A federal judge has agreed to a request by Sean “Diddy” Combs for a speedy appeal, as the music mogul looks to leave prison as soon as possible.
Judge Beth Robinson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York, handed down the decision on Monday, Oct. 3, NBC News reported.
In a two-paragraph order, Robinson outlined the timetable for the mogul’s appeal. The rapper and producer’s legal team has until Dec. 23 to file a brief with the court. Federal prosecutors must respond by Feb. 20, 2026. Combs’ lawyers have until March 13 to submit their response. After that, oral arguments could start as early as April.
Related: Diddy Assigned Prison Job Paying Pennies Per Hour
Prosecutors did not oppose the mogul’s request for an expedited appeal, which was filed last month after his sentencing hearing.
The judge’s decision granting the fast-track appeal marks a win for Combs, who is hoping to have his conviction and sentence overturned.
The ruling comes after the Bad Boy Records founder was transferred on Oct. 30, from the much-maligned Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, to FCI Fort Dix, a “low-security” federal correctional institution in Burlington County, New Jersey.
On July 2, a Manhattan jury convicted Combs under the Mann Act for transporting people across state lines for the purpose of prostitution. Jurors found him not guilty of the more serious racketeering and sex trafficking charges.
On Oct. 3, Judge Arun Subramanian sentenced him to 50 months in federal prison, or 4 years and 2 months. The judge said Combs would be credited with time served for the 13 months he’s spent at the MDC since he was arrested in September 2024. He was also ordered to pay a $500,000 fine.
Prosecutors had asked the judge to sentence Combs to 135 months — or 11 years and 3 months, while the defense argued he should get 14 months, or time served.
During his sentencing hearing, Combs said being jailed had turned his life upside down. “I’ve been humbled and broken to my core,” he told the judge.
The defense team played an 11-minute video that portrayed the mogul as a philanthropist, loving father, and successful businessman focused on helping the Black community.
Meantime, the mogul’s accusers sent letters to the court ahead of the sentencing describing him as a monster.
His former girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura said his alleged “victims and survivors will never be safe.”
Ventura, who testified that Combs spent years physically and sexually abusing her, referred to the video of the mogul attacking her in a Los Angeles hotel.
“The entire courtroom watched actual footage of Combs kicking and beating me as I tried to run away from a freak off in 2016. People watched this footage dozens of times, seeing my body thrown to the ground, my hands over my head, curled into a fetal position to shield me from the worst blows,” she wrote in her letter.
Last week, the Federal Bureau of Prisons listed Combs’ release date on the BOP website as May 8, 2028, as long as he stays out of trouble.
The mogul is hoping for a presidential pardon or an appeal before 2028.
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