Amber Heard’s demand for a new trial in her defamation case with ex-husband Johnny Depp has been rejected by a Virginia judge.
The request was submitted last week by Amber’s attorneys. They claimed that one of the jurors selected for the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp’s trial was not the actual person who was served with the jury summons. Calling this complaint “frivolous” the legal team representing Johnny certainly dismissed the efforts of Amber’s attorneys.
Judge denies Amber Heard’s request
Judge Penny Azcarte declared, “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.”
The fresh filing was issued just one week after Heard’s legal team urged the court to reverse the USD 10.35 million verdicts in Johnny Depp‘s favor. Moreover, they claimed that the verdict was not justified by the existing evidence. After a six-week trial in Virginia, a jury of seven people decided on a judgment on June 1. They determined that Depp had shown sufficient evidence to establish that Heard had slandered him in the 2018 op-ed.
Amber published an opinion piece about domestic violence in The Washington Post in 2018. Johnny filed a defamation lawsuit against her in March 2019. Although Johnny was not specifically mentioned in the piece, according to his attorneys, it defamed him by referring to abuse claims. Depp received a $10 million damage award from the judges. Nonetheless Heard, received a $2 million prize because of her countersuit.
