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Two of Danny Masterson’s lawyers and a private investigator may face disciplinary investigation for their actions against jurors in the disgraced actor’s rape conviction, a judge ruled Tuesday. did.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo wrote earlier this year that she was “troubled” to learn that members of Mr. Masterson’s defense team had been in contact with jurors at their homes and workplaces, and that she and attorney Eric Maltup. He said he would refer the case to attorney Clifford Gardner and to a private attorney. Investigator Linda Larsen was sent to state regulators for a disciplinary investigation.
Olmedo wrote in a September court order that several jurors had been the subject of “unwanted contact in their homes and workplaces by members of the defense team” and that jurors had complained that “the defense team was They were asked how they obtained their identifying information.” ” At the end of Masterson’s trial last year, Olmedo sealed all personal information about the jurors.
But on Sept. 15, “members of Mr. Masterson’s habeas team” appeared on one juror’s lawn and attempted to interview him, according to an email the juror sent to the court. Mr Maltup told the Times last month that the investigator, identified in court on Tuesday as Mr Larsen, contacted Mr Masterson to meet with the jury as part of his appeal against his May 2023 rape conviction. He said he had brought it. Lawyers argued that the investigators’ actions complied with state law.
Olmedo disagreed Tuesday, criticizing Maltup for failing to warn jurors that investigators had an “absolute right” not to cooperate with Masterson’s defense team. She also questioned the appropriateness of investigators contacting jurors directly at their homes.
Mr. Moultup declined to say how he found the jurors, other than to say that Mr. Larsen has “many years of experience” as an investigator. She acknowledged that she obtained the names and contact information of six jurors, but did not say how many jurors’ homes were contacted.
Larsen did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. She is a former journalist who has run a Pasadena-based research firm for more than 25 years, according to her website and LinkedIn profile.
Los Angeles County Deputy District Atty. Reinhold Moller called for a sanctions hearing and told Olmedo he believed the court had an obligation to investigate how jurors’ personal information was accessed.
“They are wondering how their contact information was compromised, and we are unable to help explain how that happened at this time,” Mueller said. spoke. “I think it’s important to have these questions answered.”
But Olmedo said there was “limited” what he could do because Masterson was appealing his conviction. The judge declared that the court was “not an investigative body” and denied Mueller’s request for a hearing, but referred Moultup and Gardner, his appellate co-counsel, to state court for disciplinary investigation. He also directed Mr. Larsen to be investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation.
Maltup said in an emailed statement Wednesday morning that he intends to challenge “Olmedo’s belief that there was misconduct in the jury interview” if a disciplinary hearing is held.
“Jury interviews are normal and often important [part] “We have initiated post-conviction proceedings to determine whether the defendant received a fair trial,” Maltup wrote. “In any event, we will not be distracted, delayed or deterred in our efforts to obtain a new trial for Danny Masterson.” He added that he plans to file an appeal brief for the lawsuit.
Gardner has repeatedly said he had no contact with the jurors, and there was nothing in the jurors’ emails that suggested he had done anything wrong.
Mr. Olmedo told the court that Mr. Masterson’s trial attorneys, Sean Hawley and Philip Cohen, had done nothing wrong. Hawley previously acknowledged that she had been in contact with the case’s jury foreman, but said their interactions had been amicable. In court Tuesday, Olmedo read a letter from the commissioner corroborating Holley’s account. Cohen said he had never communicated with the jurors, a claim that Olmedo did not dispute.
Masterson was convicted last year on two counts of rape and sentenced to 30 years in state prison. Prosecutors said in 2020 that Masterson sexually assaulted three Church of Scientology parishioners in the early 2000s, when he was at the height of his fame playing the volatile Stephen Hyde on the hit sitcom “That ’70s Show.” He was charged with suspicion.
Prosecutors said the women had been afraid to come forward for years because church doctrine prevents members from reporting each other to law enforcement. Prosecutors said the women all had families at the church and feared they would lose contact with their loved ones if they reported Masterson.
Mr. Olmedo ruled that the church has “explicitly written doctrine” discouraging police reporting, but Scientology spokespeople have repeatedly denied the existence of such doctrine and called Masterson He claimed that both the police and prosecutors who investigated were biased against the church.
The church did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. None of the allegations regarding potential juror harassment involved Scientology.
Mr. Masterson’s trial has been characterized by repeated allegations of attorney misconduct and obstruction.
Last June, Mr. Olmedo sanctioned two of Mr. Masterson’s former attorneys, Thomas Mesereau and Sharon Applebaum, for inappropriately sharing court findings with the Church of Scientology. Mr. Masterson’s victims are also suing Scientology, accusing the church of using harassment and intimidation tactics to dissuade them from testifying at trial. Earlier this year, the Times reported on allegations that the church tried to “derail” the case against Masterson by harassing law enforcement officials who investigated him, including Mueller.
The church denies wrongdoing in each situation.
“There is no evidence whatsoever to support the scandalous allegations that the church harassed the accusers. All instances of alleged harassment by the church are false,” spokesperson Karin Pauw wrote in the Times last month. .
Attorney John Kucera, who represents Masterson’s victims, welcomed Olmedo’s decision to ask members of the actor’s legal team to investigate.
“We’re going to win where we can find wins,” he said.
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