One of the jurors who ruled against Amber Heard in the defamation suit brought by Johnny Depp was never summoned for jury duty, according to a new filing from Heard’s legal team (via Deadline).
A seven-person jury consisting of five men and two women awarded Depp $10.35 million, finding that his ex-wife’s 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post damaged his reputation, even though Heard never mentioned him explicitly by name. But it seems now that one of those jurors should never have been selected.
“Juror No. 15 was not, in fact, the same individual as listed on the jury panel,” attorney Elaine Bredehoft wrote. “Ms. Heard’s due process was therefore compromised. Under these circumstances, a mistrial should be declared, and a new trial ordered.”
In April, a summons was sent to a Virginia resident. But according to the filing, there were two individuals at the address with the same last name: a 77-year-old and a 52-year-old. The 77-year-old was called for jury duty, but the 52-year-old showed up.
“Thus, the 52-year-old [redacted] sitting on the jury for six weeks was never summoned for jury duty on April 11 and did not ‘appear in the list,’ as required,” the filing continued, blocking out the names of the individuals to protect their identities.
