Diddy The Day Has Come …. Jury Selection Will Be Major Challenge
Published
Diddy will finally face a jury of his peers who will determine his fate for the rest of his life … but finding the right jury — for each side — is gonna be a Herculean task.
The defense will have a much more difficult time, because there’s no such thing as an unbiased jury. Good luck finding a prospective juror in New York City — or anywhere else in this country, for that matter — that hasn’t formed an opinion about this case.
Since the public view is Diddy is guilty, prosecutors have a big edge. As for the defense, the way to go about asking questions regarding bias is NOT simply asking if a prospective juror can have an open mind. The way to do it … they ask if prospective jurors have ever held a view that was important to them but were able to change their mind, and they need to be specific.
The other thing that’s in play here is pre-trial publicity regarding celebrity sex tapes and sex involving minors. Lots of folks think both will play a role in the criminal case — it won’t. There are no celeb sex tapes and none of the criminal charges involve minors. Weirdly, that could actually help the defense, because a lot of jurors expect to hear about this and when they don’t they could feel prosecutors fell short.
This point became a big talking point between Harvey and Mark Geragos on the most recent “2 Angry Men” podcast.
There are other factors to consider … the Cassie video could seal Diddy’s fate, even though he’s not being charged for the brutality seen on the video. But, it certainly tells a powerful story … in TMZ’s latest “Downfall of Diddy” documentary, we presented the case to a mock jury and a number of jurors said their thought process began and ended with the video.
There are also logistical issues … a number of prospective jurors will be excused for hardship reasons — sitting through a 2-month trial during the summer is a deal breaker for many. Many will be excused because they can’t overcome their biases. So the pool will almost immediately shrink.
Race will inevitably play a huge part in the case — it’ll be interesting to see what each side wants in terms of diversity. Likewise, it’s a dice roll in deciding whether men or women will be harsher/more sympathetic to Diddy.
The judge will be asking questions to the jurors — not the lawyers — but with all the lawyers at counsel tables, keeping them quiet — well, good luck.
