Jurors in the Diddy Trial Sent out Several Notes During Deliberation — What Did They Need?

Jury deliberations for the Sean "Diddy" Combs sex trafficking case started eight weeks after the trial began. During that time, jurors heard shocking testimonies from Cassie Ventura, rapper Kid Cudi, Diddy's assistant, various experts, and more. Because it is a federal trial, the legal proceedings couldn't be televised. That didn't stop various journalists from taking the time to exhaustively report on what was happening each day.

“You will now retire to decide the case,” Judge Arun Subramanian said before deliberations were underway on June 30, 2025. Their first job was to elect a foreperson and send a note to the judge letting him know who they chose. After that was complete, the jury proceeded to send out more notes during the course of the first day. Here's what we know about the Diddy trial notes.

According to ABC News, the jury deliberated for 70 minutes before sending out a note about Juror 25. The other jurors were concerned that Juror 25 couldn't follow the judge's instructions. The foreperson asked the judge to speak with this person privately. After giving each side 10 minutes to discuss how they wanted to address the issue with Juror 25, Judge Subramanian came to a decision.

He told the jury to keep deliberating and reminded them of his instructions regarding the law. The judge said he would have a chat with Juror 25 if the issue persisted. Both the defense and prosecution submitted proposals to the judge. He opted to go with the state's proposal, which was aligned with his. This was typed up court letterhead and given to the jury.

If the problems with Juror 25 continue, they could be labeled a stealth juror. Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital that a stealth juror is a juror who "cannot follow your honor’s instructions." She went on to say the judge can "admonish the juror, but if they still refuse to follow instructions, his only real options are to dismiss the juror under Rules 23 and 24 and replace them with an alternate."

If Judge Subramian does this, it will "create an appellate issue," or could lead to a mistrial. "The defense can't be feeling good right now," she said. The jury sent a third note, which was addressed on day two of deliberations. They wanted to know whether it is considered "distribution" if a person is handed drugs by another after asking for said drugs. The judge said yes.