What is The Final Verdict of Depp vs Heard Trial and Statements?

Jenny Lee May 28, 2022 | 04:55

The jury sides with Johnny Depp in libel lawsuit, Amber Heard on counterclaim!

The Verdict of Depp vs Heard Trial

What is the final verdict of in the multi-million dollar defamation trial between Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard?

Johnny Depp triumphs in defamation case against Amber Heard

Johnny Depp has won his defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, a Virginia jury decided Wednesday, with cheers going up outside the courtroom from the crowd of Depp supporters who gathered there. Inside the courtroom, a black-clad Heard kept her eyes downcast as the jury’s decision that she had lost her countersuit was read.

The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages. The latter was reduced by Judge Penney Azcarate to Virginia’s statutory cap of $350,000. The jury also awarded $2 million in compensatory damages to Heard in her counterclaim and no punitive damages after finding one point of her lawsuit valid.

The verdict — from a jury of five men and two women — came after nearly 13 hours of deliberation spanning three days. Read the Full Verdict Here!

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Live coverage and reports of the goings on at the courthouse in Fairfax, Virginia, as we await the verdict from the jury.

After closing statements, a seven-person jury are expected deliver a verdict. In closing arguments on Friday, Depp’s lawyers asked jurors to “give him his life back” after he claims it was “ruined” by Heard’s allegations of domestic abuse.

After more than six weeks of the Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial, we are all looking forward to the jury's verdict. Will Depp or Heard win this legal battle?

And When Will the Depp vs Heard Trial End - Virginia Jury's Verdict Be Announced?

When will the final verdict be released: Jury goes home for holiday weekend

As Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s defamation trial nears its welcome end, the breathless speculation about the case’s purported deeper meaning shows no sign of slowing down.

The jury did not reach a unanimous verdict by end of business Friday (May 27) and have been dismissed. They will resume deliberations on Tuesday morning (May 31, 2022), following the Memorial Day holiday.

If the jury cannot come to a unanimous decision by the end of the day, it will not return until Tuesday due to the holiday weekend.

Seven jurors are tasked with coming to a decision, while two others are designated as alternates.

Judge Azcarate, who started off the day by giving the jurors instructions ahead of the end of the trial, now issues them with some more.

Azcarate also tells jurors 3 and 14 that they are alternate jurors, meaning they will not deliberate unless called in to replace another member of the jury.

The next step is to wait until Tuesday, so the jury indicates they reached a verdict.

Depp, the 58-year-old "Pirates of the Caribbean" star, sued ex-wife Heard in Virginia for $50 million and argued that she defamed him when she called herself "a public figure representing domestic abuse" in an opinion piece she wrote.

Heard, 36, countersued for $100 million, saying Depp smeared her when his lawyer called her accusations a "hoax."

► Full Lyrics, Video: Johnny Depp Sings 'Isolation' in Surprise Performance:

As the verdict looms, Depp turned up to perform alongside Jeff Beck in the UK on Sunday.

According to videos taken from the event that were posted on social media, Depp joined Beck on stage with his guitar and the pair played their 2020 cover of John Lennon's "Isolation," a cover of Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" and Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing." They also performed Depp's unreleased song "This is a Song for Ms. Hedy Lamarr."

Depp vs Heard Verdict Key Facts (Updated)

♦ This is the 24th day that Depp and Heard have been in court, with both sets of legal teams expected to have roughly two hours to make a final impression before the jurors make their decision.

♦ If a decision is not reached Friday night (May 27), the earliest we would find out is Tuesday (next week).

It is possible that we could find out the outcome of the trial later today, or we might find out in the early part of next week. It is worth bearing in mind that it is a public holiday in the US on Monday, so if a decision is not reached tonight, the earliest we would find out is Tuesday.

Updated: Jurors deliberating the dueling defamation claims from actors Johnny Depp and Amber Heard adjourned on Friday without delivering verdicts.

♦ The judge stated that there is no problem if Depp and Herd are not present at the time the jury announces its verdict.

♦ The high-profile trial, which is being aired on CourtTV and livestreamed everywhere else, has become the perfect recipe for half-baked, overbaked, and nearly raw analyses.

♦ Testimony revealed the couple’s own marriage counselor felt that they had engaged in “mutual abuse.” Both have alleged that their respective abuse claims tanked their careers.

What will the Jury Decide in the Verdict?

What is The Final Verdict of Depp vs Heard Trial: A Symbolic Judgment!

Who is the Winner of the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard Trial?

Since April 11 we have witnessed a very public airing of their dirty laundry, but now time is up and both only have to hope that they have convinced the jury of their argument.

The jury has already heard from both Depp and Heard extensively -- each was on the stand for four days, undergoing grueling cross-examinations.

Tthe jury must sift through the evidence to determine whether Heard defamed Depp when she wrote an essay for The Washington Post in 2018 describing herself as a domestic abuse survivor.

The jury is also tasked with addressing the $100 million defamation countersuit Heard filed over statements made by Depp's former attorney Adam Waldman. Waldman made three statements in the Daily Mail in 2020 accusing Heard of orchestrating an abuse "hoax."

The jury did not reach a unanimous verdict by end of business Friday and have been dismissed. They will resume deliberations on Tuesday morning, following the Memorial Day holiday.

What will make this trial particularly challenging for a jury is the fact that both parties are trained actors whose job is to make the audience believe they are, in fact, the role they play. The testimony of the witnesses and documentary evidence will be even more essential for the jury to determine who is really telling the truth and who may be merely acting out a role.

Having a jury of several individuals—in this case, seven—makes a big difference in the deliberation process. The opinion of one is not enough; all seven must agree

A Symbolic Verdict?

Video - Judge Thanks Everyone Involved in Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard Defamation Trial:

Brett Turnbull, a veteran personal injury attorney with Turnbull, Holcomb, and Lemoine, explained the numerous possible verdicts.Regardless, the outcome of this trial might not impact the ex-couple’s career prospects in all that negative a way.

Jurors could vote in favor of either Depp or Heard, of course, and then decide to award the winner a sizable sum.

The jury could also decide to vote in favor of either Depp or Heard but decide to award the victor a “nominal” sum — like $1. “Someone wins,” Turnbull said, but in that situation, “it’s a symbolic verdict that says, ‘We support your claims, we find in your favor, but we’re not willing to consider that for actual monetary damages.’”

The jury could also find against both Depp and Heard, meaning they could decide that neither defamed the other. “It’s their right to evaluate the witnesses and the evidence and make decisions based on what they hear and what they see,” Turnbull said. “And they literally have the right to come back and say, ‘We find that Johnny Depp did not prove his case and that Amber Heard did not prove her case’ — and it will be just null and void on both ends.”

Depp vs Heard Again

What is The Verdict of Depp vs Heard Trial?

After six weeks of testimony, the jury began deliberations Friday afternoon in the defamation case between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

During the course of the trial, Heard testified about more than a dozen episodes of physical and sexual assault that she said Depp inflicted on her and Depp says he never struck Heard and that she concocted the abuse allegations to gain an advantage in divorce proceedings.

Depp is hoping the six-week trial will help restore his reputation, though it has turned into a spectacle of a vicious marriage.

“This case for Mr. Depp has never been about money,” said Depp lawyer Benjamin Chew. “It is about Mr. Depp's reputation and freeing him from the prison in which he has lived for the last six years.”

Camille Vasquez, who represents Depp in the case, told the jury Friday that Heard is the abuser and that she did in fact orchestrate an "abuse hoax." She alleged that Heard fabricated and staged photos that have been submitted as evidence.

But Heard's attorneys pushed back. They said Heard was verbally, emotionally and physically abused during the course of her relationship with Depp. Her op-ed, they argued, was about her own experience after that abuse was made public.

Heard’s lawyer, J. Benjamin Rottenborn, said the lawsuit is not about Depp’s reputation but is part of an ongoing smear campaign Depp launched after Heard filed for divorce.

Did Johnny Depp win his trial against ex-wife Amber Heard and What will happen?

At the time of writing, jury deliberations are still ongoing in Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s trial. This article will continue to be updated as new information about Johnny’s trial verdict becomes available.

If Johnny wins against Amber, it means that the jury has decided that Amber defamed him in her 2018 article for the Washington Post and the actor will be awarded damages. Johnny is seeking $50 million in compensation, but the jury could recommend awarding the Pirates of the Caribbean star more or less money than the amount he seeks. But if the jury decides that Amber did not defame Johnny, then she will not have to pay him any damages.

It’s important to note that neither Johnny or Amber are being tried on criminal charges. This is a civil case, which means that Amber will not go to prison even if the jury decides in Johnny’s favor, and vice versa. Whether she wins or loses, Amber will also have to wait to proceed to trial on her $100 million countersuit against Johnny.

Nearly 1 in 7 men experiences severe physical violence in America

According to the CDC, nearly 1 in 7 men experiences severe physical violence by an intimate partner during his lifetime. Yet straight male victims don’t recognize their experiences as abuse, or aren’t aware that agencies that help female survivors also will offer them services, says Emily Douglas, chair of the Department of Social Work & Child Advocacy at Montclair State University.

Throughout the trial, Depp has maintained that he never assaulted Heard; rather, his legal team argues that she was the primary aggressor in the relationship, abusing him physically, verbally, and emotionally. The public sympathy for this version of the story has resonated powerfully for victims who identify with Depp. “I do think that male victims of domestic abuse are watching this very closely,” says Denise Hines, a George Mason University professor who studies the experiences of male domestic abuse victims.

So the overwhelmingly sympathetic public reaction to Depp “might open the gates for more sympathy and empathy for male victims,” Hines says.

“The whole trial, unfortunately, does disadvantage female victims because of the vitriol against Amber Heard,” Hines says. “If there’s a male abuser out there who’s watching this and thinks he can use the Johnny Depp trial to his advantage, and paint his girlfriend or wife out to be Amber Heard, the way this is all playing out in the media, he’s going to do it.”