Latest news with #WestCoastTrialLawyers
Fox News
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Sean ‘Diddy' Combs trial: Cassie cross-examined in rapper's sex trafficking case
incoming update… A very pregnant Cassie Ventura headed to court Thursday for her continued testimony in Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex-trafficking trial. The now 38-year-old musician spent Tuesday and Wednesday sharing her side of the story with the jury. While on the stand Wednesday, Cassie remembered having dinner with friends in New York on the night Diddy allegedly assaulted her for the first time. Cassie testified that she had witnessed Diddy flirting with another woman in 2007 or 2008, and attempted to "shrug it off." Once they were in the Escalade SUV, she claimed Diddy "knocked me around." The singer-songwriter also testified about Diddy's attack at Intercontinental Hotel in 2016 that was caught on surveillance video. Diddy's defense team will get a chance to cross-examine Cassie today and Friday, May 16. Sean "Diddy" Combs arrived to the courtroom and hugged his attorneys before taking a seat at the defense table. Diddy's legal team and the prosecution are discussing pending trial issues with Judge Arun Subramanian. The defense is wanting to introduce text messages as evidence that they claim speak to his state of mind. Cassie testified May 13 and May 14 about the alleged physical abuse she experienced at the hands of Diddy. She claimed Combs began physically abusing her one year after they met. Diddy appeared calm before opening statements on Monday. He sat reading the Bible as he waited for jury selection to begin. The prosecution claimed Combs ran a criminal enterprise for 20 years and described the violent relationships he had with both Cassie and an anonymous woman, "Jane.' They accused Diddy of using lies, drugs, threats and violence to force Cassie and Jane to have sex with escorts. Diddy would record the encounters and threaten to release the videos if the women didn't comply with his demands, according to the prosecution. Surveillance footage showing Sean 'Diddy' Combs attacking Cassie Ventura is 'the most important evidence' in the rapper's sex-trafficking case, according to an expert. 'It bolsters Cassie's credibility and corroborates her account of trying to escape a freak off,' former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital. 'People can lie, but video doesn't lie.' 'The video makes the violence real,' the West Coast Trial Lawyers founder added. 'That's why the prosecution raised the video repeatedly during jury selection, opening statements, and introduced it through their first witness. It's the smoking gun evidence in the case, and why the defense is desperately trying to differentiate between domestic violence and sex trafficking." The jury saw the video in full and heard testimony from Cassie and a former hotel security guard, Israel Florez. The security guard claimed he responded to a call about a woman in distress and found a broken vase in the elevator lobby. Cassie told Florez not to call the police and left the hotel on her own. At the time of the attack, Cassie had been trying to leave an alleged 'freak off." Cassie Ventura will 'gain sympathy' from the jury from being an assault victim and a soon-to-be-mother, a legal expert told Fox News Digital. The now 38-year-old has spent the past two days testifying in Sean 'Diddy' Combs' sex-trafficking trial. While Cassie is a sympathetic witness, the defense can 'diffuse' her appearance on the stand through evidence. "...Diddy's team can remind the jury of how long ago this was, and that she was very different back then,' entertainment lawyer Tre Lovell told Fox News Digital. 'Appearance before a jury is always very important, for both the defendant and credibility of witnesses, but the attorneys can diffuse this through evidence and reminding the jury that everyone in court will be on their best behavior and, by design, not exhibit the conduct for which they are either the subject of the prosecution or a testifying witness." Cassie is expecting her third child with husband Alex Fine. Cassie and Fine married in 2019 after meeting the year before. The video surveillance footage from the Intercontinental Hotel showing Sean 'Diddy' Combs beat Cassie Ventura will make the former couple's relationship dynamic 'more palpable' for the jury, according to a legal expert. 'It's one thing to have testimony about a harrowing event, but seeing frame by frame a visual depiction of a man brutalizing a woman can be very impactful for this jury,' criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis told Fox News Digital. 'The panel will see the force and fury with which Diddy inflicted the attack, and how Cassie's body coiled up in an effort of self-preservation.' 'The jury could conclude that this was the ever-present physical threat that the defendant posed to the alleged victim, and it would make sense why she felt she couldn't say no to his freak-off demands,' he explained. 'The video could make the violence and fear in this relationship dynamic more palpable for the jury and could certainly affect their deliberations.' The jury was shown the video and heard testimony from Cassie about that day. The singer-songwriter claimed she was attempting to leave a 'freak off' when Diddy allegedly her in the elevator lobby on March 5, 2016. Sean 'Diddy' Combs' federal trial for sex crimes began on Monday, after a 12-person jury, consisting of eight men and four women, was finalized minutes before opening statements began. There were also six alternates selected. The youngest juror, Juror No. 321, a 24-year-old male, works in coffee services, while the oldest juror, Juror No. 217, a 74-year-old female, lives alone and used to be a treatment coordinator. Both Juror No. 5 and Juror No. 25 admitted to seeing the hotel surveillance video of Diddy attacking Cassie Ventura, with the latter he also knew Diddy as a "business person" and was aware of "violent behavior," but had not formed an opinion about what he had seen. Multiple Bronx residents were picked to sit on the jury. Juror No. 58, a 41-year-old man who works as the head account clerk in corrections, said he enjoys '90s hip-hop and sports. Juror No. 184, a 39-year-old male, lives with his brother and is employed as a social worker program supervisor. Juror No. 2 admitted to having familiarity with domestic violence but said this wouldn't interfere with his ability to remain impartial. Juror No. 28, a 30-year-old woman said while she was aware of Diddy's arrest, she didn't know the reason until now, and would be able to follow instructions. Juror No. 75 retired from J.P. Morgan, and Juror No. 160 lives with her husband and is a physician's assistant. Also on the stand is Juror No. 116, who said he would have trouble staying impartial when looking at violence. Both Juror No. 201, a 67-year-old man, and Juror No. 230, a 57-year-old man, have children and reside in Westchester County. Juror No. 234, a 34-year-old man who lives with his parents and sister in Manhattan, doesn't watch the news and prefers reading video game magazines. Juror No. 247, 40, is from New York County and is a physician scientist and has a master's degree and bachelor's degree in chemistry. Juror 292 mentioned she knew one location noted in the voir dire. The final juror selected in Diddy's sex crimes case was Juror No. 330, a 37-year-old man from New York County who works with the U.S. State Department and prefers watching "Andor" with his girlfriend, who works in the medical field. Live Coverage begins here
CBC
14-05-2025
- CBC
Menendez brothers to be eligible for parole after resentencing
Erik and Lyle Menendez were resentenced to 50 years to life in prison on Tuesday by a Los Angeles judge, making them eligible for parole. Neama Rahmani, lawyer and co-founder and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, breaks down the case and how their parole eligibility has changed.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Celebs Who 'Should Potentially Be Worried' As Diddy's Trial Is Set To Expose 'Freak-Offs' Guest List
Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex crimes trial is now in full swing, and it's expected to intensify with the release of the guest list from the rapper's infamous parties known as "Freak-Offs." Already, jurors have received a list of people connected to the embattled music mogul, although it remains unclear whether those people actually attended the parties. Now, a legal expert has warned that anyone whose name appears on Sean "Diddy" Combs' freak-off guest list should be worried, especially if the rapper is ultimately convicted in the trial. Since the revelation that Diddy often hosted "Freak-Offs," speculation has swirled about who was involved in the hedonistic parties. A lot of names have popped up on social media, although none have been confirmed by federal prosecutors. That now seems set to change amid the rapper's trial, with the potential release of a guest list naming those who attended or had any connection to the alleged drug-fueled sex marathons. "I wouldn't be surprised if we start hearing the names of other people who participated in the freak-off," said Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and co-founder of West Coast Trial Lawyers, per the U.S. Sun. Speaking on the potential revelation of the list, Rahmani warned that those named should be worried about the possibility of charges being brought against them. "There are two sets of people that should potentially be worried. Obviously, if anyone participated in these freak-offs and sexually assaulted victims, they can be charged or sued civilly," he said. "But there are also individuals in Diddy's entourage that maybe helped set up the freak-offs. Those individuals could potentially also be charged." During jury selection, potential jurors were presented with a list of individuals linked to Sean "Diddy" Combs through personal or professional associations. The list included several high-profile names, such as actors Michael B. Jordan and Mike Myers, along with rappers Kid Cudi and Kanye West. Although their inclusion does not confirm that they attended Diddy's alleged "Freak-Off" parties, the legal expert cautioned that even being mentioned by witnesses could "certainly tarnish their reputation." Rahmani further warned that if Diddy is convicted, the ripple effects could be significant, especially for other celebrities not facing criminal charges but named in civil lawsuits filed since his September arrest. "The other celebrities, they've been able to avoid potential criminal charges, but if Diddy is convicted and others are implicated, they should certainly be worried that they may be next," the former federal prosecutor said. While there are four victims named in the superseding indictment against Diddy, only one has been publicly identified so far: Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura. The alleged victim dated the rapper on and off from 2007 to 2018 and was seen being assaulted by him in a viral video from 2016. Despite how damaging her testimony and that of other witnesses may be for the embattled rapper, Rahmani believes the videos seized from Diddy's residences in Miami and Los Angeles prior to his arrest could inflict even greater damage on his defense. "The most powerful evidence that was seized by the government has to be the videos," the attorney said. "Criminal defendants can lie. Only when CNN got a copy of the [Cassie] video in May of last year did Diddy finally issue an apology." He added, "That's how powerful video evidence is. And that's why the government wanted to get the hard drives, the iPhones, [and] the iPads, because Diddy reportedly videotaped these freak-offs. It may be the reason Combs gets convicted." On Monday, opening statements were heard in Diddy's trial, with two witnesses also taking the stand, per The U.S. Sun. Both witnesses, LAPD officer Israel Florez and a male escort named Daniel Phillip, testified to Diddy's potential for violence. Florez, who was working as a security guard at the hotel where Diddy allegedly assaulted Cassie, claimed he saw a "devilish stare" on the rapper when he responded to the scene of the incident. Meanwhile, Phillip stated that on two separate occasions, he witnessed Diddy assaulting Cassie. In the first, Diddy allegedly threw a bottle at his ex-girlfriend, grabbed her by the hair, and began dragging her. In the second, he reportedly "slapped her around" after she appeared to have upset him over an undisclosed incident. Meanwhile, prosecutors have vowed to expose Diddy's "20 years of crime," ranging from kidnapping, arson, drugs, sex crimes, bribery, and obstruction. "To the public, he was Puff Daddy or Diddy. A cultural icon. A businessman. Larger than life," Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson said. "But there was another side to him. A side that ran a criminal enterprise." She continued, "During this trial, you are going to hear about 20 years of the defendant's crimes. But he didn't do it alone. He had an inner circle of bodyguards and high-ranking employees who helped him commit crimes and cover them up."
News.com.au
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Celebs ‘who should be worried' about bombshell Sean ‘Diddy' Combs trial
The guest list of Sean 'Diddy' Combs' supposed freak-offs is set to be exposed in his upcoming federal trial, and any celebrity who engaged in the alleged drug-fuelled sex marathons should be concerned, experts have warned. Opening statements in the highly anticipated sex trafficking trial of Combs are expected to get underway on Monday morning as the once-prominent music mogul and executive faces a potential life sentence if convicted. Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor not involved in Combs' trial, told The U.S. Sun it would not be shocking if one of the government's witnesses name-drops a celebrity during the trial. 'I wouldn't be surprised if we start hearing the names of other people who participated in the freak-off,' said Rahmani, the president and co-founder of West Coast Trial Lawyers. 'Now, they haven't been charged in this case, but some of them have been named in civil lawsuits brought by Diddy's victims, many of whom are represented by lawyer Tony Buzbee. 'So, I wouldn't be surprised if one of the victim witnesses in this case mentions another celebrity. 'Now, that celebrity being mentioned may not result in criminal charges, but it will certainly tarnish their reputation. 'And the last thing any celebrity wants right now is to be associated with Sean Diddy Combs.' Rahmani told The U.S. Sun that if the alleged freak-off recordings exist, two sets of people should be concerned. 'The most powerful evidence that was seized by the government has to be the videos,' he added. 'And we've only seen one video of Diddy seemingly beating Cassie Ventura at the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles in about 2016. 'Criminal defendants can lie. Only when CNN got a copy of that video in May of last year did Diddy finally issue an apology. 'That's how powerful video evidence is. And that's why the government wanted to get the hard drives, the iPhones, the iPads, because Diddy reportedly videotaped these freak-offs. 'And if you believe Cassie Ventura, and I do, he did so for his own sexual gratification and pleasure, but also potentially to maintain control over the participants.' Rahmani continued, 'The video of the freak-offs, if they exist, may be the most damning evidence in this case. 'It may be the reason Combs gets convicted. 'There are two sets of people that should potentially be worried. Obviously, if anyone participated in these freak-offs and sexually assaulted victims, they can be charged or sued civilly. 'But there are also individuals in Diddy's entourage that maybe helped set up the freak-offs. 'People buying the baby oil, people contacting prostitutes, people getting the hotel rooms, setting up the lights and cameras. 'Those individuals could potentially also be charged.' On the first day of jury selection, potential jurors were given an expansive 17-page form containing a list of 31 personal and triggering questions regarding history of domestic violence, sexual assault, or harassment. In addition to the questions, the pool of prospective jurors received a list of people and places connected to Combs in various ways and who could come up during the trial. The list of people included well-known names like actors Michael B. Jordan and Mike Myers, as well as rappers Kid Cudi and Kanye West. However, why the celebrities could be named in the trial remains unclear. The celebrities have not been accused of any wrongdoing. Rahmani warned that the celebrities named in civil lawsuits should be concerned if Combs is convicted. 'The other celebrities, they've been able to avoid potential criminal charges, but if Diddy is convicted and others are implicated, they should certainly be worried that they may be next,' the former federal prosecutor said. This story originally appeared on The Sun
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Yahoo
New trial, new approach: No ‘framed' arguments, but Karen Read defense hammers fired investigator
The only thing both sides agreed on during opening statements in the Karen Read murder trial on Tuesday was the chaotic scene on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022. At about 6 a.m., Canton firefighter Timothy Nuttall opened the back door of his ambulance to see Read running frantically and screaming, snow whipping in his face and a body in the snow on that dark morning. Special prosecutor Hank Brennan described the scene as 'bedlam' when first responders found Read's then-boyfriend, John O'Keefe, the man authorities say she killed by erratically driving her SUV backwards into him after an argument the night before. Brennan gave jurors a detailed story during opening statements about what Nuttall saw that morning and his account of hearing Read say, 'I hit him, I hit him, I hit him.' Read's defense is highly skeptical of the statements since an initial police report did not include them. The prosecutor gave an overview of the case and said that Read and O'Keefe were falling out in the weeks before his death, and that she drank eight drinks within three hours before she drove to a house party in Canton where his body was later found. Brennan used several time stamps based on O'Keefe's cell phone to give jurors a sense of how authorities say O'Keefe came to lie unconscious, and said that the prosecution's case will rely heavily on O'Keefe's cell phone's GPS, health and battery data. The battery data, new to this trial, will show how it steadily dropped in temperature while O'Keefe lay in the snow, according to Brennan. Read's retrial will give both sides a second shot at convincing jurors of their version of events. Last July, Judge Beverly Cannone declared a mistrial after jurors could not agree on the three charges: second-degree murder, manslaughter while operating under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident causing injury or death in connection with O'Keefe's death. This time around, there's a new prosecutor. Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey tapped defense attorney Brennan to head the prosecution while the previous lead prosecutor, Adam Lally, remains on the sidelines. 'Retrial tends to favor the prosecution as there is no element of surprise, and they are able to prep their witnesses a bit better,' Neama Rahmani, president of Los Angeles-based West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor, said on Tuesday. He said prosecutors 'probably overcharged the first time with murder,' and noted that the jury at the first trial didn't seem convinced. The prosecution leaned heavily on Read's 'I hit him' statements last year, and Rahmani said using her own words is 'very powerful.' On Tuesday, Brennan brought a storytelling element to the opening and gave plenty of time stamps for jurors to understand their theory of the case. He described how authorities say Read killed O'Keefe. She drove 35 feet forward before stopping, putting the car in reverse, and slamming down on the gas pedal before clipping O'Keefe, according to Brennan. He fell backward, hit his head and broke his skull, Brennan said, with Read aware she'd hit O'Keefe. At the first trial, Lally gave jurors more context about Read and O'Keefe's relationship and said it soured in the weeks leading up to his death. On Tuesday, there was no mention of an Aruba trip in 2022 where Read screamed at another woman, a friend of O'Keefe's, and accused him of kissing her. 'It's probably smart not to hit on motive as the No. 1 theme of the prosecution,' criminal defense attorney Sam Bassett, who's followed the trial from Austin, Texas, said. 'I didn't see him (Brennan) as a highly emotional presenter. He's more methodical and emphasized the data points that are going to support the overall story.' 'With both sides, emphasizing motive for their theory of the case, or overemphasis, is dangerous. You want to let the jury come to that conclusion of motive based on the evidence, you don't want to jam that down their throat,' Bassett said. Alan Jackson, Read's lawyer, altered the defense's approach to the opening from last year. From the jump at the first trial, Read's lawyers claimed she'd been 'framed' and that a law enforcement conspiracy had pinned a murder charge on her. Jackson instead focused much of his arguments on Tuesday morning on the 'extreme reasonable doubt' that exists in the case. 'The lawyers have a lot more information now than they did in the first trial,' Bassett said. 'They can, and did, rethink their strategy and arguments and they obviously have, to a more data-based presentation, certainly in the openings.' Read's lawyers have contended for years that her SUV never struck O'Keefe. The last witnesses from the first trial were from an accident reconstruction company called ARCCA, and they are expected to testify once again that Read's SUV did not have damage consistent with hitting a pedestrian. They also testified that O'Keefe did not have injuries consistent with being struck by a vehicle, such as having broken bones or bruises to the torso. 'Medically and scientifically, he could not have been struck by a vehicle,' Jackson told jurors on Tuesday. 'There was no collision.' Jackson then laid the groundwork for where their theory of the case is headed as they use a third-party culprit defense where they will lay the blame on others who could've killed O'Keefe. He told jurors about a Google search by another witness at 2:27 a.m. of 'ho(w) long to die in cold.' He described phone calls between two other witnesses, homeowner Brian Albert and Brian Higgins, another law enforcement agent, at 2:22 a.m. He said witnesses destroyed their cell phones, and that the long-time family home of the Alberts was sold months later. He said the family dog was 'rehomed' after O'Keefe's death — a point the defense emphasizes since they have an expert witness who says cuts on O'Keefe's arm are consistent with being attacked by a dog. Then, there's the biggest difference from the first trial. Michael Proctor, the lead investigator of the case, was fired by the Massachusetts State Police earlier this year. The embattled trooper fell from grace after text message were read during his testimony last year and revealed he'd used crude language to describe Read. He called her a 'whack job (expletive),' 'retarded' and even joked to his superiors about looking for nudes in her phone. The text messages were also referenced by Jackson during openings on Tuesday to give jurors reason to believe the investigation was biased from the start. A high school friend had asked if the homeowner where O'Keefe was found would catch grief, and Proctor replied, 'Nope, homeowner is a Boston cop, too.' State police fired Proctor as a direct consequence of his actions in the Read case, a point Jackson emphasized for jurors. 'Probably worst law enforcement witness I've ever seen,' Rahmani said. 'Either him or Mark Furhman in the OJ case.' 'Sometimes the best defense is a good offense, and if you can put law enforcement on trial and say, 'They've done a poor job,' that's better,' Rahmani said. 'There are some self-inflicted wounds by investigators in the case.' Read, 45, is out on bail during her retrial. Testimony continues on Wednesday. Judge scolds Karen Read's defense for discovery violations on federal crash experts Karen Read trial live updates: Key witness testifies about frantic search for John O'Keefe What to expect from opening statements in the Karen Read trial Prosecutors seek to limit defense claims in Karen Read trial opening statement Karen Read's defense gains key ruling on dog bite expert testimony Read the original article on MassLive. Read the original article on MassLive.
