UPDATE (Nov. 3): The Second Circuit Court of Appeals granted Combs’ unopposed motion to expedite his appeal on Monday (Nov. 3). Combs’ first appellate brief is due next month, and arguments are tentatively on track for April.
PREVIOUSLY: Sean “Diddy” Combs is trying to expedite his criminal appeal, saying he could be close to getting out of prison by the time his case is heard if forced to follow the typical, drawn-out argument timeline.
Combs is challenging both his July conviction and the resulting four-year prison sentence for arranging the drug-fueled sex marathons, known as “freak-offs,” between his girlfriends and male escorts. Jurors found Combs guilty of illegal prostitution, but they acquitted him of more serious racketeering and sex-trafficking charges.
As is the case in much of the court system, appellate procedure is usually slow. In the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, where Combs’ case will be heard, it takes nearly a year and a half on average to get a criminal appeal decided.
Combs’ lawyers don’t want to wait that long. They say in a Wednesday (Oct. 29) court filing that he could complete most of his prison sentence during the typical appeal timeline; Combs is getting credit for the year he’s already spent in jail, plus the sentence could be further trimmed down for good behavior or participation in a drug abuse rehab program.
“An expedited briefing and argument schedule is critical to ensure that Mr. Combs’s appeal of his sentence does not become moot while the appeal is pending,” writes his attorney, Alexandra Shapiro. “To ensure that Mr. Combs could meaningfully benefit from any appellate ruling vacating his sentence, we have proposed a schedule that would expedite this court’s consideration of Mr. Combs’s appeal.”
Shapiro suggests that the lawyers submit all their legal briefs by March and deliver oral arguments in April — that is, she wants the case heard just six months after Combs’ notice of appeal last week.
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Wednesday’s court filing says prosecutors have consented to this expedited briefing schedule. This means it’s likely to get approved, absent scheduling conflicts from the Second Circuit.
A rep for the prosecution did not immediately return a request for comment. Shapiro said in a statement to Billboard, “Sean’s appeal will challenge the unfair use of the Mann Act, an infamous statute with a sordid history, to prosecute him for sex with consenting adults.”
The Mann Act, which makes it illegal to transport people across state lines for prostitution, indeed has an ugly past. Originally called the White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910, it has its roots in a government campaign to criminalize interracial relationships. Combs’ legal team said from the beginning of the case that Mann Act prostitution counts were improperly tacked onto his sex-trafficking indictment, and this argument has taken center stage since Combs defeated the heftier charges at trial.
