(NewsNation) —Sean “Diddy” Combs appeared in court Thursday as his attorneys argued for his acquittal or retrial on a pair of prostitution-related charges one week ahead of his sentencing.
Judge Arun Subramanian said he would rule “very shortly” whether to set aside the charges Combs was convicted of in July or to move forward with sentencing.
The judge listened to nearly 90 minutes of arguments by lawyers over whether the charges were properly brought against Combs.
The music mogul sat in court wearing a tan prison-issued shirt and pants and carried in a large binder.
Combs has spent nearly 13 months in jail after a jury convicted him in July on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution under the Mann Act, which has a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. He was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking.
Defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro urged the judge to toss out two violations of the Mann Act, saying Combs cannot be held responsible for financing and helping to arrange the transportation domestically and internationally for elaborate sex performances he often filmed.
Shapiro ended her argument by calling the Mann Act “racist and sexist” and “an embarrassment to the United States of America.”
Prosecutor Christy Slavik argued that the jury verdict should stand, saying it was in the public interest to prevent prostitution, particularly when it involves the kind of violence and drugs that occurred when Combs was involved.
The music producer is set to be sentenced Oct. 3.
Diddy’s defense fighting to free music mogul
This is the defense’s “last-ditch effort before the sentencing to try to get [Combs] out in terms of either reversing the conviction or getting a new trial,” Tre Lovell, an entertainment attorney, told NewsNation.
Combs’ lawyers argued this week that he should be sentenced to no more than 14 months in prison. With credit for good behavior, that would mean he would be released immediately.
Prosecutors have said they believe he should spend at least several more years behind bars, although they won’t submit their sentencing recommendations to the judge until next week.
Lovell said arguments to set aside the verdict will be “tough” for defense attorneys.
Defense attorneys have made several attempts to free Combs since his conviction, but each request was denied by Subramanian.
They are likely now looking at preserving motions for appeal, including motions for a new trial and motions for a judgment of acquittal, former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani said.
“I don’t think that those motions have any chance of success, but we know that they’re looking at a potential appeal down the road, and even if he gets time served, he may appeal this conviction again,” Rahmani told NewsNation.
The arguments made on Thursday are really “teeing up for appeal more than any real chance of success,” Rahmani said.
Combs has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his arrest in September last year.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.