Diddy Jury Selection Day 3 Features Potential Jurors With Ties to Case

Diddy's third day of jury selection featured a couple people with close ties to the case ... this despite the judge's direction to both sides to better vet prospective jurors.

Proceedings in Diddy's case are moving forward ... with more potential jurors called Wednesday as both sides worked to put together the 45-person jury pool -- and, it seems they weren't vetted with a fine-tooth comb.

Juror 317 took the stand ... which got Judge Arun Subramanian laughing immediately -- 'cause he and the man used to work on anti-class action cases together.

The potential juror -- a lawyer -- also admitted the case might make it difficult for him to represent his own client over the coming weeks. Both sides had reservations, and he was dismissed.

Judge Subramanian wasn't laughing when another possible juror came up and said he actually works at MDC Brooklyn -- the notorious jail Diddy's been calling home since the fall.

While many in the courtroom laughed, and the man was quickly dismissed, Judge Subramanian chastised the attorneys on both sides ... telling them they needed to do a better job filtering candidates to make the process more efficient.

As always, jury selection brought out a character or two as well ... like Juror 314 -- who said he'd been binge-watching the second season of "Andor" recently, and labeled himself as "lazy." Despite the prosecution's misgivings, the judge did not exclude him for cause.

Juror 220 admitted to reposting a meme about Diddy ... and, when asked why he didn't disclose it, he responded that he was "doomscrolling" -- the act of scrolling through content on social media without putting much thought into it. He had to explain the term to the judge ... but, he was ultimately kept in the jury pool.

BTW ... Diddy's clearly got a routine when he enters the courthouse -- wearing similar clothes to what he donned the first couple days of jury selection and hugging nearly every member of the team.

This first round of jury selection is done, BTW ... and, the 45 members of the pool have been chosen -- though it should be whittled down to 12 jurors and six alternates Friday. The court won't be in session Thursday.