Analysis: Johnny Depp’s Abandonment of the First Amendment Core of $50M Could be Key to Victory
After six weeks, the defense and plaintiff decided to end their respective cases on Friday. The courtroom drama was finally resolved by a seven-member jury behind closed doors.
Watch the Johnny Depp – Amber Heard Trial Livestream Link.
In the Fairfax County Courthouse Courtroom, a Heard-wearing Heard, as well as a Heard, sat. Both their lawyers gave pugilistic closing arguments on Wednesday to try to portray the opposing side as the worst. It was an odd decision considering the celebrity deluge that started on April 11. Commentators were also concerned about the potential social consequences.
It is not about drug addiction, private island, or gold-digging. Depp sued his ex-wife in March 2019 for a late 2018 Washington Post editorial that she had written about her becoming “a public figure representing domestic violence.” In March 2019, Depp sued his ex-wife for an editorial in the late 2018 Washington Post that she had written about her becoming a “public figure representing domestic violence .”
Depp did not mention the ACLU-written article in Jeff Bezos, but he claimed that the abuse had “devastated” his career. Depp claimed that the abuse was his fault.
Heard sued him for $100 million, even though the case was not closed or moved to Virginia. The action came months before Depp’s UK Libel Case Against The Sun tabloid in which he called Depp a “wifebeater” in November 2020.
Since the beginning, there has been a circus atmosphere outside of the Virginia courthouse. Since the beginning, there has been a circus atmosphere outside the Virginia courthouse.
Depp voluntarily filed this defamation lawsuit not once but twice on the Atlantic. Depp was then removed from J.K. Rowling’s latest Fantastic Beasts pic soon after the shocking UK verdict.
Heard confessed almost immediately during the trial that Depp was being mentioned in the WaPo Op-Ed. Depp’s threshold of defamation in cases involving public figures is higher than those involving politicians. Depp must prove Heard’s false statements and that she was acting with actual malice to win unanimously.
Was it possible?
Depp and Heard provided a lot of evidence during the trial. These included audiotapes, video clips, and vile text messages. This was probably one reason why the trial was so captivating for so many.
The team of I Heard points out a video in which Depp is slamming cabinets. He then said to his wife, “You want crazy ?” He then appeared to grab her phone and start slamming cabinets.
Depp claimed he had buttheads that night with his wife, but it was an accident.
He claimed that he wasn’t the one who had struck Heard.
Depp’s legal team included Brown Ruddick’s Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez. A recording of Heard taunting Depp over his career includes her admitting that she had “not punched you.” Depp also claimed that Heard had thrown large vodka containers at him in March 2015. Depp lost his fingertip due to the strike and exploding glass. Heard recalled numerous sexual assaults with bottles and other incidents during the trial. Heard claimed that Depp’s rage caused the injury to his fingers in Australia while he was filming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
All of this was done using video and audio, psychologist notes, diary entries, and diary entries.
But, the duopoly between claims about one being abused and another misses a crucial point about defamation.
Depp claims Heard insulted him and that his once-blockbuster movie career was ruined because of the Post Op-ed. Heard and his team presented testimony from a former UTA agent who said that Depp’s tardiness had become a problem in 2015. Depp may not have done any favors by admitting that he would not take the role if it was today, but his legal team, headed by Elaine Bredehoft and Ben Rottenborn, stated that Disney wanted Depp to be removed from the Pirates series before the Post-op. Depp admitted that he wouldn’t accept the role today. This may have been a mistake.
Rottenborn asked Depp for a cross-examination. Rottenborn asked Depp to cross-examine him.
These moments of clarity aside, it remains a mystery why Heard’s team allowed Depp’s client and themselves to get lost with details about their every fight. They also tried to overwhelm the jury with so many photos, text, and audio clips that it was difficult to believe there wasn’t at most one. Heard’s team has lost sight of the plot, and sometimes the eye of the jury.
Hearing’s testimony about domestic abuse and the many forms it can take is all she has to show.
Heard in Old Dominion was originally offered the Post printing of its paper from Virginia as an argument. The company was not named as a defendant.
Depp chose not to fight the Bezos wealth and instead pursued what was a divorce proceeding disguised to be a defamation case. Depp chose to pursue what was essentially a divorce proceeding disguised as a defamation matter, despite acknowledging that abuse claims will always be a negative mark on his reputation.
Depp was upset and told jurors that last week he took the witness stand. He said that he did this because he “got here” and that, despite all odds, he still believed the truth. I have spoken out about what I have been carrying around for six years.
Perhaps he is correct.
Maybe all his attention to the trial has given him an advantage in the court for public opinions. Advocates may find this dispiriting. However, his quirky personality is something that his fans love outside of the courthouse.
Depp arrived at the courthouse in the morning, and said, “Alpacas. Depp’s team did not call for restraint. The “global humiliation” that Depp claimed he would inflict upon his ex-wife was enacted by the blast radius.
No matter who wins, there will be more lawsuits and appeals. Now the question is: Can the jury see the real legal principle and let go of the fog?