Amber Heard & Team claim “fake juror” was part on the panel, demand a new trial

Amber Heard and her legal team have sought a new trial citing the presence of the "wrong juror" on the jury panel.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard

It would seem that the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial has taken a new shape. Following the recent verdict of the ultra-high-profile defamation case on June 1 which was ruled in favor of Depp, Amber Heard and her legal team have sought a new trial citing the presence of the "wrong juror" on the jury panel.

The legal team has filed a new set of court documents at the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia claiming that Juror #15 isn't the same person who was summoned for the job. Owing to this, Amber Heard has now demanded the previous proceedings be declared a mistrial.

As reported by Deadline, the new court documents filed by the team state that the Aquaman actress has 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 filing also reveals the exact reason for the demand for the new trial, adding that Juror #15 was not the person listed on the panel which compromises Heard’s due process.

Reportedly, Juror 15 lives at the same address as the individual originally summoned and the two even share the same name which could have possibly led to the confusion. However, the two individuals are said to have been born 25 years apart (aged 77 and 52 respectively) and the same court filing by Amber Heard’s legal aid states that the 52-year-old panel member was never summoned for jury duty and that he/she never appeared on the list or the venire.

Johnny Depp sued his former wife Amber Heard over an op-ed piece she had written in 2018 for The Washington Post wherein she referred to herself as the victim of domestic abuse. The trial began on April 11 amidst tremendous scrutiny and public attention and was concluded on June 1 with Depp being awarded $15 million by the jury.

Although Johnny Depp’s legal team is yet to respond to the potentially damning claims made, the latest developments could jeopardize the recent mega victory. Alongside, reports add that the Virginia statutory code has been designed so to ensure that any person not on the list of prospective jurors isn’t allowed to be on the final panel, unless due to a good reason. It would be interesting to see how things unfold in the coming days.

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