Diddy urged the court to speed up his appeal, arguing his four-year sentence could end before a decision is made on his Mann Act conviction.
Sean “Diddy” Combs is pressing the courts for speed, urging a federal appeals panel to fast-track his legal challenge before his four-year prison sentence runs its course.
The embattled Hip-Hop mogul’s legal team filed a motion Wednesday (October 29), with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals asking for an accelerated schedule.
His attorney, Alexandra Shapiro, warned that the standard 18-month appeals process could outlast his sentence, rendering the appeal meaningless. “Mr. Combs’s appeal of his sentence does not become moot while the appeal is pending,” she wrote.
Diddy was found guilty in July of violating the Mann Act by arranging interstate prostitution, specifically by organizing sex parties — referred to in court as “freak-offs” — involving his girlfriends and male escorts. Though he was cleared of racketeering and sex-trafficking charges, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian sentenced him in October to 50 months in prison and fined him $500,000.
Shapiro is pushing for all briefs to be submitted by March and oral arguments to be heard in April, a six-month timeline that would significantly shorten the usual process.
Prosecutors have already signed off on the expedited timeline, which increases the likelihood of court approval unless scheduling issues arise.
Diddy is currently serving his time at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He is scheduled to be released from federal custody on May 8, 2028, according to newly updated Bureau of Prisons records.
He has already received credit for a year served and could reduce his remaining time through good behavior or participation in rehabilitation programs.
A major component of the appeal focuses on the use of the Mann Act, a law originally passed in 1910 as the White-Slave Traffic Act.
Shapiro described it as “an infamous statute with a sordid history,” arguing it was misapplied in Diddy’s case. The defense maintains that the prostitution charges were improperly added to the broader sex-trafficking indictment, which Diddy ultimately beat in court.
The court has not yet announced whether it will adopt the proposed expedited schedule.
Related