Diddy appeals conviction, arguing his explicit encounters were protected by the First Amendment

Lawyers for Sean “Diddy” Combs went before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to overturn his 50‑month Mann Act sentence, arguing the trial judge erred by relying on evidence of fraud and sexual coercion that a jury had acquitted and by treating his ‘freak offs’ recordings as protected by the First Amendment. Prosecutors countered that the challenged conduct was still relevant to the prostitution counts for which Combs was convicted. The court could uphold, order a new sentencing hearing, or overturn the conviction entirely; Combs, who is imprisoned at Fort Dix, has had his release date shuffled and the appeal leaves his status unresolved.