Johnny Depp jury instructions appear to place actor at a disadvantage ahead of verdict 

The Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation trial is set to come to an end on Friday, May 27, following nearly six weeks of deliberations at the Fairfax County Court in Virginia.

Ahead of the final verdict of the case, it was decided that the jurors would not consider if Depp’s former attorney Adam Waldman had free speech protection while making some alleged defamatory statements against Heard.

Waldman has been at the center of the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial alongside the stars. The defamation case first began when Depp sued Heard for $50 million after she called herself a domestic violence survivor in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed.

Although Heard did not mention Depp’s name in the article, the latter claimed that the story tarnished his public image and negatively impacted his career. Heard then countersued Depp for $100 million, claiming that she was not a liar and the actor had assaulted her several times during their relationship.

In their filing, Amber Heard’s team claimed that Adam Waldman, on behalf of Johnny Depp, had defamed her by calling her abuse allegations a “hoax.” Waldman was later removed from Depp’s legal team based on the revelation that he allegedly provided information about the defamation case to the press.

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What is the meaning of jury instructions?

Jury instructions can be defined as directives written by the judge to be given to the jury for deliberation during a trial, after all evidence is presented and closing arguments are delivered.

The jury is allowed to receive jury instructions as their only guidance while deliberating a particular case. According to the Legal Information Institute, these instructions are meant to keep the jury on track about the basic procedure of deliberation and the substance of the law that can be used to make a decision.

Attorneys propose a set of instructions to the judge at the end of the trial, mostly seeking decisions that are beneficial to their client. The judge then takes the final decision about the content and phrasing of the instructions before giving it to the jury.

Jury instructions are usually concise, brief, non-repetitive and relevant to the details of the case. The guidelines should state the law correctly without misleading the jury and should be understandable for the average juror.

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A look into the jury instructions for the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation trial

In a ruling about jury instructions, the judge said Johnny Depp's former lawyer Adam Waldman would not qualify for privilege (Image via Getty Images)

On May 26, both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s legal teams rested their case in Fairfax County court. In a primary ruling on jury instructions, Judge Penney Azcarate sided with Heard’s legal team and said Depp’s former lawyer Adam Waldman would not qualify for the privilege.

The judge mentioned that Waldman cannot be considered for privilege as his statements were not in response to anything Heard said or wrote. When one of Depp’s lawyers mentioned that Waldman’s statements were in response to The Sun calling the actor a “wife beater,” the judge replied, saying:

“They have to be Ms. Heard’s statements.”

In 2020, Waldman reportedly told The Daily Mail that Amber Heard’s abuse allegations against Johnny Depp were a “hoax”:

“Amber Heard and her friends in the media use fake s*xual violence allegations as both a sword and shield, depending on their needs. They have selected some of her s*xual violence hoax ‘facts’ as the sword, inflicting them on the public and Mr. Depp.”

The previous year, Waldman told The Blast that Heard had “painted” her bruises back in 2016 to obtain a temporary restraining order against Depp.

During the ongoing defamation trial, Johnny Depp’s team argued that whether Waldman qualifies for privilege should be decided by a jury. Attorney Samuel Moniz said:

“The statements were clearly in direct response to Ms. Heard’s allegations on their face. Whether that response was fair and reasonable is a jury question.”

However, Judge Azcarate responded that privilege in jury instruction can only be claimed when there is no actual malice:

“The only way to find defamatory statements in this case is if there’s actual malice. That’s unique to this case, and I understand that. But if they find actual malice in the defamatory statements, you don’t have protected speech privilege anyway.”

It was also mentioned in the counterclaim that Heard had to prove that Waldman made the allegedly defamatory statements with intent of actual malice or the knowledge that his claims were lies.

Meanwhile, in another ruling on jury instructions, Judge Azcarate sided with Johnny Depp’s lawyers saying that the jury should not be asked to draw inferences from their objections during Waldman’s deposition.

According to Law and Crime Network, the closing arguments for the defamation trial will begin on Friday morning, May 27, and the jury will likely “get the case” before the Memorial Day weekend.