Diddy Sentencing Explained

What is ‘hubris’?

In the Diddy case, prosecutors used the word "hubris" to describe what they saw as his arrogance in booking a Miami speaking gig before sentencing, as if he had already assumed he would be free. Hubris, they suggested, was Diddy acting with overconfidence and disregard for the seriousness of his conviction.

How many years is 70 months?

Prosecutors are calling for a sentence of at least 11 years and 3 months, which is 135 months in total. By comparison, 70 months equals 5 years and 10 months.

What is the Mann Act?

The Mann Act is a federal law that makes it a crime to transport someone across state lines for illegal sexual activity. The maximum penalty for violating the Mann Act is 10 years in prison and a fine.

The federal anti-sex trafficking law has a controversial, century-old history, according to The Associated Press.

In 1910, Congress passed the bill, which was named after Republican U.S. Rep. James Robert Mann of Illinois. It’s also known as the "White-Slave Traffic Act" of 1910.

The 1910 law originally prohibited the interstate or foreign commerce transport of "any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose."

Legal experts say its broad wording and a subsequent Supreme Court interpretation allowed prosecutors to bring cases against interracial couples, and eventually many others in consensual relationships.

In a 1917 Supreme Court case, the justices ruled that "illicit fornication," even when consensual, amounted to an immoral purpose," according to Cornell’s Legal Information Institute.

A 1986 update made the law gender-neutral and effectively ended the Act’s role in trying to legislate morality by changing "debauchery" and "immoral purpose" to "any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense."