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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.
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) US actors Amber Heard (L) and Johnny Depp watch as the jury leaves the courtroom at the end of the day at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, May 16, 2022. (Photo by Steve Helber/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) FAIRFAX, VA - MAY 27: Actor Johnny Depp sits in his vehicle as he departs the Fairfax County Courthouse on May 27, 2022 in Fairfax, Virginia. Closing arguments in the Depp v. Heard defamation trial, brought by Johnny Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard, concluded today and jury deliberations begin. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Actress Amber Heard, right, and her sister Whitney Heard, second left, depart the Fairfax County Courthouse on June 1, 2022 in Fairfax, Virginia. The jury in the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard case awarded Depp $15 million in damages to his career over an op-ed Heard wrote in the Washington Post in 2018. (Photo by Rod Lamkey/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images) Johnny Depp smiles during a recess outside court during the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard civil trial at Fairfax County Circuit Court on May 27, 2022, in Fairfax, Virginia. (Photo by Cliff Owen/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images) Johnny Depp and attorney Camille Vasquez FAIRFAX, VA - MAY 27: Johnny Depp bows to his fans during a recess outside court during the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard civil trial at Fairfax County Circuit Court on May 27, 2022 in Fairfax, Virginia. (Photo by Cliff Owen/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images) FAIRFAX, VA - MAY 27: Johnny Depp gestures to fans during a recess outside court during the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard civil trial at Fairfax County Circuit Court on May 27, 2022, in Fairfax, Virginia. (Photo by Cliff Owen/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images) FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA - MAY 24: Actor Johnny Depp leaves the Fairfax County Courthouse during his defamation case brought against ex-wife Amber Heard May 24, 2022 in Fairfax, Virginia. Closing arguments are scheduled for Friday. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) US actress Amber Heard (L) testifies as US actor Johnny Depp looks on during a defamation trial at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 5, 2022. - Actor Johnny Depp is suing ex-wife Amber Heard for libel 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 Jim LO SCALZO / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JIM LO SCALZO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Model Kate Moss testifies via video link at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 25, 2022. - Actor Johnny Depp is suing ex-wife Amber Heard for libel 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 EVELYN HOCKSTEIN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Actor Johnny Depp listens as his former girlfriend, Model Kate Moss, testifies via video link at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 25, 2022. - Actor Johnny Depp is suing ex-wife Amber Heard for libel 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 EVELYN HOCKSTEIN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) US actor Johnny Depp talks to his attorney Ben Chew in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 23, 2022. - 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 Steve Helber / POOL / AFP) (Photo by STEVE HELBER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) US actor Johnny Depp gestures to the gallery as he leaves for a break in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 23, 2022. - 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 Steve Helber / POOL / AFP) (Photo by STEVE HELBER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) FILE - U.S. actor Johnny Depp arrives at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 19, 2022. (SHAWN THEW/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) US actor Amber Heard speaks with a member of her legal team as she arrives at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 19, 2022. - Actor Johnny Depp is suing ex-wife Amber Heard for libel 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 Shawn THEW / POOL / AFP) (Photo by SHAWN THEW/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Actor Johnny Depp testifies in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, April 25, 2022. - 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 Steve Helber / POOL / AFP) (Photo by STEVE HELBER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) US actress Amber Heard testifies at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, on May 5, 2022. - Actor Johnny Depp is suing ex-wife Amber Heard for libel 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 Jim LO SCALZO / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JIM LO SCALZO/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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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