Originally appeared on E! Online
The legal team who defended Danny Masterson in his rape case is under fire for allegedly contacting jurors from the trial without their consent.
In a Nov. 13 motion obtained by NBC News, prosecutors requested that a Los Angeles court "issue an Order to Show Cause and conduct a full hearing" to consider the imposition of sanctions "for any unwanted harassing or otherwise improper conduct by members of the defense team" who have reportedly been contacting jurors subsequent to Masterson's May 2023 conviction.
"Since the discharge of the jury, this Court has reportedly been contacted by several of the jurors regarding contact by members of the defense team," the document states. "These emails describe unwanted contact at their homes and workplace by members of the defendant's legal team, including contact at a juror's workplace by defense attorney Shawn Holley."
Holley, one of the That '70s Show alum's trial attorneys, acknowledged contacting several jurors but denied any wrongdoing.
READ: Danny Masterson Seen for the First Time in Prison Mug Shot After Rape Conviction
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
In declarations she says were submitted to the court over the past week, the lawyer said she first contacted the presiding juror in June 2023 and met with her that July, two months after Masterson was found guilty of raping two women in the early aughts. (The following September, the actor was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison in the case, which he is currently appealing.)
"In the voicemail I left for her, I made it perfectly clear that she was under no obligation to speak with me," Holley wrote in a Nov. 20 document, obtained by E! News, "but that I hoped I might be able to speak with her on the phone to discuss the jury’s opinions about the case."
She continued, "Her reply to me was an email a week later, on July 6, 2023, in which she indicated that, rather than speak on the phone, she would prefer to meet in person."
Holley alleged in a Nov. 14 declaration that the two met for lunch the following day in Santa Monica, Calif.
"During our lunch meeting, the foreperson was friendly, cordial and forthright," she continued. "She concluded our meeting by telling me that she believed that some of the other jurors would also want to speak with me."
Holley, who noted in her Nov. 14 declaration that she obtained the foreperson’s information by looking her up online, said the foreperson later contacted her to let her know about two other jurors who were willing to meet with her and gave her their numbers, allegedly with their permission. The lawyer said she phoned the pair and met with each separately at restaurants.
"Both jurors were cordial and pleasant," Holley said. "I am confident — based on my interactions with the jurors and their willingness to speak to me—that none of the three jurors with whom I met consider—or ever considered—my contact with them to be unwanted, harassing or otherwise improper."
However, the prosecution also said in their motion that several jurors expressed concern to the court about how Holley was able to obtain their personal contact information as their identifying data was ordered to be sealed after the verdict.
The prosecutors' motion had noted that while a lawyer may discuss jury deliberation or verdict with a juror after the jury is discharged, the juror must first give their consent. The document included a copy of an email from the foreperson telling the court Holley had contacted them and asking permission to meet with her.
They added that after receiving the most recent juror complaint, they issued an order in September that prohibits the defense team's contact with trial jurors without going through the Court Clerk.
(E! and NBC News are part of the NBCUniversal family.)
