Johnny Depp’s legal team argued thatAmber Heard’s request for a mistrial should be denied altogether.
On Friday, Heard’s team made a filing in Circuit Court of Fairfax County claiming that the actress, 36, isentitled to a mistrial"based on newly discovered facts and information" that one of the jurors present for the entire trial was not the one actually summoned for jury duty.
The documents claim the person summoned was 77 years old at the time, but a 52-year-old with the same last name and address instead showed up and was seated. Her side said it is “deeply troubling for an individual not summoned for jury duty nonetheless to appear for jury duty and serve on a jury,” especially given the “high-profile” nature 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.”
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On Monday, Depp’s legal team fired back with their own filing, insisting the verdict remain and reiterating their evidence.
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About the alleged juror mix-up, Depp’s team said, Heard’s “desperate, after-the-fact demand for an investigation of Juror 15 based on a purported error in his birth date” is “misplaced.” They argued that she has “failed to identify any way” that the juror mix-up would have “somehow robbed her of” due process, and clarified that the juror was vetted “just as all of the other jurors were.”
Depp’s team said Heard had “ample time” to verify the juror’s information and raise any concerns prior to the trial, rather than bringing it up after the verdict.
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After the verdict was revealed June 1, Depp said in a statement that he felt like the seven-person jury, made up of five men and two women, “gave me my life back.” Heard, meanwhile, called the verdict a “setback” for women and said, “I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence and sway of my ex-husband.”
source: people.com
