Sean “Diddy” Combs’ legal team has filed an appeal against his conviction in federal court in New York. We’ll know more within a few weeks
Sean “Diddy” Combs is appealing his conviction and sentence. The motion was filed on October 20, 2025 by his attorney Alexandra Shapiro in federal court in New York.
Editorial recommendations
As ABC reported, the two-page document does not explain the grounds on which the appeal is based. However, Combs’ defense had previously argued that the conviction could not be sustained because the Transportation for the Purposes of Prostitution Act did not apply in this case.
Detailed statement follows
Shapiro’s legal team is expected to file a detailed statement of reasons with the Second District Court of Appeal within four to six weeks, Stern reported, among others. The case will be heard there before a three-member panel of judges.
Combs was sentenced to fifty months in prison on October 3 on two prostitution-related charges following an eight-week trial in July 2025. However, he was acquitted of sex trafficking and organized crime charges.
“Not guilty means not guilty.”
Just one day after the verdict, the defense team announced that it would appeal. The judge imposed a sentence that was four times higher than requested. “The jury made it very clear in its verdict that it acquitted him of the allegations of sex trafficking and organized crime,” the lawyers said in a statement. “Not guilty means not guilty.”
The music mogul has been in custody in Brooklyn, New York, since his arrest in September 2024. This time will be counted towards his sentence. According to TMZ, he has not yet been assigned to prison, so he remains in Brooklyn for the time being.
The sentence was significantly higher than that demanded by the public prosecutor
US District Court Judge Arun Subramanian imposed the fifty-month sentence to “send a message to perpetrators and victims alike that exploitation and violence against women will be met with real accountability,” Rolling Stone reported.
In defense arguments and a sentencing brief, Combs and his legal team had appealed for the sentence to be limited to a maximum of 14 months. They argued Combs’ actions were the product of a traumatic childhood and “furious” drug addiction. In addition, the conviction was an outlier under federal law because there was no “profit motive” and neither “brothels, pimps or minors” were involved. The public prosecutor’s office had therefore demanded a prison sentence of eleven years and three months. But the judge didn’t agree: “A history of good deeds cannot clear the record in this case, which shows that you abused the power and control over the lives of women you supposedly love,” Judge Subramanian said, according to The Times, in handing down the verdict after the six-hour hearing.