Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard Trial: Judge rejects Amber Heard's request to declare mistrial

Amber Heard asks judge for mistrial, cites jury mistake

Amber Heard's legal team says one of the jurors in the defamation case filed against her by ex-husband Johnny Depp improperly served on the jury. A memo was filed Friday in Virginia's Fairfax Circuit Court by Heard's team asking the court to declare a mistrial and to order a new trial. FOX 5's Chief Legal Correspondent breaks it all down.

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. - Amber Heard's legal team says one of the jurors in the defamation case filed against her by ex-husband Johnny Depp improperly served on the jury.

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According to the Associated Press, a memo was filed Friday in Virginia's Fairfax Circuit Court. It asked the court to declare a mistrial and to order a new trial.

Heard's legal team suggests that Juror No. 15 was a younger individual with the same last name as the person who should have served. The AP says a "jury panel list" in the case included a person who would have been 77-years-old at the time of the trial. Voter registration information lists two individuals with the same last name "apparently" residing at the same address, according to the AP.

A judge later rejected the claim saying that the juror issue specifically was irrelevant and that Heard can’t show she was prejudiced.

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Actor Amber Heard testifies at Fairfax County Circuit Court during a defamation case against her by ex-husband, actor Johnny Depp in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 4, 2022. - US actor Johnny Depp sued his ex-wife Amber Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court after she wrote an op-ed piece in The Washington Post in 2018 referring to herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse." (Photo by ELIZABETH FRANTZ / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ELIZABETH FRANTZ/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Depp sued Heard over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as "a public figure representing domestic abuse."

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Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard Trial: Attorneys say juror served improperly, mistrial sought

Amber Heard's legal team says one of the jurors in the defamation case filed against her by ex-husband Johnny Depp improperly served on the jury.

After a bombshell trial that saw both Depp and Heard take the stand, the jury found in Depp's favor on all of his claims and decided he should receive $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages -- but the judge reduced the punitive damages award to $350,000 under a state cap.

Heard's lawyers had previously asked a judge to throw out the verdict against her arguing that the jury's decision was not supported by the evidence.

The Associated Press contributed to this report