Amber Heard’s lawyers have revealed new details about an alleged juror snafu that they say warrants a new trial following Johnny Depp’s $10 million win in his defamation case last month.
Lawyers for the 36-year-old “Aquaman” actress claim that Juror 15 was not the right person called for jury duty in Depp’s case alleging that Heard defamed him in her 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she described herself as a victim of domestic violence.
“Juror No. 15 was not the individual summoned for jury duty on April 11, 2022, and therefore was not part of the jury panel and could not have properly served on the jury at this trial,” Heard’s team argued in court papers filed in Fairfax, Va., Friday. “Therefore, a mistrial should be declared.”
The filing did not indicate whether Juror 15 actually deliberated in the case.
Heard’s team claims there are two people living at the same address who share the same last name but are different ages — 77 and 52.
The 77-year-old was summoned for jury duty but the 52-year-old is the one who showed up, the documents claim.
Anyone called for jury duty in Fairfax County must fill out an online questionnaire including their personal information and their birthdate — as a safeguard to verify their identity, Heard’s team said.
“When these safeguards are circumvented or not followed, as appears to be the case here, the right to a jury trial and due process are undermined and compromised,” the court papers allege.
The report said that officers and clerks of the court somehow did not catch that this individual was not supposed to be on the jury.
This is an excerpt from New York Post.
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