How many jurors will be deliberating on Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard case? Jury to give final verdict after Memorial Day holiday

The Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial verdict wasn't decided upon by Friday. Hence Judge Penney Azcarate dismissed the jury. Deliberations will resume on Tuesday at 9 a.m, following the Memorial Day weekend holiday.

Johnny Depp, 58, sued his ex-wife for $50 million (£40 million) for an article she wrote in The Washington Post in which she claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse. Ms. Heard, 36, counter-claimed for $100 million.

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About the jury in Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation trial

After six weeks of trial in Virginia, jury deliberations in the high-profile defamation case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have begun.

Seven jurors who remain and four alternates, of which two remain, were initially assigned to the Depp-Heard case.

An alternate is a juror selected in the same way as a regular juror and hears evidence in a case alongside them but does not help decide the case unless called upon to replace a regular juror if one drops out.

However, when the trial began on April 11, it only took about four hours to select the initial group of 11 jurors.

During the proceedings of the trial, Johnny Depp's attorney asked the jury to

"Hold Ms. Heard accountable for her lies.'"

For a verdict, the jury of seven must reach a unanimous decision. They began deliberations soon after both sides finished their closing arguments.

Ms. Heard's lawyer, Benjamin Rottenborn, reminded jurors of explicit text messages between Mr. Depp and his friends in which he expressed his desire to harm his ex-wife.

However, Ms. Heard's allegations of assault were described by Mr. Depp's lawyer, Camille Vasquez, as "wild, exaggerated, and unbelievable." While playing a recording of the actress admitting to hitting her ex-husband, she said :

"There is an abuser in this courtroom, but it is not Mr Depp,"

However, the arguments on Friday echoed much of the previous six weeks of testimony, in which both sides presented opposing accounts of the former couple's five-year relationship.

Ms. Heard and her lawyers described Depp as erratic and cruel, prone to drug, alcohol binges and violent behavior. Ms. Heard became emotional on the stand on Thursday as she told jurors,

"Harassment, the humiliation, the campaign against me that's echoed every single day on social media and now in front of cameras, in this room."

Johnny Depp painted a very different picture, accusing Ms Heard of being a volatile spouse who abused and demeaned him. On the stand, he testified that his ex-wife had a "need" for conflict and violence and injured him by severing the tip of one of his fingers.

The case stems from Ms. Heard's 2018 op-ed in which she described her experience as a "public figure representing domestic abuse." Ms. Vasquez said on Friday that the article was a lie that had harmed Johnny Depp's reputation, even though it did not directly name him.

When making their decision, Mr. Rottenborn, Ms. Heard's lawyer, asked the jury to focus on Ms. Heard's words in the story. He stated,

"The case is not about who the better spouse is."

He continued :

"If you believe they were both abusive to each other... Amber wins, If Amber was abused even once, she wins."

However, hundreds of fans greeted Johnny Depp outside the courthouse on Friday morning, as they have been doing on most days of the trial.

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The celebrity case, which was streamed live, drew a lot of attention from the public as both actors levelled serious accusations of emotional, physical, and verbal abuse at each other.