Legal

Diddy's legal team hasn't won the case yet ... but, they're off to a good start in the wardrobe department -- crushing prosecutors in the battle of fashion.

We have reporters inside the courtroom monitoring the trial ... and, they say the defense team's style choices are causing a stir among some members of the gallery. We also caught a few of Diddy's female attorneys coming out of the courthouse in their fancy duds -- and one of them actually spoke to our photog about her fashion sense. Check out our video.

Meanwhile, three women who make the "Rotten Mango" podcast were particularly floored by Teny Geragos, daughter of Mark Geragos (who cohosts our "2 Angry Men" podcast) ... she wore a chic ensemble -- a black print Veronica Beard dress accompanied by a short matching blazer. She finished off the look with 4.5-inch pointy black suede Aquazzura heels, complete with bows decorating the backs. She also sported a vintage black Chanel bag.

Diddy's defense team and federal prosecutors are adding 16 more potential jurors to the pool ... and one of them has strong feelings about the Cassie beating video.

After 2 days of jury selection, there are now a total of 35 people in the jury pool. Today's selections break down like this: 5 white men, 4 Black men, 3 Black women, 2 white women, 1 Latino man and 1 woman whose ethnicity isn't clear.

Perhaps the most interesting selection among that group was a man who told the judge he had seen the hotel surveillance video of Diddy attacking Cassie. He said Diddy looked "angry and hostile and entitled" during the brutal scene.

The absence of Diddy's kids during jury selection this week ain't a sign of trouble -- they're still riding hard for their dad, TMZ has learned.

Family sources tell TMZ they’re just waiting for jury selection to wrap, and you better believe they’ll be there once things kick off, showing up for their dad like they always have in court.

To confirm, we're told there’s zero bad blood between Diddy and his kids -- in fact, it’s all love. Right now, his twin daughters Jessie and D’Lila have been busy juggling prom and school, but again, the whole crew still plans to pull up to court to support their dad.

Smokey Robinson is being sued by 4 women who say they used to work for him ... claiming he repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped them during their employment.

The suit was filed in Los Angeles Tuesday morning by four Jane Does claiming they used to work as housekeepers for the music star and his wife, Frances Gladney Robinson.

The 4 accusers -- who say they overlapped while working for Smokey and Frances -- claim they were assaulted multiple times ... with the first alleged incident occurring in 2007.

The suspect arrested Monday for allegedly driving through the gates of Jennifer Aniston's Bel Air home has been identified ... and police tell us they are investigating it as a possible stalking situation.

Authorities tell us ... the LAPD threat management unit is investigating after Jimmy Wayne Carwyle allegedly drove onto the actress' property, where her security held him at gunpoint until police took him into custody.

Police sources tell us they're looking into evidence this is an alleged stalking incident ... and noted investigators are reviewing social media posts under Carwyle's name.

Diddy's lawyers and prosecutors are making headway on putting together a jury pool ... but, it's slow going -- 'cause there are so many landmines that are getting people tossed.

The second day of jury selection is proceeding in a Manhattan federal courthouse Tuesday ... and, while some people are making it through to the next round of jury selection, many more have been excused for cause.

Juror 149 -- one of many potential jurors who have been questioned to begin this week -- told the judge his son was beaten up and robbed while at George Washington University.

A$AP Rocky's whirlwind Met Gala hosting duties wouldn't have been possible had he been found guilty at his shooting trial ... a moment that's affected his music career -- but boosted his filmography!!!

While speaking to Variety, Rocky spoke out on how the attempted murder allegations levied by his ex-associate A$AP Relli were both “gut-wrenching and nerve-racking," but he was able to channel his emotions through his "Yung Felon" character in Spike Lee's "Highest 2 Lowest" film.

The trailer was released to match Met Gala's energy ... Rocky says portraying an inmate allowed him "to act like a piece of s*** who was going away for a long time but didn’t realize the consequences, because in real life, I knew exactly what the consequences felt like."

Diddy's former employee Rodney Jones will have to refile his lawsuit against Cuba Gooding Jr. and Justin Combs if he wants to pursue legal action ... because the case has been dismissed due to failure to serve them papers.

The case was dismissed Tuesday morning ... with the court pointing to Jones' attorney Tyrone Blackburn's inability to effectively serve the two stars as the main reasons for the dismissal without prejudice.

According to the docs, Blackburn waited until the service deadline was imminent before making any meaningful efforts to serve them ... and failed to show any good reason for failing to get it done. Jones' lawsuit was filed back in February 2024.

Jay-Z has a new beef with his Jane Doe accuser -- even though she's dropped her lawsuit, he says she's on social media bragging she stands by her allegation he raped her.

Jay just filed an amendment to the defamation suit he filed against her and her attorney, Tony Buzbee. In the new docs, he calls out a TikTok she allegedly posted last month featuring some pretty angry lip-synched audio -- "You couldn't pay me a million dollars to get an apology video out of me, I stand on what I said, f*** you."

According to the suit, Doe publicly standing by her original claim she was raped "continues to display a shocking and reckless disregard for the truth that is both intentional and malicious."

Buster Murdaugh, the only surviving son of disgraced former attorney and convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh, is officially off the market -- tying the knot with his fiancée ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Buster and his longtime fiancée, Brooklyn White, exchanged vows during a ceremony in Beaufort, South Carolina, surrounded by family and friends Saturday.

Notably absent from Buster’s special day were his parents and younger brother. His mother, Maggie was murdered in 2021 ... and his father, Alex, is currently serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole after being convicted in 2023 for the double homicide of Maggie and Buster’s brother, Paul.

Diddy has added a second Black attorney to his team of legal eagles ... because he just hired Nicole Westmoreland to work with his seven other lawyers to try to get him acquitted at his federal trial in NYC.

Westmoreland will work alongside another Black attorney, Xavier Robert Donaldson, and Diddy's leading trial lawyers Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos, who are both white.

Having two African American lawyers on Diddy's legal team is an interesting move, considering that his camp pointed to race as a major factor in what they say is a federal takedown of a rich, successful Black man.

Diddy's successfully excluded a prospective juror who took a cynical look at the legal system ... keeping a woman off the jury who thought the rap mogul might be able to purchase his freedom.

The exchange went down in court Tuesday ... with a judge asking Juror 48 if they answered "yes"  to any questions posed on the questionnaire -- and, she admitted there was one where she gave the affirmative, because of an alleged attempted rape.

While she didn't say she couldn't be fair, apparently she wrote on the questionnaire that the rap mogul has money and could potentially buy his way out of trouble.

Sean "Diddy" Combs is getting extra guidance in court from famed attorney Mark Geragos, but federal prosecutors ain't having it -- because Geragos doesn't have clearance to participate, and frequently discusses the case on his podcast, "2 Angry Men."

Geragos was in court for the first day of jury selection in Diddy's criminal trial -- seated somewhere behind the 7 attorneys Diddy has retained, all of whom have court clearance to defend him.

But, prosecutors say they noticed Geragos and other members of his firm, consulting with the defense team, and they think that's a party foul due to his side gig. In a letter to Judge Arun Subramanian, they cite a rule barring anyone associated with the defense from making public statements that could "interfere with a fair trial."

Federal prosecutors are under pressure relating to one of their star witnesses in the Diddy trial ... because they revealed in court today they may not be bringing an alleged victim into the courtroom to testify.

The alleged victim in question is a woman and the feds revealed Monday the woman does not live close to New York City, where the trial is being held, and they say she's told the court she might not even show up despite being subpoenaed.

Prosecutors claim they are having difficulty contacting the woman and her attorney ... and the judge asked lead prosecutor -- Maurene Comey -- if the prosecution planned to drop the woman's name in opening statements.

The first day of jury selection in the Diddy sex trafficking trial is in the books ... and there were a few standouts ... including one prospective juror who said Joe Rogan turned them on to Diddy parties.

The juror told the judge they heard about Diddy parties involving sex and drugs on an episode of Joe's podcast, "The Joe Rogan Experience" ... but the juror was not excluded.

Another highlight ... Juror No. 20 was caught shoplifting from Universal Studios ... and he told the judge he had to get a lawyer after busted trying to get a five-finger discount on a wand from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Potential jurors in Diddy's federal sex trafficking trial are getting grilled on topics like sex and violence before they get picked ... because they're being warned the case will include graphic content and some upsetting things they're expected to handle like grown-ups.

TMZ obtained the questionnaire being given to prospective jurors ... and there's an emphasis on the graphic nature of the allegations against Diddy.

For instance, the questionnaire asks ... "The charges in this case involve allegations of kidnapping, arson, bribery of a witness, obstruction of justice, drug distribution, forced labor, sex trafficking, and transportation for purposes of engaging in prostitution. Is there anything about the nature of these allegations that would make it difficult for you to be fair and impartial?"