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The Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation trial came to an end on May 27, after nearly six weeks of deliberations at the Fairfax County court. Judge Penny Azcarate officially sent the jurors to deliberate on the case after the lawyers on both sides concluded their respective closing arguments.
The jury is yet to provide a final verdict on the high-profile case and has moved the deliberations to Tuesday, May 31, 2022. Earlier in the trial, Judge Azcarate mentioned that she would not give the jury a limited time frame to deliberate by Friday night.
She also said that the jury would be allowed to take lunch or any other breaks whenever they make a collective decision on the same. It was later confirmed that deliberations on the case would not take place over the Memorial Day holiday weekend and would only resume on Tuesday at 9.00 am ET.
The Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation case began after the former filed a $50 million libel lawsuit against Heard in response to her 2018 Washington Post op-ed, in which she claimed to be a survivor of domestic abuse.
Despite Depp not being directly named in the article, his team claimed that the piece damaged his reputation and negatively impacted his career. Heard countersued Depp for $100 million and accused him of repeated assaults during their relationship.
A look into the process of jury deliberation in the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation case
Nearly 11 impaneled jurors were selected to deliberate on the Johnny DeppJohnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation case when it first began at the Fairfax County court on April 11. Following six weeks of deliberations and testimonies, seven out of the 11 jurors were selected to provide the final verdict on the case.
As the concluding arguments of the court came to a close, the jury spent a couple of hours starting the process of deliberation. However, they later confirmed that the deliberations would not return before the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
During the closing arguments, Johnny Depp’s attorney Camille Vasquez told the jury that Amber Heard “ruined” the actor’s life by making “false” abuse allegations against him. She later told the jury:
“Take a minute to really think about what you heard there. This is the real Ms. Heard, the one on the audio recordings, not the one in this courtroom.”
Vasquez said Heard’s allegations were “an act of profound cruelty” to “true survivors of domestic abuse.” The lawyer also requested the jury to refer to the opening statements and claimed that Heard came into the courtroom “ready to give the performance of her lifetime.”
Meanwhile, Heard’s lawyer Benjamin Rottenborn asked the jury to consider the photos, text messages, and other evidence presented during the trial while making their final verdict. He mentioned:
“These words are a window into the heart and mind of America’s favorite pirate. This is the real Johnny Depp.”
Shortly after, Judge Penney Azcarate provided lengthy instructions to the jury and said they should consider the “greater weight of evidence” while making findings for defamation conducted with “actual malice.”
She emphasized that the final decision should be made by the “collective recollection” of the evidence in the case. The judge also shared that the identities of the seven jurors will be sealed for a year due to the high-profile nature of the case.
After reading out the detailed instructions, Judge Azcarate sent the jurors home on Friday and gave them leave until Tuesday in advance of Monday’s Memorial Day holiday. The deliberations of the jury could reportedly take between a few hours to several days.
Considering the wide range of evidence and testimonies in the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard case, it is likely that the final verdict will be presented either at the end of this month or the beginning of June.
