Choose dismisses juror : NPR

Choose Arun Subramanian, who’s overseeing the federal felony trial in opposition to hip-hop tycoon Sean Combs, has dismissed one of many jurors who has been listening to the case and changed him with an alternate juror.

The unique juror, often called Juror No. 6, has given inconsistent solutions about his place of residence. When he was seated on the jury, he mentioned that he lived in The Bronx, a borough of New York Metropolis and an space inside the bounds of the Southern District of New York, along with his fiancée. Final week, nevertheless, the juror advised a courtroom employees member that he not too long ago moved in along with his girlfriend in New Jersey, which is exterior the jurisdiction of SDNY. Prosecutors expressed issues that the person was not being candid.

Subramanian dismissed Juror No. 6 as courtroom concluded on Friday afternoon; on Monday, the decide upheld that call.

The unique juror, a person of colour, might be changed with an alternate juror who’s a white man. The protection crew had vigorously argued to permit Juror No. 6 to remain, saying that changing him would pose an unfair drawback to Combs as a Black defendant.

In his ruling Monday, Subramanian mentioned that he took the protection’s argument severely, however in the end that his issues in regards to the juror’s “candor and whether or not he shaded solutions to get on and keep on the panel” of such a high-profile case prevailed.

Prosecutors have additionally repeatedly raised issues that they’ve noticed Combs nodding at jurors, visibly reacting to testimony and in any other case making an attempt to have interaction with the jury as federal witnesses have testified in opposition to him. Earlier within the trial, Subramanian admonished Combs and advised the protection crew that their shopper wanted to cease such habits, saying that it was “completely unacceptable.” The decide added that Combs can be barred from the courtroom if he continued. Final Friday, the prosecution raised the difficulty once more. Subramanian mentioned whereas it was unattainable to police each response within the courtroom, Combs had beforehand been warned and will know the best way to behave.