American producer and musician Sean “Diddy” Combs (AFP Photo)

Sean “Diddy” Combs is due in court Tuesday for a hearing on how prosecutors came to possess his handwritten notes following a search of the jail cell where the rapper and producer is being held ahead of his trial on charges sex trafficking. Lawyers for Combs, who has pleaded not guilty, wrote in a court filing Monday that the notes concerned witnesses and defense strategies, and were subject to attorney-client privilege, a legal doctrine that protects confidential communications between lawyers and their clients.

Defense attorneys called the seizure of the tickets a violation of Combs’ right to a fair trial and protection against self-incrimination and unreasonable searches and seizures under the U.S. Constitution. Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan said the notes mentioned Combs paying off a potential witness, demonstrating he was trying to obstruct justice. Prosecutors said an investigator took photos of the notes during a large search planned Oct. 28 by various federal agencies at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

That investigation could lead to more charges against Combs, which would make the photographs fair game as evidence, prosecutors say.

Combs is scheduled to appear at 3 p.m. EDT (2000 GMT) before U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan.

Combs, 55, was arrested in September on charges he used his business empire, including the Bad Boy Entertainment label, to transport female and male sex workers across state lines to participate in taped shows called “Freak Offs.” The music mogul is scheduled to go on trial starting May 5 on three counts: racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to prosecute. Combs’ lawyers have said the sexual activity described in the indictment was consensual.