Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard: The Jury has not reached the verdict, when will it reconvene?

After six weeks of testimony at the defamation trial where Johnny Depp Y amber heartd attacked each other with bad details about their brief marriage, both sides asked the jury for the same thing: they wanted their lives back.

The seven -member civilian jury began its deliberations on Friday at 3:00 p.m. and ended its activities for the day two hours later. They will continue the celebration on Tuesday, after the Memorial Day holiday, in memory of the soldiers who died in battle.

Heard “ruined his life by falsely telling the world that he was a survivor of the domestic abuse committed by Mr. Depp,” Depp’s attorney said. Camille Vasquez in the closing arguments of the defamation case filed by the actor against the ex-wife.

Meanwhile, Heard’s lawyers say Depp ruined Heard’s life by conducting a smear campaign against him when he filed for divorce and publicly accused him of assault in 2016. “In Mr. Depp’s world, you will not leave Mr. Depp, “said Heard’s attorney, J. Benjamin Rottenborn. “If you do, he will start a global campaign of shame against you.”

Depp hopes the trial will help restore his reputation, although it has been a spectacle that has revealed details of a false marriage, with television cameras in court taking every detail of the increasingly interested audience, with fans debating. on social media about the case and with people lining up last night for one of the coveted court venues.

“For Mr. Depp this case was never about money,” Depp’s attorney, Benjamin Chew said. ‘.

What is Depp asking for?

Depp sued Heard for $ 50 million in Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia because of an opinion piece he published in December 2018 in the newspaper. Washington Post describes himself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” His lawyers said the article defamed the actor even though he was not mentioned by name.

Heard filed a $ 100 million counterclaim against the star pirates of the Caribbean after his lawyer called his accusations fabricated. Although the countersuit received less attention at trial, Heard’s attorney Elaine Bredehoft said it provided a way for the jury to pay Heard for the abuse Depp did to him, even after they separated. , by orchestrating a smear campaign.

“We demand that you finally hold this person accountable,” he told the jury. “He has never accepted responsibility for anything in his life.”

Depp said he did not hurt Heard and he made the abuse allegations to gain an advantage over their divorce. The actor said that Heard used to physically attack him. “Someone is abusing this court, but not Mr. Depp,” Vasquez said.

Proved by Heard

During the trial, Heard testified about more than a dozen episodes of physical and sexual abuse that Depp allegedly committed against him.

Vasquez said, in his final argument, that Heard had to change his testimony about the first time he said he had been beaten. Heard said Depp punched him after he accidentally laughed at one of the actor’s tattoos. Heard first said it happened in 2013, but later corrected himself to say it happened in 2012, too early in their relationship.

“Now in this court a whole year of magic is suddenly erased,” Vasquez said.

The jury saw several photos of Heard with marks and bruises on his face, but some photos showed only slight redness, others more severe bruises. Vasquez accused Heard of altering the photos and said the evidence that Heard altered some of his alleged injuries shows that all of his allegations of abuse were baseless.

“You can believe him all or nothing,” he said. “She could be the victim of ugly, horrible abuse, or she could be a woman willing to say anything.”

In his final argument, Rottenborn said that digging into the evidence of Heard’s abuse ignores the fact that there is too much evidence on his part and sends a dangerous message to victims of domestic abuse. “If you don’t take pictures, it’s not going to happen,” Rottenborn said. “If you take pictures, they’re fake. If you don’t tell your friends, they’re lying. If you tell your friends, they’re part of the lie. ”

And he rejected Vasquez’s suggestion that if the jury thinks Heard may be altering a version of a single act of abuse, they should reject everything he says. He said Depp’s defamation lawsuit should have failed if Heard had suffered even one incident of abuse.

“They’re trying to trick them into thinking Amber has to be perfect to win,” Rottenborn said.

In their deliberations, the jury needs to focus not only on whether there has been abuse, but on whether Heard’s opinion can be considered legally defamatory. The article itself focuses primarily on domestic abuse policy issues, but Depp’s lawyers pointed to two excerpts here, as well as an online headline, in which they argue defaming Depp.

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