Jurors in the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard trial deliberated for roughly two hours Friday afternoon. They will return to the courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, on Tuesday.
The jury has to decide whether Depp is guilty of defaming Heard and also if Heard is guilty of defaming Depp.
Below are the questions up for consideration.
First, the jury must find whether Heard made or published any of the following statements: “Amber Heard: I spoke up against sexual violence and faced our culture’s wrath that has to change,” “Then two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse and I felt the full force of our culture’s wrath for women who speak out,” and “I had the rare vantage point of seeing in real time how institutions protect men accused of abuse.”
ATTORNEYS ISSUE FINAL PLEASE IN CLOSING ARGUMENTS: JOHNNY DEPP V AMBER HEARD
Then, they must decide if any of Heard’s statements imply or insinuate anything about Depp and whether Heard’s statements were seen by someone other than Depp. If at this point the jury has answered “no,” they will not move on to the rest of the questions and will find Heard not guilty.
Jurors have the option to continue to speculate whether Heard’s statements convey a defamatory implication to someone who saw them besides Depp and if there are false implications or insinuations about Depp in Heard’s statements. They will also judge if Heard made the statements with actual malice.
Finally, they will rule whether Depp is entitled to recover, even down to the amount of his damages. Depp is asking for $50 million.
Then, when it comes to Heard’s countersuit, the jury will consider a separate set of questions.
The first is whether Adam Waldman, while acting as an agent for Depp, made the following statements: “Amber Heard and her friends in the media use fake sexual violence allegations both as a sword and shield depending on their needs. They have selected some of her sexual violence hoax facts as a sword, inflicting them on the public and on Mr. Depp,” “Quite simply this was an ambush, a hoax. They set Mr. Depp up by calling the cops but the first attempt didn’t do the trick. The officers came to the penthouses, thoroughly searched and interviewed and left after seeing no damage to face or property. So Amber and her friends spilled a little wine, roughed the place up, got their stories straight under the direction of a lawyer and publicist, and then placed a second call to 9-1-1,” and “We have reached the beginning of the end of Ms. Heard’s abuse hoax against Johnny Depp.”
The jury will determine if any of the statements are about Heard and if they were seen by someone other than Heard. If at this point the jury has answered “no,” they will not move on to the rest of the questions and will find Depp not guilty. Should jurors answer yes to the above questions, they’ll judge whether any of the statements are false and if they were made with actual malice.
Heard’s entitlement to recover, including the amount of her damages, will be decided by jurors. She is asking for $100 million.
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You can catch up on previous testimony here.
