Judge refers two Danny Masterson attorneys, P.I., for discipline over contact with jurors
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Two attorneys for Danny Masterson and a private investigator could face disciplinary investigations for their conduct toward jurors after the disgraced actor’s rape conviction, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo, who earlier this year wrote she was “troubled” to learn members of Masterson’s legal team contacted jurors at their homes and workplaces, said she would refer attorneys Eric Multhaup and Clifford Gardner, as well as private investigator Lynda Larsen, to state regulatory bodies for disciplinary investigations.
In a September court order, Olmedo wrote that several jurors had been the subject of “unwanted contact at their homes or work by members of the defense team,” and noted the jurors had asked her to “inquire how the defense team obtained their identifying information.” At the end of Masterson’s trial last year, Olmedo sealed all identifying information about the jurors.
But on Sept. 15, “a member of Mr. Masterson’s habeas team” appeared on the lawn of one juror and tried to interview her, according to an email that juror sent to the court. Multhaup told The Times last month that his investigator, identified in court Tuesday as Larsen, contacted the juror to interview them as part of Masterson’s appeal of his May 2023 rape conviction. The lawyer insisted the investigator’s conduct complied with state law.
Olmedo disagreed and chastised Multhaup on Tuesday, saying the investigator failed to warn jurors that they 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.
Multhaup declined to say how Larsen found the jurors, other than to credit her “years of experience” as an investigator. He confirmed she’d obtained the names and contact information of six jurors, but did not disclose how many she contacted at their homes.
Larsen did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. She is a former journalist who has run a Pasadena-based investigations firm for more than 25 years, according to her website and LinkedIn profile.
L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. Reinhold Mueller called for a sanctions hearing and told Olmedo he believed the court had an obligation to find out how the jurors’ personal information was accessed.
“They’re left wondering how their contact information got out there and we’re not able to assist them right now in explaining how that occurred,” Mueller said. “I think it’s important that we get those questions answered.”
Olmedo, however, said she was “limited” in what she could do because Masterson is appealing his conviction. The judge declared the court was “not an investigatory body” and denied Mueller’s request for a hearing, but referred Multhaup and his appellate co-counsel Gardner to the state bar for a disciplinary investigation. She also referred Larsen to be investigated by the state Bureau of Security and Investigative Services.
Outside the courtroom Tuesday, Multhaup declined to comment. Gardner has said repeatedly he had no contact with jurors, and none of the jurors’ emails suggested he did anything improper.
Olmedo said in court Masterson’s trial attorneys, Shawn Holley and Phillip Cohen, had done nothing wrong. Holley previously acknowledged she contacted the jury foreperson in the case, but described their interactions as cordial. Olmedo read a letter in court Tuesday from the foreperson that corroborated Holley’s description. Cohen said he never contacted jurors, and Olmedo did not dispute that.
Masterson was convicted of two counts of rape last year and sentenced to 30 years in state prison. Prosecutors filed charges in 2020 alleging Masterson sexually assaulted three fellow parishioners of the Church of Scientology in the early 2000s, when he was at the height of his fame playing the mercurial Steven Hyde on the popular sitcom “That ‘70s Show.”
Prosecutors said the women were terrified to come forward for years because of an alleged church doctrine that prevented members from reporting one another to law enforcement. All of the women had family members in the church, and feared they would lose contact with their loved ones for reporting Masterson, prosecutors have said.
Olmedo ruled the church had an “expressly written doctrine” discouraging reporting to police, but a Scientology spokeswoman has repeatedly denied such a doctrine exists and claimed both police and prosecutors who investigated Masterson had a bias against the church.
The church did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. None of the allegations concerning potential juror harassment have involved Scientology.
Masterson’s trial has been marked by repeated allegations of attorney misconduct and interference.
Last June, Olmedo sanctioned two of of Masterson’s former lawyers, Thomas Mesereau and Sharon Applebaum, for improperly sharing discovery from the trial with the Church of Scientology. Masterson’s victims have also sued Scientology alleging the church used harassment and intimidation tactics to try and discourage them from testifying at trial. Earlier this year, The Times reported on allegations that the church attempted to “derail” the case against Masterson by harassing law enforcement officials who investigated him, including Mueller.
The church has denied wrongdoing in each situation.
“There is not a scintilla of evidence supporting the scandalous allegations that the Church harassed the accusers. Every single instance of supposed harassment by the Church is FALSE,” spokeswoman Karin Pouw wrote to The Times last month.
John Kucera, an attorney representing Masterson’s victims, welcomed Olmedo’s decision to have members of the actor’s legal team investigated.
“We’ll take our victories where we can find them,” he said.
Content retrieved from: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-12-10/judge-refers-two-of-danny-mastersons-attorneys-p-i-for-discipline-juror-contact.
