<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Lawyers for Sean "Diddy" Combs hope to persuade a federal appeals </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/courts" rel="" target="" title="court"><span>court</span></a><span> to release the rapper from </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/prison" rel="" target="" title="prison"><span>prison</span></a><span> immediately and overturn his conviction on prostitution-related charges by arguing he was engaged in voyeurism and amateur pornography – conduct they say is protected by the First Amendment.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Combs' attorneys, who will appear before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, are also expected to argue US District Judge Arun Subramanian "illegally" considered conduct for which Combs was acquitted when calculating his sentence.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The district court refused to enforce the jury's verdict," Combs' lawyers wrote in a December court filing.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/heartbroken-daughter-demands-justice-eva-lasrini/3d53c580-94b6-4850-8a82-15577bc99fe0"><strong><span>Heartbroken daughter demands justice for mum after alleged murder</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/diddy-update-sean-combs-found-not-guilty-on-most-serious-charges-in-sex-trafficking-trial/05f4fcdf-86cf-4d76-91d1-3090cb7da44c" rel="" target="" title="founder of Bad Boy Records was convicted last July"><span>founder of Bad Boy Records was convicted last July</span></a><span> on two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution in violation of the Mann Act for arranging travel for escorts to engage in sex acts with his then-girlfriends, Cassie Ventura and a woman who testified under the pseudonym "Jane".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Combs was acquitted of more than serious charges, including racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, after an eight-week trial. Prosecutors alleged Combs coerced the two women into having sex with male escorts, often by supplying drugs to sustain them over multiple days. The marathon sex sessions – which were often filmed – were referred to as "Freak Offs" and "hotel nights".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/sean-diddy-combs-sentencing-faces-possibility-of-years-in-prison/530ac19d-1df9-4b7d-8989-e8f64ebe5b48" rel="" target="" title="Combs was sentenced to 50 months in prison in October"><span>Combs was sentenced to 50 months in prison in October</span></a><span> – though he is scheduled for release in April 2028, according to records from the US Bureau of Prisons. He has been held in federal custody since his arrest in September 2024.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/was-sean-diddy-combs-making-amateur-porn-lawyers-argue-yes-in-appealing-conviction-on-prostitutionrelated-charges/12c14612-f1a0-4085-b225-e121e4832b3d" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His lawyers argued he should be released because defendants convicted of similar prostitution-related offences typically receive sentences of 15 months. They are also asking the appeals court to acquit Combs of the prostitution-related charges or send the case back to Subramanian for resentencing. Prosecutors are asking the panel of three judges to affirm the conviction and sentence.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Combs' attorneys say prostitution is not defined in the Mann Act and ask the appeals court to reject an "overbroad interpretation of the statute".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Freak-offs and hotel nights were highly choreographed sexual performances involving the use of costumes, role play, and staged lighting, which were filmed so Combs and his girlfriends could watch this amateur pornography later. Pornography production and viewing of this sort is protected by the First Amendment and thus cannot constitutionally be prosecuted," his lawyers wrote in a court filing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-iran-war-george-clooney-blasts-donald-trump-for-threatening-to-wipe-out-civilisation/d70b5750-02fd-4e0f-9ce9-283a9a3cf2f5"><strong><span>'That's a crime': Clooney draws White House fury after Trump accusation</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/woman-charged-after-striking-hospital-patient-with-hammer/61ac471e-acbe-4efa-bcb9-45940b72ad88" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><span>'Smashed him with a hammer': No bail on hospital attack</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"In other words, the term 'prostitution' in the Act should be limited to those situations where a paying customer engages in sex with the person being paid," his lawyers wrote.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Prosecutors called Combs' argument "meritless".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Combs is entirely differently situated from adult film distributors: He hired and transported commercial sex workers to have sex with his girlfriends for his own sexual gratification, sometimes directly participating in the sex acts," prosecutors wrote in a response filed in February.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>To side with Combs, prosecutors said, would mean "any defendant who transported others to engage in prostitution could escape liability simply by watching or filming the sex".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Combs' attorneys also say Subramanian "largely ignored" new guidelines from the US Sentencing Commission prohibiting acquitted conduct from being considered when calculating advisory sentencing guidelines.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Prosecutors said the new guidelines apply when calculating the sentencing range, not determining the sentence. In the latter, judges are allowed to consider other factors, including the character of the defendant.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They argued Subramanian was "surgically focused" on conduct relevant to the Mann Act counts in determining the sentencing range.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"As the District Court correctly observed, '[n]othing in the guidelines suggests that the commission intended for courts to ignore conduct relevant to establishing the offence in question, so a more restrictive reading of this language is untenable,'" prosecutors wrote.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY: </span></em></strong><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via </span></em></strong><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span> and </span></em></strong><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a><strong><em></em></strong></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred source on Google by </span></em></strong><a href="https://9.nine.com.au/8x987w" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><em><span>ticking this box here</span></em></strong></a><strong><em></em></strong></li><li><strong><em><span>Sign up to </span></em></strong><a href="https://login.nine.com.au/edm?client_id=nineatnine" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><em><span>our breaking newsletter here</span></em></strong></a><strong><em></em></strong></li></ul></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong></strong></div></div>