I’ve been obsessively watching this almost from day 1 on Emily D Baker’s incredible law youtube channel. A lot of it on catch up, all the court action is there and Emily who is a lawyer and former Asst DA explains the legal stuff. Right now it’s the Depp/ Heard defamation case. Johnny Depp is brave enough and man enough to tell the world men can be victims of abuse by their partners, female or male. They’re at closing now. Heard’s lawyer who I can’t listen to is trying to undo the damage of Depp’s superb legal team. I came here to ask if anyone else is following the trial?
I have zero interest in it.
I’ve seen snippets of it on the news. I thought it was profound when Heard stated she covered her broken nose with make up. As I understood it, she never went to a doctor or the police. Which is a bit sus to me, I thought, why didn’t she? There are domestic violence cases where victims don’t seek medical or police help, maybe for the shame, maybe they don’t have funds for healthcare. Maybe they are scared their partner might leave & the victim had no where else to go. I don’t know anything about Heard or Depp other than they starred in films. I’m not sure if the question - why Heard didn’t get professional help after Depp allegedly broken her nose has been asked & answered in court.
I’m also trying to figure why they are televising this case.
It’s a civil case, not a criminal case, so the rules and outcomes are different.
I don’t know the difference.
A civil case concerns conflicts between people who haven’t committed a crime under the law. That’s not a great explanation but roughly. Prison doesn’t come into civil cases ( here I’m talking US law. British law has different statutes). If a person is found liable, there usually a fine to be paid to the injured party (claimant) by the defendant. Usually this is money, but sometimes other forms of compensation. In this case, Johnny Depp is claimant to Amber Heard, his ex wife. The case is that Heard deliberately libelled and defamed Johnny Depp alleging physical and sexual abuse. Different states have different rules. This case is in Virginia. There is a judge and jury. The judge is there to ensure law is applied correctly, can allow/disallow testimony if it’s found to be improper, and can have parts removed from evidence, as in not to be taken into account and stricken from record.
S/he has no part in giving a verdict, apart from giving directions to the jury, after both sides have closed giving testimony. There are rebuttals, and objections which are decided by the judge. This case took 6 days.
****** below is MY OPINION ONLY******
In this case, Amber Heard is a vicious, sadistic, disgusting person who went to unbelievable lengths to get as much money as possible from ex husband of 14 months Johnny Depp. She claimed he physically, emotionally and sexually abused her. She put an article in the Washington Post anonymously “in support of battered women”, while setting up scenarios in which she arranged photo images of broken bottles, blood, broken furniture etc. Depp claimed he never raised a hand to a woman in his life. He admitted to drug and alcohol abuse during their marriage, and audio and video clips were played in court by both sides showing alleged physical abuse from Heard, who severed part of Depp’s finger with a broken vodka bottle.
Her “bruises” were created with make up, as she made tv appearances the next day with unblemished skin, in a backless dress.
Depp’s witnesses were his ex wife of 15 years, and Kate Moss, who both said Johnny Depp never physically harmed them, was a kind gentle partner even when he was addicted to alcohol and drugs.Amber Heard was quite fond of coke herself, but testimony about drug use isn’t counted as criminal or not.
Present status of the case is all the testimony and evidence on both sides has been given, rebuttals heard, it’s all done and dusted. Now it’s with the jury, of I think 9 jurors (2 had to be excused and they always have substitutes to step in). Instead of guilty or not guilty, the sentence in civil law is liable or not liable. Or hung.
The jury can take as long as they want to reach a verdict, within reason. It has to be unanimous. If all the jurors don’t agree eventually, it’s a hung jury. Nobody, wins, nobody loses. As this case was always only ever about Johnny Depp clearing his name he was never concerned about money. Heard wanted $100,000,000. Yes, that’s right, a hundred mil. He countered with 50 mil, but he said if he won he would either waive it or give it to charity. He is fantastically rich. Owns an island. It was about his reputation and his good name.
Everything I wrote here is based on knowledge I got watching the trial obsessively, and listening to Emily D Baker’s podcasts on YouTube. I found her channel during lockdown. In terms of age, she could be my daughter but she’s a lawyer and former deputy DA. Her legal practice was in Los Angeles. She stopped her courtroom practice and started a YouTube channel for people who wanted to learn about the law. Mostly she covers cases involving celebrities, but it’s not a gossip channel. It’s genuine law. I love her. I want to be her bezzie friend, she’s funny, smart and relatable. And that’s it for now. If the jury hangs, both parties can just walk away, or start the whole civil case again. I can’t imagine that happening as Heard has managed to make herself hated to the point nobody will go to movies she’s in. Also, she’s a shit actress. Sat on the stand gurning and gulping but couldn’t manage a single tear.
That’s more than you or anyone wanted to know, I’m sure. Who knows how long the jury will take, and it could hang. Jurors are paid very little. They want to go home and forget the whole palava, they might be losing pay or vacation time on this case. Whose idea it was to put it on tv, I don’t know but I was glued to it.
ETA- I wrote here that the trial took 6 days. Mea culpa. It took 6 WEEKS. I have a feeling this fact will put a rocket under the jurors to agree on a verdict even if they’re not 100% convinced either way. 6 weeks is unthinkable . 6 DAYS is bad enough, but the other is pure, undiluted hell. They couldn’t talk about the case with anybody. Not family and friends. Not the other jurors. Now they can chat with the other jurors all they want, they have to. But not before.
1 Like
Holy shit. I wrote a fucking book there. Oh well. I hope at least someone found it interesting.
I found this very interesting.
2 Likes
Awww. Thank you, Andrea.
I saw on the news some of the pics of the alleged bruises & broken nose covered in make up, wasn’t sure when they were taken, but made me suspicious, didn’t look like a broken nose to me. Thanks for explaining it all Etty. x
1 Like
Thank you, Lori.
1 Like
JOHNNY WON ON ALL 3 COUNTS!!!
My belief in justice is restored.
Of course she was lying, and a unanimous jury took 2 1/2 days to decide it. Johnny wasn’t in court, I think he’s somewhere in Europe. Playing guitar again and singing on stage. He wasn’t obliged to be in court for the verdict, but his legal team were quietly and respectfully overjoyed. They were brilliant and he was libelled. It’s a fact. Happy days.
1 Like