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Jury deliberations for Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard defamation trial began at the Fairfax County Court after both parties concluded their closing arguments on Friday, May 27. The trial began on April 11 and continued for nearly six weeks before finally coming to a close last Friday.
Depp sued Heard for $50 million over a Washington Post op-ed she wrote in 2018, in which she claimed to be a survivor of domestic abuse. The former’s legal team claimed that the actor’s career was negatively affected and his public image was damaged due to the article, even though he was not directly named in the story.
Heard countersued Johnny Depp for $100 million, insisting that she was not a liar. She claimed that he assaulted her on multiple occasions during their relationship. As the defamation trial came to an end, Judge Penny Azcarate handed over the deliberations to seven select jurors and said that she would not limit the timing of the jury deliberations to Friday.
The judge then sent the jurors home for Memorial Day weekend and confirmed that the jury deliberations will resume on Tuesday, May 31. She also announced that the names of the jurors involved in the trial would be sealed for a year due to the high-profile nature of the case.
Can the jury reach a unanimous verdict in the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation trial? Looking into the possibilities of the verdict
The Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard defamation trial has continued to garner immense media attention ever since it began on April 11. Ahead of the much-awaited verdict, several people have expressed their concern about the jury failing to reach a verdict in the case.
The verdict could take a completely different turn if the jurors make a unanimous decision on the case. Defamation lawyer Aaron Minc recently uploaded a video on TikTok and shared that judges do not usually like unanimous decisions:
“(Judges) usually do everything in their power to try and prevent that from happening. They will send the jury back multiple times to tell them to try to really hash it out.”
He shared that if the jury fails to reach a verdict, the decision may either be declared as a “deadlocked jury” or a “hung jury”:
“Basically, either way, it’s a mistrial. Nobody wins, they all go home, and then Johnny Depp would either have to give up or he would have to try the case again. Can you imagine that? After all this, if we had a deadlocked jury, and then we had to do this all over again?”
Trial consultant Richard Gabriel told NBC News that the jury holds the power to find either party guilty or without blame, but are not bound to rule for the multi-million dollar payout:
“(The jury) could literally make a statement at the end of the trial saying, ‘You know what, we think maybe both of you were defamed, but we’re not going to award any damages.’”
As the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard trial reaches its final stage, there also remains a possibility that the jury could find both or neither parties guilty. They can also arrive at a conclusion that is not in line with the narrative provided by either side.
How can Depp or Heard win the trial?
According to the Insider, jurors would need to consider that certain parts of Heard’s 2018 Washington Post op-ed were written with “actual malice,” for Depp to win the trial. This means that the jury has to find evidence that Heard has "reckless disregard” for the truth and she made some statements in the article knowing that they were false.
Reports suggest that the headline of Heard’s article will come under major scrutiny, to begin with. The headline read:
“I spoke up against s*xual violence — and faced our culture's wrath. That has to change.”
In their defense, Amber Heard’s team argued that the actress did not write the headline. However, Johnny Depp’s team claimed that she "republished" the same by tweeting the article.
The next sentence to be analyzed by the jury deals with Heard calling herself a representative of domestic abuse:
“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.”
Another sentence from the article that has reportedly been taken into consideration alleges that abusive men are often protected by institutions:
“I had the rare vantage point of seeing, in real time, how institutions protect men accused of abuse.”
After considering all the major points, jurors will likely announce the amount of compensatory and/or punitive damages to be issued by Heard to Depp.
Meanwhile, for Heard to win the case, jurors will have to consider that the statements made by Johnny Depp’s former lawyer Adam Waldman against Heard had the intent of “actual malice.”
"[We] have reached the beginning of the end of Ms. Heard's abuse hoax against Johnny Depp.”
One such statement allegedly included Waldman telling The Daily Mail that Heard’s abuse allegations against Depp were an “ambush” and a “hoax.” He also claimed that the Aquaman actress and her friends “set up” Johnny Depp and blamed him on purpose.
The result of the jury deliberations is currently awaited.
