Amber Heard Demands Mistrial: Claims Wrong Juror Showed Up To Court

After losing the defamation case to Johnny Depp, Amber Heard has been fighting tooth and nail to get the case re-tried, Heard went as far as officially declaring her desire to appeal the verdict on June 24. Now, two weeks after her verdict appeal confirmation, it appears she will be getting what she wants.

In 2019, Depp filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard over her 2018 Washington Post op-ed detailing her experiences as a domestic violence survivor. Though it doesn’t mention Depp by name, his lawyers argued that the references to him (as well as Heard’s previous public abuse allegations against him) were clear, claiming it damaged his career and reputation.

The trial began in Virginia in April and concluded last month in Depp’s favor. The jury ruled that Heard defamed him and awarded him $15 million in damages. Heard scored a small victory in her defamation countersuit, receiving $2 million in compensatory damages and no punitive damages. The verdict stood in stark contrast to the ruling in Depp’s failed 2020 lawsuit against The Sun, wherein he sued the British newspaper for calling him a wife-beater.

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Amber Heard – A Younger Juror Appeared In Court

In court documents submitted on July 8 in the circuit court of Fairfax County, Va., the Aquaman actress‘ lawyers claimed one of the jurors who partook in the case was not supposed to be there in the first place, per Deadline.

“Ms. Heard had a right to rely on the basic protection, as prescribed by the Virginia Code, that the jurors in this trial would be individuals who were actually summoned for jury duty,” the partially redacted filing reads. “In this case, it appears that Juror No. 15 was not, in fact, the same individual as listed on the jury panel. Ms. Heard’s due process was therefore compromised. Under these circumstances, a mistrial should be declared, and a new trial ordered.”

Heard’s attorneys allege that two people with the same last name live at the address where the summons was sent in April: a 77-year-old and a 52-year-old. The older individual was called to serve on the jury but, according to Heard’s lawyers, the younger one showed up to court.

“Thus, the 52-year-old 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,” reads the motion.

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Amber Heard — On Preventive Measures

The filing goes on to state that Virginia has safeguards in place to prevent these types of mixups, such as using a 7-digit juror number, zip code, and birthdate to verify jurors’ identities. “Those safeguards are in place and relied upon by the parties to verify the identity of the correct juror, to ensure due process and a fair trial for all litigants,” reads the filing. “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.”

Citing her right to “rely on the basic protection … that the jurors in this trial would be individuals who were actually summoned for jury duty,” Heard’s lawyers are asking that a mistrial be declared and a new trial ordered.

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