The Second Circuit heard nearly two hours of argument in Sean Combs' Mann Act sentencing appeal, pressing both sides on whether acquitted conduct was improperly weighed.
A Second Circuit panel heard nearly two hours of oral argument on April 9 in Sean Combs' appeal of his 50-month sentence on Mann Act convictions, with judges pressing both defense counsel and prosecutors on whether the sentencing judge improperly relied on conduct for which the jury acquitted Combs [1]. The panel did not issue a ruling from the bench [1].
Combs was convicted on Mann Act charges related to prostitution but acquitted on the more serious counts of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking [2]. At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian of the Southern District of New York imposed a 50-month term [1]. Defense counsel Alexandra Shapiro argued before the Second Circuit that Judge Subramanian factored the acquitted racketeering and sex trafficking conduct into his sentencing calculus, violating the jury's verdict [2]. Government attorney Christy Slavik defended the sentence as procedurally sound and substantively appropriate, arguing the judge properly considered the full record before him [1].
The central legal question, whether a sentencing judge may consider conduct on which a jury returned a not-guilty verdict when calculating a federal sentence, carries implications beyond the Combs case [2]. The U.S. Sentencing Commission has taken up the acquitted-conduct issue directly, adopting a guideline amendment that restricts such sentencing enhancements, though courts have reached divergent conclusions on how to apply the change and whether the Constitution independently bars the practice [2]. A Second Circuit ruling favorable to Combs could accelerate those circuit-level disputes and prompt further litigation over sentences already imposed under the prior framework [2].
Judge William Nardini was among the panel members who questioned both sides during the argument, and the exchange reflected the court's attention to both the constitutional dimension and the guidelines-based challenge [1]. Combs' legal team has sought either a judgment of acquittal on the Mann Act counts or, in the alternative, a full resentencing before a different judge [2].
The panel gave no timeline for its decision [1]. Any ruling adverse to the government could require the Southern District to conduct a new sentencing proceeding, and a decision broadly limiting acquitted-conduct enhancements would bind district courts throughout the circuit [2].