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It’s been six weeks since Johnny Depp won his defamation case against Amber Heard, but the trial remains a hot topic of discussions on social media,
And if you were hoping that the debate would die down soon and the gossip world would move on to a new topic of discussion, well — we’re afraid we have some bad news for you.
From the moment that the jury announced their verdict, we knew that Heard planned to appeal.
But now, it seems that the actress and her ex might wind up back in court much sooner than expected.
According to court documents obtained by People magazine, attorneys for Heard have requested that the judge in her case declare a mistrial.
Their request is “based on newly discovered facts and information that Juror No. 15 was not the individual summoned for jury duty on April 11, 2022.”
Yes, Amber’s legal team believes that one of the seven jurors was not who he claimed to be.
They say the juror who was selected was 77 years old at the start of the trial.
The person who showed up was allegedly only 52.
The two people share the same last name and address, and are probably related in some capacity.
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So we suppose it’s possible that there was just some sort of mix-up.
But Heard’s attorneys allege that the juror who showed up did so with the full knowledge that the summons was intended for his older relative.
“It is deeply troubling for an individual not summoned for jury duty nonetheless to appear for jury duty and serve on a jury, especially in a such as this,” the filing says.
Heard’s lawyers note the “high-profile” status 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.”
They go on to argue that Heard was “denied due process” by this act of duplicity on the part of one of the jurors.
And they say the only way to rectify the matter is to hold another trial as soon as possible.
This latest filing comes just one week after Heard’s attorneys requested that the verdict be thrown out altogether.
At that time, they were asking the judge to intervene and declare that the jury had reached a decision without sufficient evidence.
Now, Team Heard’s argument is bolstered by what appears to be some very shady behavior on behalf of one juror.
Depp was awarded $10.35 million in damages after his lawyers convinced the jury that Heard did irreparable damage to his career with a 2018 Washington Post essay in which she identified herself as a victim of domestic abuse.
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Heard was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages, which left her with a debt of $8.35 million to Depp, a sum that the actress’ lawyer says she’s unable to pay.
Now it appears that the matter will be relitigated much sooner than expected.
If their request for a new trial is granted, Heard’s attorneys are expected to request that cameras not be allowed in the courthouse this time around.
Nevertheless, you can be certain that the eyes of the world will once again be watching.
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