The June 1 verdict in the trial between Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) star Johnny Depp and Aquaman (2018) star Amber Heard might soon be reversed.
Heard’s attorney, Elaine Bredehoft, claims in a new filing obtained by Deadline in the Fairfax County Virginia Circuit Court that the star’s due process rights were violated.
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According to Bredehoft, one of the jurors who ruled against Heard was never summoned for jury duty. Juror No. 15 is a 52-year-old, but the Juror called to serve is a 77-year-old, meaning the person who served on the jury was never meant to be there.
Allegedly, two individuals with the same last name lived at the same address. Instead of the 77-year-old who was summoned, the 52-year-old with the same last name showed up and was selected to serve.
“Juror No. 15 was not, in fact, the same individual as listed on the jury panel,” Bredehoft wrote in the filing. “Ms. Heard’s due process was therefore compromised. Under these circumstances, a mistrial should be declared, and a new trial ordered.”
According to Yahoo!, it’s unclear whether the court clerks failed to check IDs or if the juror used a fake ID. The filing alleges that someone representing the 77-year-old completed an online form confirming their 1945 birth date, meaning that the 52-year-old knowingly impersonated the older summoned juror.
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Depp’s team, including attorney Camille Vasquez, later responded to the filing in a memo also obtained by Deadline. Mr. Depp’s attorneys don’t dispute the error with Juror 15 but claim the verdict against Ms. Heard should stand.
“Virginia law is clear that a verdict is not to be set aside unless it is ‘plainly wrong or without evidence to support it.’ Here, the verdict was well supported by the overwhelming evidence, consistent with the law, and should not be set aside,” the memo reads.
Additionally, the memo claims that Ms. Heard’s team had plenty of time to bring this up ahead of and during the six-week trial:
“Mr. Depp respectfully submits that the Court should deny Ms. Heard’s Post-Trial Motions, which verge into the frivolous.”
In June, the Court found Heard defamed Depp by publicly accusing him of domestic abuse. The jury found that Depp proved Heard lied about her allegations and ordered her to pay the Edward Scissorhands (1990) star $15 million.
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In Heard’s countersuit against Depp, the jury found that Depp’s former attorney, Adam Waldman, publicly defamed her. Depp now owes Heard $2 million in return.
Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) star Johnny Depp sued his ex-wife, Amber Heard of Los Angeles, for $50 million for defamation after she wrote an Op-Ed for The Washington Post in which she described herself as a victim of domestic abuse.
Heard countersued for $100 million, arguing that he “defamed her when his former lawyer released statements saying her allegations of abuse were a hoax.”
Do you think this is grounds for a mistrial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard? Let us know in the comments.