The jury’s verdict in the defamation lawsuit involving Johnny Depp and Amber Heard may be overturned, according to Heard’s attorney, who asserts that the incorrect juror was chosen.
The defamation lawsuit involving Johnny Depp and Amber Heard may still not be done, as the Aquaman actor’s attorney seeks to declare a mistrial after it was discovered a member of the jury was not authorized to be there.
What Deadline reports?
Deadline reports that Elaine Bredehoft, one of Heard’s attorneys, asserts that Juror No. 15 was actually the roommate of the intended recipient and not the person who was actually summoned for trial. As a result, the legal team is asking for a mistral. According to a new document from Heard’s legal team, “Ms. Heard had a right to rely on the basic protection, as stipulated by the Virginia Code,” which states that the jury, in this case, would be made up of people who had actually been summoned for jury service.
This new submission from Heard’s team offers precise legal information that may necessitate the decision being overturned, unlike the former 43-page statement asking for the case to be dismissed. In this instance, it appears that Juror No. 15 was not, in fact, the person identified on the jury panel, said Bredehoft. “Thus, Ms. Heard’s right to a fair trial was violated. A mistrial should be declared under these circumstances, and a new trial should be initiated.”
Defamation Trial Between Depp and Heard
A summons for the defamation trial between Depp and Heard over the 2018 Washington Post op-ed she wrote about her experiences with domestic abuse was allegedly mailed to a Virginia location in April 2022, according to the redacted petition. Heard was forced to pay her ex-husband $15 million in damages when Depp ultimately won the case. Two people with “the same last name,” one 77 and the other 52 years old, are reportedly living at that home, according to today’s filing. The younger person appears to have shown up despite the summons being for the eldest of the two. As a result, the complaint claims, “the 52-year-old (redacted) sitting on the jury for six weeks was never summoned for jury service on April 11 and did not ‘appear in the list as required.”
Without anybody detecting the inconsistency, the 52-year-old managed to get past the court staff and clerks and into the official jury. The 52-year-birth old’s year of 1945 also appears to have been entered into the necessary online form, however, it is unclear who entered the information or whether it was done on purpose or accidentally. As a result, Heard’s defense team asked the court for an explanation and demanded punishment.
This was a high-profile case
Both before and after the juror summonses were issued, extensive media coverage was given to the facts and the scheduled date of the jury trial. Provisions in Virginia’s statute law are in place to ensure that the person summoned to jury duty actually reports for duty and “Reads the document “The parties rely on those protections, which are in place, to confirm the identification of the proper juror and to guarantee due process and a fair trial for all plaintiffs. The right to a jury trial and due process are undercut and jeopardized when these protections are ignored or evaded, as seems to be the case here.”
For more updates, keep reading – pelhamplus.com
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