Amber Heard's lawyers request Johnny Depp defamation trial declared a 'mistrial'

Amber Heard's lawyers claim the trial was "compromised". Photo / AP

Amber Heard's lawyers are asking the court to declare a "mistrial" in her defamation case against Johnny Depp.

The 36-year-old star was found by a unanimous seven-person jury in Fairfax, Virginia in June to have defamed her ex-husband in an article in which she claimed she was a victim of domestic abuse and her ex-husband was awarded US$15 million (NZ$24m) in compensatory and punitive damages, but her lawyers are now alleging the wrong juror was seated at the trial.

Deadline reported on June 8 that a 77-year-old individual was called up for jury duty but appears to live at the same address as a 52-year-old with "the same surname", who was the juror actually seated throughout the trial.

The filing reads: "Ms Heard had 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.

"In this case, it appears that Juror No 15 was not, in fact, the same individual as listed on the jury panel. Thus, the 52-year-old- [redacted] sitting on the jury for six weeks was never summoned for jury duty on April 11 and did not 'appear in the list,' as required."

The filing went on to claim that as a result of the alleged mistake, the "due process" of the Aquaman actress had been "compromised" and therefore claimed that a mistrial should be declared, which would render the initial trial and its outcome invalid.

It continued: "Ms Heard's due process was therefore compromised. Under these circumstances, a mistrial should be declared, and a new trial ordered."

The news comes just days after Heard's team also alleged that the Pirates of the Caribbean star was not entitled to any damages he was awarded because "there is no evidence of damage to Mr Depp's reputation caused by Mrs Heard's Op-Ed."