Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

Before heading to the jury room to decide the case, Judge Arun Subramanian gave them a sincere thanks and final instructions.

The 12 jurors will now elect a foreperson - that’s who will deliver the verdict in open court.

During deliberations, they will stop if even one person leaves the room.

Alternate jurors will be allowed to go home, but have to be reachable until deliberation has ended in case they need to tap in.

The judge read out more of the standard rules - no talking to anyone about the case, no reading the news or doing research, and don’t let feelings or sympathies interfere.

The jury is now deliberating.

The judge tells them they can take as long as they want each day. They can stay beyond the 17:00 EDT (22:00 BST) time that court usually finishes, if they wish to.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

The charges against Combs have now all been read to the jury.

Now we’re hearing from the judge on a few other details, such as expert witnesses, people who did not testify, and intoxication.

The judge tells jurors that intoxication is not a defence for committing crimes, but it may impact intent to commit certain crimes, including racketeering.

Jurors can either conclude Combs was too intoxicated to have the intent to commit racketeering - or that he had intent even when he was intoxicated.

This is an argument we heard often from Combs' lawyers, that his violence was fuelled by drugs and jealousy, not by a goal of sex trafficking.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

We are now "in the home stretch" of the instructions to jurors, the judge tells the court.

After many pages of racketeering charges, he quickly summarises the sex trafficking counts against Combs. These involve Combs' ex-girlfriends Cassie Ventura and Jane (who testified under a pseudonym).

The judge reminds jurors of the three conditions they need to find Combs guilty:

1. That he used fraud, force or coercion
2. He knew or recklessly disregarded the fact that there was force fraud or coercion
3. That it affected interstate commerce

Jurors are told to consider the background of the alleged victim - their education, intelligence etc - and how that may have played a role in their choice to participate in a sex act.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

The judge just wrapped up explaining the racketeering charge.

One element he mentioned is what constitutes drug distribution under racketeering.

The judge told the jury the amount of drugs is irrelevant. The jury must find that at least two people agreed to distribute a drug from one person to another.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

We spent most of the nearly two-month trial listening to the different crimes that prosecutors allege Combs committed through the racketeering act.

For instance, they allege he committed kidnapping by forcing Cassie Ventura to stay hidden in a hotel to hide her bruises after he beat her up.

They say he kidnapped his former employer Capricorn Clark to make her take a lie detector test over several days under the threat of "being thrown in the East River".

Arson is also alleged. Prosecutors called rapper Kid Cudi to the stand to testify about a time they allege Combs firebombed his Porsche out of jealously over his relationship with Ventura.

There’s also allegations of forced labour. Prosecutors called Combs' former employee Mia to the stand to tell jurors about how she could not leave Combs’ house when she was working for him, and worked incredibly long hours.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

It’s a slow Monday morning as we listen to the judge’s instructions.

Several people in the overflow room have fallen asleep at times, including one man who is audibly snoring. And a woman in here is knitting.

The judge is still carefully walking through the racketeering charge, including the eight different types of crimes that prosecutors allege he committed.

This includes witness tampering, forced labour, kidnapping, bribery and drug distribution.

Combs is relatively still in his chair as the judge gets into the heart of the charges.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

Racketeering is a complicated charge, and the judge is carefully talking the jury through the different components.

Racketeering conspiracy is an explicit or implicit agreement between two or more people to commit a crime. It doesn’t have to be a formal agreement, the judge says.

He reminds the jury about what the government has labelled the "Combs enterprise". That is the core group of people that are alleged to have conspired to commit crimes.

To be convicted, Combs would have had to knowingly and wilfully been a member of the alleged conspiracy. The jury would need to find that Combs agreed with at least one more person in the alleged group to commit at least two of crimes he is charged with. Those crimes would need to have happened within 10 years of each other.

If convicted of racketeering, Combs could face up to life in prison.

Judge Arun Subramanian is taking the jury through the five counts Sean "Diddy" Combs has been charged with:

1. Racketeering conspiracy
2. Sex trafficking of Cassie Ventura
3. Transportation for prostitution of Ventura and others
4. Sex trafficking of Jane
5. Transportation for prostitution of Jane and others

The judge instructs the jury that the indictment itself is not evidence. He also says if they determine Combs’ guilt or innocence on one of the counts, that shouldn’t impact how they view the other counts.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

Combs’ six adult children and his mother are all here, sitting behind the defendant in their regular seats.

They’re shifting around as the judge gives his instructions, and passing notes to each other on a pad of paper.

Sitting with his lawyers, Combs is quite active today. He is moving around in his chair, taking his glasses on and off, and passing notes to his lawyer Marc Agnifilo.

He often glances towards the jury box.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

The judge reminds the 12 New Yorkers that it is the government that has the burden of proving Combs’ guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

What is a reasonable doubt?

He explains that it is a doubt a reasonable person has after carefully reviewing and weighing all the evidence.

It’s not proof beyond any possible doubt, he says. He tells the jurors they will be weighing two kinds of evidence - direct evidence such as testimony, and circumstantial evidence, such as inferences. The jurors will also weigh whether witnesses who testified in the trial - more than 30 of them - were believable or credible, and how important their testimony is.

"There is no magic formula" for determining credibility, the judge says.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

We have just begun hearing instructions from Judge Arun Subramanian to jurors.

Combs is in court wearing his usual cream sweater, sometimes leaning back in his chair. At times he has his head down while the judge reads the instructions to jurors.

His family is here once again, seated together in a row behind him.

The judge begins by reminding the jurors that they are the "sole and exclusive judges of the facts".

They have to determine a verdict without bias or prejudice to either of the parties involved.

Judge Arun Subramanian is here. He will soon start giving his instructions to the jury. This is expected to take more than an hour.

Afterwards, the jury will begin to deliberate.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

A few of Combs’ children have arrived at the Manhattan court.

We just saw his sons Quincy and Christian walk into the building. His mother has been here every day of the trial as well.

In his closing statements, defence lawyer Marc Agnifilo pointed out family members to the jurors, saying six of Combs’ seven children were present, the seventh being his infant daughter.

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from court

It’s a hot and sunny day in Lower Manhattan. It's quite the contrast from two months ago when this trial started and the weather was cold and rainy.

Crowds of journalists and the general public are out in full force today, with cameras lining the street and influencers poised to stream to their social media followers.

Last week, the court had to open four overflow rooms in addition to the main courtroom to handle the number of people who wanted to watch proceedings.

Image source, Jane Rosenberg / Reuters

The defence team faced a dilemma during this trial: should they let their own client take the stand?

Last week, we heard directly from Sean Combs in court. Judge Arun Subramanian asked how he was doing.

Combs, 55, responded he was well. "You're doing an excellent job," he told the judge.

The judge asked him to if he would be taking the stand in his own defence. Combs said no.

"That is my decision, your honour," Combs said.

If he had, the entire case could have come down to his remarks, legal experts say.

Such a situation would be risky for the hip-hop mogul, as he would have to address many allegations of violence, some incidents of which have been filmed, Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor, told the BBC.

High-profile defendants in criminal trials typically do not take the stand, in order to avoid opening themselves up to cross-examination.

• Read more: How compelling is the case against Diddy?

If convicted on the racketeering charge, Combs faces up to life in prison.

He faces another statutory minimum sentence of 15 years if he is found guilty of sex trafficking.

Transportation for purposes of prostitution carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Combs has denied all charges against him.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from court

Good morning from federal court in Manhattan.

Today begins the end of the two-month sex-trafficking and racketeering trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs.

The judge will spend a little over an hour instructing the jury on how to deliberate over the five charges that Combs faces.

Lawyers spent hours last week discussing exactly what Judge Arun Subramanian should tell them in accordance with the law.

After those instructions, the case will finally be in the hands of the jurors, who will take into account testimony from more than 30 witnesses, graphic videos and pages of text messages.

Combs could face life in prison if convicted of the most serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking.