Amber Heard will not receive a new trial in her defamation case against Johnny Depp. Judge Penney Azcarate, who oversaw the six-week show, denied the actress’ attempt to throw out the $ 10.35 million verdict and sentence.
Aquaman Star’s 36-year-old lawyers were seeking a null and void trial for multiple reasons. One of the arguments they made was that there was an apparent case of misidentification with jury 15 in which the wrong person from a home reported it to the court. In her order on Wednesday, the judge said the jury filled out the jury’s questionnaire correctly and was questioned by both parties.
“The parties also questioned the jury for an entire day and informed the Court that the jury panel was acceptable,” Azcarate wrote. “Therefore, due process was guaranteed and offered to all parties in this litigation … there is no evidence of fraud or crime.”
The judge added: “The accused does not allege that the inclusion of jury 15 in the jury harmed her in any way. The jury was examined, the entire jury participated, deliberated and reached a verdict. The only evidence before this Court is that this jury and all the jurors followed their oaths, the instructions of the Court and the orders. This Court is bound by the competent decision of the jury. “
Amber Heard in Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia on June 1, 2022 when a verdict is reached in the Johnny Depp case. (Photo: Reuters)
Heard has yet to talk about the latest legal blow.
Legal experts told Yahoo Entertainment earlier this week that Heard had no reason to overturn the lawsuit.
“Virginia’s law does not support Amber’s claim that she was denied due process due to the issue with jury 15. Her team had the opportunity to question the jury or raise this issue in at that time with the judge.Heard’s team accepted this jury.panel with the information they had then and there is no new information coming out since then.They had the list of jurors who identified the jury information and the date of birth. This motion is an understanding, not a real possibility, “legal analyst Emily D. Baker explained.
Depp sued Heard for $ 50 million in an opinion piece he wrote in 2018 in which he claimed to have suffered physical and sexual abuse. Although she did not name her ex-husband, the jury accepted that she was reasonably inferred that she was the star of Pirates of the Caribbean. Depp specifically sued for three parts that he said were defamatory and killed his career. Depp won in all three with the jury’s decision that Heard was never abused, either emotionally or physically, by the actor not once. He was awarded $ 15 million, but due to Virginia state law, $ 10.35 million is obtained.
The story goes on
Heard sued Depp for $ 100 million for statements the actor’s lawyer made to the press. He won one of the three and received $ 2 million in damages. The actress did not settle for Depp, which lawyers hinted was on the table, and will likely appeal.
MORE: Amber Heard’s sister posts a message of support after Johnny Depp’s trial: “I’m still with you”