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Amber Heard Asks for Mistrial in Johnny Depp Defamation Case After an Alleged Juror Mix-Up
In new court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Amber Heard’s lawyers claim the wrong juror served in her six-week trial with Johnny Depp
Amber Heard alleges the wrong juror showed up to Johnny Depp’s defamation trial against her and wants it to be declared a mistrial.
In documents filed with the Circuit Court of Fairfax County obtained by PEOPLE on Friday, Heard’s lawyers claim she is entitled to a mistrial “based on newly discovered facts and information that Juror No. 15 was not the individual summoned for jury duty on April 11, 2022.”
The documents claim the person who was selected for the jury was 77 years old at the time, and shares the same last name and address as someone who was 52. (Fairfax County’s selected jurors are registered voters in the area and both individuals’ details such as their names, birthdays, and address, are included in voter registration information)
Heard’s legal team alleges it was actually the younger person, not the older one who was actually summoned, who served as a juror in the six-week trial.
“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,” the filing says, noting the “high-profile” status of the trial “where the fact and date of the jury trial were highly publicized prior to and after the issuance of the juror summonses.”
The actress’ lawyers say she was not given the proper “due process,” so she’s asking for a mistrial ‘and a new trial ordered.”
A representative for Depp had no comment when reached by PEOPLE.
The request comes one week after Heard’s counsel asked for the verdict to be thrown out altogether.
In one claim, Heard’s lawyers argue that it was incorrect for Depp, 59, to claim that he lost his role in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series because of a Washington Post op-ed, where Heard, 36, wrote that she was abused but did not name the abuser.
Heard’s team argued that Depp “proceeded solely on a defamation by implication theory, abandoning any claims that Ms. Heard’s statements were actually false.”
Last month, the actor won all three defamation claims in his case against Heard and was awarded $15 million in damages by a jury. Heard will only have to pay $10.35 million due to Virginia law capping punitive damages (the judge reduced the amount). Heard, 36, was awarded $2 million in her counterclaims against him.
Depp sued Heard for $50 million in damages, claiming she defamed him by writing a 2018 op-ed about coming forward with domestic abuse accusations, though she did not mention him by name. Meanwhile, Heard filed a countersuit seeking $100 million in damages, claiming Depp spearheaded a campaign to discredit her and her allegations as “fake” and a “hoax,” harming her career and reputation.
