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Lawyers for Johnny Depp and Amber Heard made their closing statements on Friday, seeking to persuade the jury that their respective clients were abused and defamed. After 23 days of testimony, the trial depicted different portrayals of a stormy Hollywood marriage.
Mr. Depp's lawyers stated that Ms. Heard referred to herself as a "public figure symbolising domestic abuse" in a Washington Post op-ed, and that their client had been wrongfully disparaged.
According to the lawyers, the charges of spousal violence she was referring to had wrecked Mr. Depp's life.
Ms. Heard's attorneys claimed that not only were the charges and op-eds totally factual, but that the actress had been wrongfully maligned during judicial proceedings in 2020 when a lawyer representing Mr. Depp at the time called her abuse allegations fake.
The case has already been assigned to seven jurors. The trial in Fairfax County Circuit Court has received a lot of attention since it was televised and livestreamed with two cameras in the courtroom, which is unusual in Virginia.
The public seats in the courtroom have been in high demand, with Depp admirers queueing in the middle of the night to get a spot. Finally, the jury must examine the veracity of the allegations. However, testimony on a variety of alleged events from Mr. Depp and Ms. Heard's marriage has dominated the six-week trial.
What would the jurors need to decide in Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation trial before reaching the verdict?
Jurors must determine whether the elements of the Washington Post op-ed written by Heard alluding to Johnny Depp were untrue, and whether it was written with "actual malice" if he was to win his case.
The jury must decide whether Heard made them know they were untrue or with a "reckless disregard" for the truth under the "actual malice" standard.
Jurors may decide how much in compensatory or punitive damages or both should be awarded to Heard and Depp.
However, in Heard's case against Depp, jurors are considering remarks made by Adam Waldman, a former lawyer for Johnny Depp. He was dismissed from the Virginia case in 2020 and has argued that Heard's allegations of abuse were false.
Jurors must decide whether Waldman's charges were made as part of his duties as Depp's "agent," and whether they were about Heard, along with their veracity. Furthermore, they must determine whether the charges were made with "actual malice" in order for Heard to win her case.
Jurors are also considering compensatory and punitive damages for Heard's claim.Her lawyers claim that despite her high-profile roles in Justice League and Aquaman, Heard's career never took off as it should have.
It is still possible that the jury will find both of them liable in the trial or reach a conclusion that does not accept either side's narrative.
Depp previously lost a defamation suit against The Sun, a British tabloid, for referring to him as a "wife beater" in response to Heard's allegations.
Although Johnny Depp lost the case, with a London judge finding Heard's testimony "substantially true," his case brought to the United States is far more detailed, and Heard personally is a defendant.
