The federal criminal sex trafficking case against Sean "Diddy" Combs has been reassigned to a new judge. Judge Arun Subramanian will now oversee the case, providing Combs with another opportunity to apply for bail after being denied twice previously. On Thursday, the hip-hop mogul appeared before Judge Subramanian in Manhattan federal court, where a trial date of May 5 was set for him to confront the sex trafficking charges.
Initially, the case was assigned to Judge Andrew Carter, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2011. The reason for the reassignment has not been made public. Currently, Combs is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, as he awaits trial. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking by force, transportation for prostitution, and racketeering conspiracy.
Who is Judge Arun Subramanian?
- Born in 1979 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Indian immigrant parents.
- Graduated from Case Western Reserve University in 2001 with a degree in Computer Science and English.
- Earned his Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School in 2004, where he was recognized as a James Kent and Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar.
- Served as the Executive Articles Editor for the Columbia Law Review.
- Clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg from 2006 to 2007.
- Worked as a civil litigator at Susman Godfrey LLP and became a partner in 2007.
- Nominated by President Biden for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on September 2, 2022.
- He is the first judge of Indian descent to serve on the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
