Diddy scores major legal victory as federal judge throws out evidence against him

This Friday, November 22, a third bail hearing is scheduled for rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs. For this hearing, the judge in charge of the case hinted that he would not consider the evidence obtained during the search of his cell, which represents a victory for the rapper.

Judge Arun Subramanian also ruled that the prosecution must destroy its copies of the 19 pages of notes obtained as a result of the raid. Combs appeared in court on Tuesday, apparently more relaxed than in previous hearings.

The hearing was called after prosecutors made these allegations, in a hearing held Monday night to denounce that Combs' attorney-client privilege had been violated when items from his cell were seized during a Bureau of Prisons raid, which the mogul's attorney called "outrageous government conduct" and a "violation of due process".

The defense further claimed that the seizure included notes Combs had written to his attorneys with some strategies adopted by his legal team.

"When we visit him in jail, we have lists," Combs' attorney Marc Agnifilo said in court Tuesday. "Everything that's in these notebooks are things we discuss: trial strategy, who we should talk to, to undermine the credibility of a witness. We talk about everything with Mr. Combs."

Prosecutors argued that most of these items were taken during the raid, which the government said was planned at the facility prior to Combs' arrest and was not related to the case and was not targeted at specific inmates, so they were not legally privileged.

Assistant US Attorney Christy Slavik revealed during the hearing that the notes taken from Combs' cell were related to personal matters, including birthdays and "inspirational quotes". Slavik also stressed that "the investigation is in full swing".

In their response to these allegations by the defense, prosecutors said that the notes found in the cell were first examined by a "filter team" before being handed over to the team handling the case. Additionally, Combs' attorneys also requested that their client be allowed to appear without shackles "for all future court appearances."

Their argument is that if the musician were to appear in shackles it could create "jury bias", because it is a media case in which a large amount of material appears in the press and television.

Combs is accused of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation for the purpose of prostitution by organizing high-end sex shows called "freak offs" where he forced and coerced women to participate with male sex workers.

Diddy has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his arrest in September. So far, two different judges have denied him bail on two occasions, citing fears that his defense could manipulate some of the witnesses in the case.