Appeals court judges raise questions about severity of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ four-year prison sentence

Music mogul and entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs arrives at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, May 15, 2022. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File) 2026-04-09T04:04:26Z NEW YORK (AP) — Federal appeals court judges questioned during oral arguments Thursday whether a roughly four-year prison term given to Sean “Diddy” Combs for the hip-hop mogul ‘s conviction on prostitution-related charges was too harsh. The three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan did not immediately rule after hearing two hours of arguments. At the conclusion, Circuit Judge William J. Nardini called it an “exceptionally difficult case” that raises questions of first impression “not only for this court but for any federal court in the country.” Throughout the arguments, judges questioned whether a judge improperly considered elements of acquitted charges to sentence Combs to what his lawyer, Alexandra Shapiro, said was the most prison time ever given someone convicted of the same charges with a similar criminal history. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Slavik, arguing for the government, challenged Shapiro’s claim, saying the four-year, two-month prison term given to Combs was below what federal sentencing guidelines called for and was in line with similar convictions in the 2nd Circuit. Combs, currently in federal prison in New Jersey, is challenging his conviction and prison sentence . He was convicted last July under the federal Mann Act , which bans transporting people across state lines for any sexual crime. But he was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges that carried the potential for a life sentence. (