As the Johnny Depp – Amber Heard defamation trial proceeds towards its final moments, the legal teams of both sides continue to fight fiercely to have the verdict in their favor.
The jury has been deliberations for more than 9 hours now in the past 2 days and now a new twist has come in the case as the legal team representing “Pirates of the Caribbean” star Johnny Depp has asked the jury to negate the last statement of Amber Heard’s lawyer as it changes the perception of this case drastically.
According to the details from the court, the legal team of Depp asked the Judge Penney Azcarate that she should address the jury to disregard the last statement of Heard’s lawyer as it can change the meaning and perception of the whole case.
The attorneys representing Johnny Depp stated that attorney Benjamin Rottenborn had told the jury that the final verdict of this infamous case will send out a message to “every victim of domestic abuse everywhere”.
“Such argument by Ms. Heard’s counsel improperly invites the jury to decide the case ‘based on passion and prejudice’ and a specific jury instruction is necessary to cure this impropriety,” they stated.
The statement was made by Attorney Rottenborn as the closing words by their side as he addressed the jury that a ruling against Amber Heard will send out a message to the domestic abuse victims that no matter what they do, they will always have to do more.
“No matter how honest you are about your own imperfections and your own shortcomings in a relationship, you have to be perfect in order for people to believe you. Don’t send that message,” Rottenborn said.
According to Depp’s attorneys, this statement will change the course of the case and the trial is not about domestic violence but it is about defamation.
As a response, Judge Penney Azcarate did not entertain this motion stating that the deliberations by the jury had already been started.
The defamation case has lasted six weeks and is into its last moments as the verdict is due anytime now. Johnny Depp is seeking a hefty amount of $50 million as he claims that Amber Heard libeled him when she wrote the op-ed calling herself “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” As a countersuit, Amber Heard has claimed $100 million against Depp and his legal team calling the allegations against her as a hoax.
