Amber Heard loses bid to throw out verdict in Johnny Depp defamation trial
The Johnny Depp – Amber Heard saga may finally be over as Heard lost her attempt to have the verdict in the highly publicised trial thrown out.
The six-week trial saw Johnny Depp overwhelmingly win, with jurors agreeing she defamed him when she wrote an article for the Washington Post saying she had been the victim of domestic abuse. She did not name Johnny Depp in the article. He was awarded $10.35m in damages. Heard won one of her counter-claims against Depp, awarding her $2m.
Heard’s team had requested a mistrial be declared and a new trial ordered because one juror served instead of his father, in a case of mistaken identity.
The man shares the same name and address as his father. Heard’s team claims the trial was therefore flawed because the summons was meant for the father and not the son.
But judge Pennet Azcarare said there was “no evidence of fraud or wrongdoing”.
Judge Azcarate said the unnamed juror who did serve “met the statutory requirements for service” and had been questioned and approved by both sides in advance.
“The juror was vetted, sat for the entire jury, deliberated, and reached a verdict,” she said.
The televised six-week trial was one of the most high-profile celebrity cases for years.
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