In an 84-page filing submitted this week, Combs’ attorney, Alexandra A.E. Shapiro, claims the trial judge, Aran Subramanian, acted like a “thirteenth juror” by imposing his own interpretation of the facts instead of respecting the jury’s verdict.
According to the appeal, the judge wrongly concluded that Combs coerced, exploited, and forced his girlfriends into sex and led a criminal conspiracy — allegations the jury explicitly rejected when it acquitted him of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges.
“Defendants typically get sentenced to less than 15 months for these offenses — even when coercion, which the jury didn’t find here, is involved,” the appeal argues.
Combs, 55, was convicted in July on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution, charges that carry significantly lighter penalties than the crimes he was acquitted of. Despite that, he was sentenced in October to more than four years behind bars.
During sentencing, Judge Subramanian said Combs’ history of violence influenced his decision, pointing specifically to surveillance footage from a 2016 incident involving Combs and his former girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, widely known as Cassie.
“The same power you used to hurt women, you can use to help them,” the judge told Combs at the time. “I’m counting on you to make the most of your second chance.”
The appeal also challenges the conviction itself, arguing that Combs’ sexual activity and recordings of those encounters were protected under the First Amendment. Judge Subramanian previously dismissed that argument, but Combs’ legal team is asking the appeals court to reconsider.
Combs, once one of the most influential figures in hip-hop and entertainment, is currently serving his sentence with a projected release date in May 2028. His appeal now puts both the length of his sentence — and the legal reasoning behind it — under fresh scrutiny.
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