Altoids, K-Pop, and a Harry Potter wand: The strangest moments of Diddy jury selection

There are moments of anguish. And a astonishing magnitude of laughter.

Throughout the week, a random assortment of New Yorkers filed successful and retired of a national courtroom successful Manhattan aft receiving juror summonses for USA v Sean Combs.

Each prospective juror — astir 100 people, with doctors, schoolhouse teachers, clerks, and retirees among them — was warned that the eight-week proceedings would impact evidence of alleged intersexual trafficking and violence.

They've each besides been asked to picture immoderate idiosyncratic trauma that could trigger a bias against the rapper, who has maintained his innocence.

"It takes a batch of healing," 1 pistillate told the justice of being astir raped 3 years ago by a alien successful the Bronx.

Despite these harrowing moments — and the imaginable life condemnation hanging implicit the millionaire euphony mogul — determination person besides been galore moments of levity during assemblage selection, which is expected to reason Friday.

Laughter has breached retired successful the different somber courtroom much than a twelve times, including from Combs himself.

Here are immoderate of those lighter moments.

A Tolkien gesture

"I work done the radical and places list, which is respective pages long," US District Judge Arun Subramanian told the parties earlier the archetypal 30 prospective jurors filed into his courtroom Monday.

"I felt similar I was speechmaking an appendix from, like, 'The Lord of the Rings," cracked Subramanian, who is presiding implicit the trial.

The justice was referencing a printed database of much than 200 names that was handed to each prospect. It includes every sanction that whitethorn beryllium referenced during the trial, Kanye West and Kid Cudi among them.

The database includes stumpers, specified arsenic "Mike Myers." Four radical adjacent to the proceedings — who were not allowed to remark by sanction — were incapable to corroborate if this was the histrion of "Shrek" and Austin Powers fame. One thought it "probably" was, but could not picture the context.

No Altoids for you

During a interruption successful assemblage enactment Monday, Combs' assemblage enactment consultant, Linda Moreno, was returning to her spot astatine the defence array straight successful beforehand of Combs' seat.

Combs gestured astatine the small tin of Altoids she carried, arsenic if to inquire for a mint. Moreno began opening the tin. Then her eyes met those of 2 national marshals who sat straight down Combs.

The marshals dilatory shook their heads, "No," successful unison, the tin remained shut, and Moreno took her spot again.

Harry Potter and the purloined merch

Each prospective juror is asked whether they oregon immoderate important idiosyncratic successful their beingness has had immoderate interaction with instrumentality enforcement.

On Monday, this question prompted a erstwhile parochial schoolhouse teacher from the Bronx to admit to her juvenile shoplifting record.

"Um, I was astatine Universal Studios," she began. "I deliberation I was successful Harry Potter World. So, they took maine to the backmost and, um, they benignant of, like, enactment maine done each the process."

She was 16, and a lawyer yet got the lawsuit reduced to "just a fine," she told the justice with an embarrassed-sounding laugh. Many of the defence lawyers and prosecutors couldn't defy smiling. Combs, too, smiled.

Then the justice broached the question connected everyone's mind.

"OK," helium asked, arsenic if eliciting a ceremonial confession. "What did you take?"

"A wand," she answered.

As of Wednesday, the pistillate remained a contender for the jury.

Juror No. 420

"I'm going to bid you not to usage marijuana during this trial," the justice told a prospective juror who works arsenic a landlord successful the Bronx — and who said helium partakes nightly. "Are you going to beryllium capable to travel that instruction?"

As smiles flickered done the courtroom, the justice probed further, asking, "Would that beryllium hard for you?"

"Yes," came the reply from the witnesser box.

"It would be?" the justice pressed.

"Yep."

The prospective juror was excused from service.

The 51-year-old K-Pop stan

Prospective jurors were told to debar media reports astir Combs' lawsuit and pass the justice if they had heard thing astir it.

One 51-year-old caregiver practitioner said she had.

"I became alert due to the fact that this is my 2nd day, truthful you told america astir the case," she told the judge.

The country erupted successful laughter.

The pistillate aboriginal said that her media fare consisted astir exclusively of caregiver practitioner commercialized publications. She besides listens to stone and hip-hop, and appears to beryllium a subordinate of the BTS Army.

"I'm actively watching the performance of the radical called BTS, oregon Bangtan Boys," she said.

The judge's pal

Subramanian had the accidental to bask successful the praise of 1 prospective juror, an lawyer who said helium had personally known the justice for a decade.

The prospective juror said the 2 had worked unneurotic connected class-action cases. (Before becoming a national justice successful 2023, Subramanian was an lawyer astatine Susman Godfrey, wherever helium was progressive successful galore antitrust cases.)

"He is fair, helium is gregarious, helium is decent, and he's brilliant," helium said, ladling plaudits upon the judge. "But we person not ever agreed connected everything."

Subramanian yet dismissed him.

The feline who skipped questions due to the fact that helium was bushed aft binge-watching 'Andor'

The courtroom was enraptured by 1 prospective juror, a 64-year-old Black antheral who works arsenic an X-Ray technician.

He recounted past interactions with instrumentality enforcement, including the clip helium erstwhile "got into a scuffle" aft a misunderstanding successful a laundromat, and different juncture wherever a constabulary serviceman accused him of failing to beryllium helpful.

Subramanian said the antheral appeared to person omitted details connected his written questionnaire. Asked astir it, the prospective juror said helium was bushed due to the fact that helium had slumber apnea and was up precocious binge-watching "Andor," the caller "Star Wars" amusement connected Disney+.

"What are you going to bash erstwhile you are selected arsenic a juror and not beryllium capable to binge 'Andor?'" Subramanian asked.

"It's finished, I'm finished with it," the prospective juror assured the judge.

Subramanian moved him on to the adjacent round.

Diddy's jailer

One of the past prospective jurors was connected the basal for a abbreviated clip aft explaining wherever helium worked.

"I enactment astatine MDC Brooklyn," helium said, referring to the national jailhouse wherever Combs is incarcerated.

There was an awkward intermission successful the courtroom arsenic everyone digested what helium had conscionable said. And past laughter.

"Can we get longer visiting hours?" Agnifilo asked.

"Are you successful complaint of that?" Subramanian asked the 20-something-year-old prospective juror, who was wearing a greenish hoodie.

"Nope," the prospective juror answered.

He was dismissed for cause.

If you are a subsister of intersexual assault, you tin telephone the National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-4673) oregon sojourn its website to person confidential support.