The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial might technically be over, but with each passing day, it’s becoming clearer we’re not even close to a legal resolution. On Friday, Heard’s attorneys filed a 43 page motion in an attempt to get the court to overturn the more than ten million dollar judgment against their client. They list a variety of reasons that they believe the verdict should be dismissed, including concerns with Juror 15.
We do not know the identity of Juror 15. His identity is legally protected, but according to Heard’s legal team, his inclusion in the jury may have “compromised” her due process. That’s because, they claim, his age was reportedly listed incorrectly on the juror list panel. He was reportedly identified as having been born in 1945. However, he seems much younger than that and they believe he was born many years later. They would like to know if he received a summons and if he was properly vetted. Here’s a quote from the filing per Law & Crime…
The Court should examine whether juror 15 was properly served on the jury. The Court noted on the jury list panel that juror 15 was born in 1945. Juror 15 was born in 1945, however. Public information indicates that he was probably born in 1970. This discrepancy raises question about whether juror 15, who was born in 1970, received a summons to jury duty.
In the same legal filing, Heard’s team admits jury panel errors aren’t ordinarily grounds for getting a verdict overturned, but they claim there’s a possibility Juror 15 isn’t who he says he is, which would be, in their estimation, a due process violation. This is only one of many problems that they list in their most recent filing.
Amber Heard’s team claims Johnny Depp didn’t actually prove that he suffered that much financial hardship because of the op-ed. They argue that it was unlikely that Depp would have made an appearance in the op-ed. Pirates of the Caribbean 6, and they argue Depp himself said he wouldn’t have taken the role for one million alpacas. Her team also argues that it doesn’t matter if Heard believes she was abused. If she believed her own allegations, a jury can’t find she acted with malice, and they claim Depp’s legal team never proved she didn’t believe her own claims.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard were married only from 2015 to 2017, but their relationship has survived through many court cases and legal issues. Depp sued Heard to defame her after she published an opinion piece claiming that she was the victim domestic abuse. The six-week-long, televised trial was immensely popular with the general population. Millions watched as the two took the stand and made allegations against each others ranging in substance abuse to drug use to intentionally pooping on the bed.
The jury awarded Johnny Depp the majority of the damages. The jury ruled that she had acted with malice, defamed Depp on many counts and awarded him over fifteen million dollars in damages. This was later reduced to ten thousand and one-half million. They also found in her favor on one count over a statement Depp’s former attorney made and awarded her two million dollars. Although there was hope that the couple would settle and move forward after the trial ended, this latest motion seems to indicate that their legal situation will not change.
Although there is not yet any word about whether Juror 15 will be investigated, you can expect to hear more about it if something suspicious happens.