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Heard attorneys say juror served improperly, seek mistrial

Depp Heard Trial
Posted at 1:27 PM, Jul 11, 2022
and last updated 2022-07-11 13:27:09-04

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A new court filing from Amber Heard's legal team alleges one of the jurors in the defamation case filed against her by her ex-husband Johnny Depp served improperly.

The memo filed Friday in Virginia's Fairfax Circuit Court asks the court to declare a mistrial and order a new trial.

It says the apparent discrepancy violated Heard's due process rights.

The filing suggests that Juror No. 15 was a younger individual with the same last name as the person who should have been served.

"Apparently," they both live at the same address.

The Associated Press sent emails seeking comment Sunday to a representative for Depp and two of his attorneys.

Depp sued Heard over a December 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post where she described herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.”

Jurors in the six-week trial was tasked to determine if Depp was slandered by his ex-wife when she wrote an op-ed piece.

Last month, the jury sided with Depp, awarding him $15 million in damages, and Heard was awarded $2 million in her countersuit.

Last week Heard's lawyers filed post-trial motions stating that the award to her ex-husband was “excessive” and “indefensible.”