Sean “Diddy” Combs needs the federal government’s key witness kicked off the stand—and he’s not mincing phrases.
In a scathing movement filed in federal court docket, Diddy’s authorized crew is shifting to dam Dr. Daybreak Hughes, a forensic medical psychologist, from testifying for the prosecution.
They are saying she’s not bringing info—simply opinion, spin, and recycled scripts.
In line with the 25-page submitting, Hughes plans to talk broadly about “coercive management,” a time period prosecutors typically use in home abuse and trafficking instances.
She’s anticipated to stipulate patterns of habits that some abusers allegedly use to dominate their victims.
However Diddy’s authorized crew says she’s strolling into the courtroom with “no data of the particular info on this case.”
“on this case, Hughes has apparently not interviewed the alleged victims in any respect, a lot much less engaged within the kind of psychological diagnostics that her occupation calls for,” Diddy’s lawyer, Alexandra A.E. Shapiro, fumed. “In consequence, she provides unadorned opinions that may clarify the accusers’ habits—though she has made no effort to exclude alternate explanations.”
In different phrases, they are saying, she’s constructing a story—not providing skilled evaluation.
Diddy’s legal professionals are demanding that the decide block Hughes from testifying fully. They accuse her of being an expert witness who trots out the identical speaking factors in trial after trial.
“The federal government needs an skilled in order that it will possibly waive her testimony in summation like a magic wand to treatment the evident defects in its truth witnesses’ credibility,” Shapiro stated. “This shall be a seamless chorus—’ as Dr. Hughes instructed you … as Dr. Hughes defined’—and it is going to be extremely efficient. However this isn’t a correct use of skilled testimony and it’ll not assist the jury uncover the reality.”
Shapiro argued that Hughes’ testimony has little to do with precise science and every thing to do with portray Diddy as a violent, controlling man earlier than a single witness takes the stand.
The protection is especially involved about Hughes’ anticipated use of the time period “coercive management,” a phrase they are saying has no broadly accepted definition in authorized or scientific circles.
They argue it is going to prejudice jurors by casting Diddy’s alleged actions as half of a bigger, sinister sample—earlier than any proof is offered.
“The proof on this case will present, for instance, that Combs financially supported his girlfriends. That doesn’t depend as coercion beneath the authorized definition, however it will depend beneath Hughes’s definition,” Shapiro continued. “Suppose the proof exhibits that after a struggle, Combs apologized, expressed love, and purchased his girlfriend a present. That might not depend as coercion beneath the authorized definition, however it will depend beneath Hughes’s definition.”
Diddy’s legal professionals accuse the prosecution of utilizing Hughes as a backdoor strategy to recommend guilt.
By laying out a generalized sample of abuser habits, they are saying the federal government hopes jurors will join the dots themselves.
The protection additionally famous that Hughes has testified in different high-profile instances, typically for the prosecution.
Her earlier appearances embody the sexual assault trials of Harvey Weinstein, Johnny Depp and Danny Masterson. They recommend that her presence on the stand alerts much less about reality and extra about emotional affect.
Dr. Hughes is predicted to elucidate the psychology of abuse victims: how they’ll delay reporting, preserve contact with their abuser, and even defend them from authorized penalties.
Within the authorities’s view, this testimony helps jurors perceive habits that will appear complicated or contradictory. However Diddy’s camp says that argument falls flat right here.
Combs is going through federal costs, together with intercourse trafficking, racketeering, and transportation for unlawful sexual exercise.
The federal government claims he led a years-long prison enterprise that used manipulation, cash, and worry to manage victims.
He has pleaded not responsible to all costs. Diddy’s trial is ready to kick off on Might 5.
