FERFAX, Va. (AP) - A seven-member civil jury in Virginia will continue on Tuesday to consider the trial of Johnny Depp for defamation against Amber Heard. What the jury thinks will be very different from the public debate that involved high-profile procedures.
For six weeks, testimony focused on the details of the alleged abuse Heard says she suffered at the hands of Depp. Hurd cited dozens of specific cases in which she says Depp attacked her.
Depp has denied any physical or sexual abuse and says Herd made up claims to destroy Depp’s reputation. Depots ’legions of online fans focused on their belief that Heard was untrue and that this would determine the outcome.
But the case itself is a defamation suit. Depp sued Heard for defamation - for 50 million dollars - in the Fairfax District Court because of an article from December 2018, which she wrote in The Washington Post, describing herself as “a public figure who represents domestic abuse”.
In that article, Depp is never mentioned by name, but his lawyers say that he is still slanderous. Most of the article talks about public policy related to domestic violence, and Herd’s lawyers say that she is entitled to the First Amendment.
In his closing remarks, however, Depp’s lawyer, Camille Vasquez, argued that Hurd’s rights to free speech had limitations.
“The first amendment does not protect lies that insult and slander people,” she said.
Depp’s lawyers point to two passages in the article that they say clearly refer to Depp.
In the first paragraph, Hurd writes that “two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic violence and I felt all the power of the anger of our culture.” Depp’s lawyers call it a clear reference to Depp, since Heard publicly accused Depp of domestic violence in 2016 - two years before she wrote the article.
In the second paragraph, she says: “I had a rare point of view, in real time, of how institutions protect men accused of abuse. (Depp’s lawyers are also seeking damages for the title that appeared above the online version of the article, although Herd did not write it.)
The jury, which must make a unanimous decision in order to reach a verdict, must decide whether these passages in the Post Office are defamatory. And the verdict form gives them step-by-step instructions on how to determine that.
Heard’s lawyers say they have presented a mountain of evidence that Heard was abused. But they say that even if the jury somehow believed that she had never been abused a single time, she should still win the lawsuit.
This is because the defamation law lists several factors that must be taken into account. First, the alleged defamatory statements must relate to the prosecutor. Hurd’s lawyers said that the article was not about Depp at all. He is not mentioned, and they say the focus is on Heard’s experience of the consequences of pronunciation. Those statements remain objectively true even if she was not actually abused, her lawyers claim.
Depp’s lawyers, however, say these two passages are clear references to Depp, given the publicity surrounding their 2016 divorce proceedings.
In addition, since Depp is a public figure, Hurd can only be found guilty of defamation if the jury decides that Hurd acted with “real malice,” which requires clear and convincing evidence that she either knew what she wrote was false or she acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
Heard’s lawyer J. In his closing remarks on Friday, Benjamin Rottenborn said that Heard carefully reviewed the drafts of the article - the first draft was not written by her, but by the American Civil Liberties Union - with her lawyers to make sure that what was written passed a legal check. . Rothenborn said that fact alone is enough proof that she did not act with real malice.
As for the abuse itself, Depp’s lawyers tried to suggest to the jury that if they believe Hurd is lying or embellishing any of her allegations of abuse, she cannot be trusted and all her allegations of abuse must be dismissed as untrustworthy.
“Either you believe in everything or none of it,” Vasquez said. “Either she is a victim of ugly, horrible abuse, or she is a woman who is ready to say absolutely everything.
At the end of Herd, Rothenborn said that complaining about Herd’s evidence of abuse ignores the fact that there is huge evidence on her behalf and sends a dangerous message to victims of domestic violence.
“If you didn’t paint, it didn’t happen,” Rothenborn said. “If you painted, they are fake. If you haven’t told your friends, they’re lying. If you tell your friends, they are part of a scam. “
And he rejected Vasquez’s suggestion that if the jury thinks Heard might be embellishing an act of abuse, they must ignore everything she says. He said that Depp’s defamation lawsuit must fail if Hurd suffered even one incident of abuse.
“They’re trying to make you think Amber has to be perfect to win,” Rothenborn said.
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