Amber Heard Asks Judge to Declare Mistrial After ‘Newly Discovered Facts and Information’ Surfaces About Trial Juror

Amber Heard and her legal team are arguing for Judge Penney Azcarate to toss out the verdict in her recent defamation trial brought against the actress by her ex-husband Johnny Depp over the validity of a single juror. According to the actress’s legal team, “newly discovered facts and information” concerning the juror might disqualify and warrant the judge to declare a mistrial.

People reports, new documents filed in the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, claims that the wrong person served on the jury of the multi-million dollar defamation trial.

Depp’s case against Heard stemmed from statements she made in her 2018 op-ed published by the Washington Post.

In the article, Heard called herself “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” Depp’s lawyers claimed the article defamed their client and ruined his acting career and reputation — despite the article not mentioning Depp by name.

However, it’s now been six weeks after the highly-publicized defamation trial came to an end on June 1, with the Virginia jury unanimously ruling in Depp’s favor and awarding the actor a total of $10.35 million in damages, while Heard was awarded $2 million in her counterclaim based on statements made by Depp’s former attorney.

But, now Heard’s legal team is alleging a considerable mix-up with the jury pool, specifically Juror number 15.

Court documents reveal that Heard’s team argued that “Juror No. 15 was not the individual summoned for jury duty on April 11, 2022.”

Heard’s attorneys say the person who was supposed to serve as Juror No. 15 was 77 years old at the time and happened to share the same last name and address as a 52-year-old. But, the actress’s legal team claims the person who served on the jury was the younger individual, not the 77-year-old.

In the filing, Heard’s lawyers said:

“It is deeply troubling for an individual not summoned for jury duty nonetheless to appear for jury duty and serve on a jury, especially in a such as this” – highlighting the “high-profile” status of the Depp v. Heard trial, “where the fact and date of the jury trial were highly publicized prior to and after the issuance of the juror summonses.”

People report that Fairfax County’s selected jurors are selected from a pool of local registered voters, and the detailed information for both individuals, such as their address, birthdays, and names, are included with their voter registration.

However, now Heard’s team is arguing that their client did not receive the proper “due process” she’s entitled to and that Judge Azcarate should declare a mistrial.

The filing comes a little more than a week after Heard’s attorneys asked for a new trial.

https://twitter.com/EsotericElohim/status/1546202907988590592

In documents they filed on July 1, Heard’s legal team argued in an extended filing that the original ruling in the defamation trial was plagued by several issues such as excessively awarded damages, inadequate reasoning, and an improper jury.

Attorney Elaine Bredehoft argued via court documents that the case was decided based on faulty legal logic and that Depp’s claims “proceeded solely on a defamation by implication theory, abandoning any claims that Ms. Heard’s statements were false.”

Bredehoft also argued that Depp’s counsel initially said the case would focus on the period after her client’s 2018 op-ed was published but included statements and events dating back to 2016.

Another section focused on Heard’s op-ed never mentioning Depp by name, an argument they repeatedly made during the defamation trial.

Bredehoft further explained that Depp was never entitled to damages for any conduct before the op-ed, while the filing also says, “the verdicts on the complaint and counterclaim are inconsistent and therefore should be set aside,” and that Depp “did not present evidence of actual malice.”

The attorney concluded by saying:

“Ms. Heard respectfully requests this Court to set aside the jury verdict in favor of Mr. Depp and against Ms. Heard entirely, dismiss the Complaint, or in the alternative, order a new trial.

“Ms. Heard further requests this Court to investigate potential improper juror service and take appropriate action warranted by the results of the investigation.”

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Sources:

  1. “Amber Heard calls for a mistrial over ‘newly discovered facts and information about one of the jurors” Vt. Stefan Armitage. July 9, 2022.