A judge on Tuesday said that prosecutors can’t use the personal notes and materials obtained from the jail cell of Sean “Diddy” Combs at an upcoming bail hearing.
Lawyers for Combs previously accused federal prosecutors of “outrageous” conduct for obtaining the former music mogul’s personal notes from his jail cell.
Prosecutors had claimed in a court filing last week that, based in part on the notes seized, Combs was attempting to influence witnesses ahead of his trial.
The notes, which prosecutors have said were seized during a pre-planned sweep of Bureau of Prison facilities, included privileged material about defense witnesses and strategy, according to attorneys for Combs.
“I cannot think of anything more in the heartland of attorney-client privileged material than a lawyer telling his incarcerated, waiting-for-trial client, ‘Here’s the name of a potential witness,’” defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said in court Tuesday.
Combs’ attorneys said in a letter to the judge that the search was a violation of his constitutional rights.
“The targeted seizure of a pre-trial detainee’s work product and privileged materials – created in preparation for trial – is outrageous government conduct amounting to a substantive due process violation,” Combs’ lawyers wrote.
Combs has been in held in the Metropolitan Detention Center since his arrest in September. He has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution and denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
His lawyers said they first learned that prosecutors possessed his notes from a court filing last week.
“The strong inference to be drawn from the defendant’s communications with Witness-2 and his personal notes is that the defendant paid Witness-2 after she posted her statement,” prosecutors wrote in the filing.
In court on Tuesday, prosecutor Christy Slavik said the notes were reviewed by a filter team of individuals for any privileged materials before they were turned over. She said many of the notes were not related to the case at all and included things like inspirational quotes and family members’ birthdays.
Combs lawyers said they want to know who authorized a search of Combs’ area, who gave the paperwork to the US Attorney’s Office, and what material was taken.
Combs is due in court on Friday as his lawyers try for the third time to get him released on bond.
