Sean 'Diddy' Combs Appears in Court, Judge Says He Doesn't Want 'Last-Minute Surprise' Before Trial

Sean "Diddy" Combs returned to court in Manhattan on Wednesday, Dec. 18, where a federal judge implored the rap mogul's defense team to avoid any "surprises."

Combs, donning a khaki prison jumpsuit, appeared in federal court in Manhattan in front of Judge Arun Subramanian for a status conference in the government's case accusing him of sex trafficking.

With a trial set to begin to May of next year, Subramanian requested that Combs and his defense team to have updates in the motion schedule in place by Jan. 3, "to avoid any kind of surprise at the last minute." He will return to court on March 17.

The appearance marked Combs' first in court since a bail hearing io Nov. 22. Five days after that last hearing, the music mogul was denied bail by Subramanian, who cited risks of witness tampering in his decision.

Combs has since withdrawn his appeal for bail and will spend the holiday season behind bars.

Combs has been incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since his arrest in September. He was indicted on charges of sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution and has pleaded not guilty.

The indictment centers around alleged "freak offs," which prosecutors claim were elaborate sex performances involving male sex workers and women who were forced or coerced into participating.

A judge previously allowed Combs to appear in court without shackles, in which he had been bound during his earlier court hearings. The Bad Boy Records founder's attorneys had argued that shackles could potentially create "juror bias."

Related: Judge Rules on Diddy's Claim that Feds Leaked Infamous Cassie Video to CNN

Two days before Combs' latest court appearance, Subramanian denied an evidentiary hearing into defense claims the the prosecution had leaked evidence to the press, including surveillance footage of an alleged assault of singer Cassie Ventura at a Los Angeles hotel in 2016.

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“As to the Intercontinental Hotel video, Combs has not carried his burden to show that the government leaked it to CNN,” Subramanian wrote in his decision. “Combs argues that 'the most likely source of the leak is the government' but he doesn’t point to any sound basis for this conclusion.”

Subramanian ruled last week that Combs could have access to a laptop in jail that would only allow him to review discovery materials as he prepares for trial.

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