Judge ‘disturbed’ by Danny Masterson’s lawyers following up on jurors after rape case

Attorneys for Danny Masterson contacted jurors in the actor’s rape case despite a judge’s order intended to limit publicly available information about their identities, fielding calls from jurors and Masterson’s victims, court records show.

In an order made public in September, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo said she was “appalled” by the behavior of the lawyers, who have repeatedly contacted judges at their homes and businesses to interview them as part of Masterson’s appeals efforts. his sentencing in 2023.

A former star of the sitcom “That 70s Show,” Masterson is serving a 30-year-to-life sentence for sexually abusing three fellow members of the Church of Scientology in the early 2000s.

One of the actor’s lawyers, Shawn Holley, said the three judges agreed to meet voluntarily. He said nothing “harassing or inappropriate” had occurred, and all three judges provided their cell phone numbers when contacted.

But the judge said he had received complaints from jurors who “felt pressured by the prosecution team,” and said they “were not initially advised that they had the absolute right not to discuss the case if they did not wish to do so.”

Olmedo wrote that he was “concerned that they entered their homes.”

Court filings show some jurors emailed Olmedo earlier this year saying they were “concerned” and believed Masterson’s lawyers should not have known where they lived or worked.

Last week, prosecutors asked Olmedo to take the case to consider punishing Masterson’s lawyers. It will be the second round of disciplinary action against members of his legal team in two years. The proposal was made by Holley, his partner Phillip Cohen and two other lawyers working for Masterson, Clifford Gardner and Eric Multhaup.

One of the judge’s emails attached to Olmedo’s decision said a woman who identified herself as “a member of Mr. Masterson” appeared on their lawn on September 15th.

The foreman of the jury that sentenced Masterson said Holley, one of the actor’s lawyers, called him at work last year, two months after they ruled that he was guilty, according to an email sent to the court.

Olmedo wrote that several jurors had been told of “unsolicited contact in their homes or at work by members of the defense team” and asked him to “question how the defense team gets their information.”

In his September order, Olmedo prohibited lawyers from communicating directly with judges.

Holley said he did nothing wrong and is no longer directly involved in Masterson’s case. Gardner and Cohen, who also said he is no longer involved in the case, said they have not been in contact with any judges.

Multhaup confirmed that one of his investigators went to the judge at their home on September 15 and “conducted himself completely in accordance with the law.” [the California] Code of Civil Procedure. ” He disputed the idea that judges were meant to be kept secret, saying Olmedo’s ruling obscured information contained in “forms that judges fill out related to their judicial duties.”

Under the state Code of Civil Procedure, defendants and their legal teams have the right to discuss the decision with the judge, as long as the judge consents to the discussion and the discussion takes place “at a proper time and place.”

Multhaup said his investigator found the judge through a routine investigation, and contacted them before the terms of Olmedo’s order, which went into effect on September 17.

“In short, until September 17, it was good for the defense representatives to contact the judges directly, depending on … the needs of time and place,” he said. “Broad sunlight makes a lot of sense.”

Holley said he has spoken with three jurors, including the former, since the trial.

“I made it clear to all 3 judges I spoke to—and eventually met—that they were under no obligation to talk to me or meet with me, and they were all very willing to do so. I met all 3 [separately] at times and places that were convenient for them and I treated them well and respected their time and boundaries,” Holley said in an email to The Times. “I feel confident that none of the three I spoke/met with reported our interactions with Judge Olmedo as abusive or inappropriate.”

Holley said he was able to find out where other judges worked based on information he provided in open court during jury selection, information that would not have been included in Olmedo’s sealed letter.

Masterson’s case has been marked by repeated allegations of prosecutorial misconduct and outside interference.

Last June, Olmedo chastised two of Masterson’s former attorneys, Thomas Mesereau and Sharon Applebaum, for improperly sharing the findings of the case with the Church of Scientology. News of the sharing of these materials – which included private conversations between Masterson’s victims and the police and the victims’ home addresses – has raised eyebrows among the women who were at the center of the case, who have accused the church of a years-long campaign of harassment in the civil case. The church has denied all wrongdoing in that case.

Earlier this year, The Times reported on allegations that the church had tried to “reverse” the case against Masterson by harassing law enforcement officials involved in his criminal case. It is said that the home of the leading prosecutor, Deputy Dist. He said. Rheinhold Mueller, who also said he was tortured and almost “ran off the street” during the trial, according to the civil lawsuit, police reports and video reviewed by The Times.

Los Angeles police detectives assigned to the case also said they were followed and harassed by church agents, according to a 2023 interview with former LAPD Chief Michel Moore. But the LAPD’s investigation failed to substantiate those allegations, Moore said at the time.

The church has said there is “no evidence” to support such allegations, and has previously accused law enforcement of religious bias. Neither Olmedo’s order nor the prosecution’s motion addressed the week about the jury’s actions.

John Kucera, an attorney representing Masterson’s victims, said the women were “very concerned to hear about Masterson’s legal team’s unnecessary efforts to contact judges in their homes.”