Two members of Danny Masterson's legal team and a private investigator could face disciplinary investigations for their interactions with jurors who convicted the 'That '70s Show' star of rape.
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Danny Masterson lawyers could face investigation for conduct with jurors after actor's rape conviction
A judge has referred two attorneys for the "That '70s Show" star and a private investigator to state regulators for disciplinary investigations.
By
Wesley Stenzel
Published on December 10, 2024 09:31PM EST
A year and a half after
Danny Masterson was
convicted of rape, two members of the disgraced actor's legal team and a private investigator could face disciplinary investigations for their alleged conduct with jurors in the wake of the verdict.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo on Tuesday referred attorneys Eric Multhaup and Clifford Gardner to the State Bar of California for investigation, and P.I. Lynda Larsen to the state Bureau of Security and Investigative Services,
according to the Los Angeles Times.
Olmedo
wrote in a court order earlier this year that she was "troubled" to find out multiple jurors in the Masterson trial had been subjected to "unwanted contact at their homes or work by members of the defense team." On Tuesday, the judge reportedly said that her options for dealing with the situation were "limited" because Masterson is appealing his conviction, and that the court is "not an investigatory body," hence the referrals.
Danny Masterson in 2017.
Tibrina Hobson/Getty
Danny Masterson moved to maximum-security prison that once housed Charles Manson and Sirhan Sirhan
Multhaup, Gardner, and Larsen didn't immediately respond to
Entertainment Weekly's request for comment, nor did the L.A. County District Attorney's Office, which prosecuted Masterson.
Multhaup and Gardner did not represent Masterson in the courtroom during the trial, and Olmedo noted in court Tuesday the actor's trial attorneys, Shawn Holley and Phillip Cohen, had done nothing wrong.
Bijou Phillips files for divorce from Danny Masterson after his 30-year-to-life rape sentencing
Known for his work on such TV series as
That '70s Show,
Men at Work, and
The Ranch, Masterson, 48, was arrested in 2020 and charged with
raping three women in separate incidents between 2001 and 2003. Although one set of proceedings ended in mistrial, the actor was ultimately convicted on two out of three counts of rape in May 2023 and
sentenced to 30 years to life in prison in September 2023.
He is currently incarcerated at the California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo, according to
online records from the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
