered high stakes to have him freed ahead of his trial, but a judge dubbed the 'I Need A Girl' hitmaker as a flight risk.
Details of the trial, which started last month, have since been detailed in the media, including his ex girlfriend Cassie Ventura's statements.
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The celebrity pair dated on-and-off for ten years. Following their split, Ventura, who has just welcomed her third child, filed a civil suit against her ex accusing him of rape and physical abuse.
The case went on to be settled outside of court, with Ventura recently revealing that she received a settlement of $20 million from Diddy despite the fact he denied the allegations against him.
The rapper has also denied the federal charges that have been brought against him.
Seemingly Diddy has largely kept his head down during the trial, but he found himself in hot water with the judge yesterday (5 June) who threatened to have him removed from the courtroom.
Judge Arun Subramanian threatened to kick Diddy out of court for making facial expressions towards the jurors.
Reportedly the music mogul was seen nodding to people's testimonies and looking at the jury, something which the judge branded 'absolutely unacceptable'.
Subramanian went on to ask his defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo if this would happen again, to which Agnifilo replied: "No your honor, it's not going to happen again."
Speaking to UNILAD, Anthony Osso, attorney at the Cogdell Law Firm, explained why the judge made the threat to Diddy.
"Defendants are able to look at jurors, but when looking turns to glaring, judges will likely prohibit this conduct," said Osso.
"The reason being are concerns about jurors intimidation, especially in the case against Combs," he went on. "Combs has power, influence, and based on evidence presented to the jurors on trial, a propensity to act violent."
Osso added: "If jurors reasonably believed Combs is threatening them, it could sway them in their deliberations."
Cogdell Law Firm was founded by Dan Cogdell. Both Cogdell and Osso were defense lawyers for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial alongside Tony Buzbee, who represents plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Diddy.