A judge is ruling that the judgment in the Amber Heard / Johnny Depp trial will stand and that a new trial will not be ordered, despite an attempt by Heard’s lawyer to have the verdict set aside or for a mistrial to commence.
We Got This Covered previously reported that Heard’s lawyer called into question an issue with one of the jurors in the trial of dueling defamation lawsuits. According to Heard’s lawyer, either a mistrial or set-aside verdict was warranted because Juror No. 15 was not the same individual who was originally called to serve on the trial, but had the same last name and lived at the same address, among other issues.
In the trial, the jury awarded Depp $10 million that Heard must pay him while Heard was awarded $2 million. Despite Heard’s best efforts, Judge Penney Azcarate of Fairfax, Virginia ruled that the verdict will stand as is, as Deadline reported.
In part, the judge’s explanation stated, “There is no evidence of fraud or wrongdoing.” According to the court document, the judge said both parties were granted due process, both were allowed to examine potential jurors, and Juror No. 15’s questionnaire matched the information he provided to the court, such as his birthdate.
The judge’s assessment was that Heard’s lawyers have “neither followed the proper procedure nor shown evidence of prejudice.” The document went on to conclude,
“Defendant does not allege Juror Fifteen’s inclusion on the jury prejudiced her in any way. The juror was vetted, sat for the entire jury, deliberated, and reached a verdict. The only evidence before this Court is that this juror and all jurors followed their oaths, the Court’s instructions, and orders. This Court is bound by the competent decision of the jury.”
According to the original filing by Heard’s lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft, Juror No. 15 “was not, in fact, the same individual as listed on the jury panel,” but was instead a man 25 years younger. A man in his late-‘70s was the originally-intended summoned juror, Bredehoft said, but instead a man in his early ‘50s is who ultimately served on the jury. Based on this fact alone, Bredehoft called for a mistrial and investigation.
Depp’s lawyer submitted their own counter-filing claiming that Heard’s attempted mistrial motion was “frivolous” and that, prior to the motion, they had plenty of time to address the juror issue in question but did not.
The six-week trial resulted in a jury siding with all three of Depp’s claims that Heard defamed him. They also ruled with only one of Heard’s several counter-claims, finding that one of Depp’s lawyer’s defamed her by stating to the press that Heard staged a hoax at one point.
The trial all stemmed from a 2018 op-ed Heard penned in the Washington Post, which a jury ultimately found was a defamatory article toward Depp, despite not stating his name outright in the piece. Depp has maintained Heard made false domestic abuse allegations against him.