Sean Combs asked a federal appellate panel on April 9 to reduce his sentence, arguing that the district court improperly enhanced his guidelines calculation…
Sean Combs asked a federal appellate panel on April 9 to reduce his sentence, arguing that the district court improperly enhanced his guidelines calculation using conduct a jury declined to convict him of [1]. The appeal targets a practice, common in federal courts, of permitting judges to find facts at sentencing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that were rejected by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt [1]. The core question before the panel: whether a district court must affirmatively account for an acquittal when it relies on the same underlying conduct to increase a defendant's sentence [1].
The argument was heard by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, sitting in New York [1]. Defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro contended that Second Circuit precedent requires district courts to "specifically consider" the fact of acquittal before crediting acquitted conduct at sentencing, and that Judge Arun Subramanian of the Southern District of New York failed to satisfy that standard [1]. Government counsel Christy Slavik argued in opposition [1]. The appeal arises from Combs's conviction on federal charges, following which Judge Subramanian imposed the sentence now under review [1].
The substantive stakes extend well beyond Combs. Acquitted-conduct enhancements have drawn sustained criticism from defense practitioners and, notably, from individual Supreme Court justices, but the Court has not issued a definitive ruling resolving the practice's constitutionality [1]. A Second Circuit decision in Combs's favor could restrict district court discretion within the circuit on a question that frequently arises in multi-count federal prosecutions, where juries convict on some counts and acquit on others [1]. Such a ruling would also increase pressure on the Supreme Court to take up the issue, which has produced conflicting applications across circuits [1].
Judge M. Miller Baker participated in the appellate argument [1]. The panel did not rule from the bench; a written decision is expected in the coming weeks or months [1]. If the Second Circuit vacates the sentence, the case would return to Judge Subramanian for resentencing under any new guidelines the appellate court articulates [1]. Practitioners in federal criminal defense will watch the decision closely, given that the acquitted-conduct doctrine touches virtually every case in which a defendant faces a multi-count indictment [1].
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**Meta Description:** The Second Circuit heard oral argument April 9 on whether Sean Combs's sentence improperly used acquitted conduct, a question with broad federal sentencing implications.
**Slug:** combs-second-circuit-acquitted-conduct-sentencing-appeal
**Tags:** Legal News, Appellate Development, United States v. Combs, United States, New York, New York City, Sentencing Guidelines, Acquitted Conduct, Criminal Law, Federal Courts, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Alexandra Shapiro, Judge Arun Subramanian
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**Metadata:**
– subject: United States v. Combs, acquitted conduct at sentencing doctrine
– subject_type: Appellate Development
– date: 2026-04-09
– jurisdiction: federal
– country: United States
– region: New York
– city: New York
– key_people: Alexandra Shapiro, M. Miller Baker, Christy Slavik, Arun Subramanian
– key_organizations: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Combs defense team
– themes: Sentencing Guidelines, Acquitted Conduct, Criminal Law
– significance: A Second Circuit ruling for Combs could restrict district court reliance on acquitted conduct throughout the circuit and renew pressure on the Supreme Court to resolve a long-unsettled doctrine in federal sentencing law.
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**References:**
[1] Deadline. (2026, April 9). Sean Combs' attorney argues for reduced sentence at appeal hearing. https://deadline.com/2026/04/sean-diddy-combs-appeal-hearing-1236785890/