Common Scents In Celebrity Litigation

Celebrity seems to do things to lawyers. Remember Michael Avenatti? Previously, he was best known for representing Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against Donald Trump; he is now a convicted felon and long-term resident of FCI Terminal Island.

So, perhaps it’s not surprising that we’ve (I hesitate to say “learned,” considering the source, so perhaps “gossiped” will have to do) gossiped that Johnny Depp’s lawyer, Camille Vasquez (who, to be clear, is not the lawyer he was dating), may (emphasis in original) have directed, permitted, or otherwise appreciated a female member of the legal team going into the women’s bathroom at the courthouse and spraying Depp’s cologne into the stalls so that the opposing party, his ex Amber Heard, would smell it. This was described as “psychological warfare” (against some who accused Depp of abuse).

Now, I have no good way of verifying whether Vasquez said any of this, and if she did, whether it actually happened (I did not find any account of someone who caught a whiff of Eau Sauvage* in the ladies’ room at the Fairfax County Courthouse), so I am going to rely on “Internet sources say.” Putting that aside, there is the broader question of, well, can lawyers do things like this?

I unsurprisingly didn’t find anything exactly on-point, but Model Rule 4.4(a) suggests this is sketchy, even if it may or may not be actionable. The rule reads: “In representing a client, a lawyer shall not use means that have no substantial purpose other than to embarrass, delay, or burden a third person, or use methods of obtaining evidence that violate the legal rights of such a person.” It is difficult to think of how “psychological warfare” (i.e. psychologically burdening a third party) has a substantial purpose—sure, a rattled witness may be a less credible witness, but that rattling should come from vigorous cross-examination.

 Still, even if you technically can get away with it, I’m not sure why you would want to. It’s pretty creepy.

* Of course I don’t know Depp’s signature scent, but this is what Google told me men age 50+ are supposed to wear.