Danny Masterson lawyers could face investigation for conduct with jurors

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.

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.

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.