Johnny Depp's high-profile courtroom battle with ex-wife Amber Heard is about to return to an finish on Friday, after a number of weeks of testimonies positioned an usually uncomfortable highlight on their tumultuous relationship.
Depp, 58, has filed a $50 million lawsuit in opposition to Heard, 36, over an op-ed printed by The Washington Submit in 2018, wherein she said that she was a home abuse survivor.
Heard didn't title Depp within the article, however his attorneys have argued that it was apparent she was referring to the actor. Heard is countersuing for $100 million.
As every star took the stand at Virginia's Fairfax County Circuit Court docket, they made a number of allegations in opposition to each other, together with drug and alcohol use, explosive confrontations, and even a declare that Heard defecated on the couple's mattress.
Depp and Heard, whose divorce was finalized in 2017, have additionally accused each other of home abuse. Each have denied the allegations made in opposition to them.
For the reason that trial started final month, a number of consultants, buddies and former buddies have testified on behalf of either side. There have additionally been movie star witnesses, together with Ellen Barkin and Kate Moss.
Additionally introduced up in the course of the trial was Depp's former lawyer Adam Waldman, who publicly accused Heard a number of years in the past of constructing faux sexual assault allegations and conspiring to create an "abuse hoax."
Heard stated on Thursday that she felt "harassed, humiliated, threatened each single day" because of the comment.
Whereas the tide of public help in the course of the trial seems to have swayed closely in favor of Depp—at the least if social media is to be believed—the decision can be within the palms of the jurors, who've sat by six weeks of proof and testimonies.
With courtroom proceedings getting into their remaining hours, Newsweek has spoken to authorized consultants about what might be anticipated from the exes' attorneys as they ship their closing statements to the jury.
Jury Directions
California First Modification lawyer Jeff Lewis advised Newsweek that one of many components that can be key because the trial involves a detailed is jury directions.
"Count on additionally plenty of arguments from the attorneys - probably off-camera - relating to jury directions," stated Lewis, founding father of Jeff Lewis Regulation. "Jury directions clarify the regulation to the jury and errors within the directions can provide rise to an appealable concern afterward so the attorneys and decide will proceed fastidiously right here.
"Some fascinating areas relating to the directions: Virginia's anti-SLAPP regulation is newly amended. There's not a whole lot of case regulation (prior circumstances) concerning the regulation. How will the jury be instructed the regulation applies to this case?"
Turning to his second level, Lewis added: "Depp is being sued for statements made by his lawyer about Heard. In a public determine case, Heard and Depp should show 'malice' - that the individual making the statements didn't consider them to be true.
"That is an odd scenario as a result of Heard is suing Depp for statements that Depp didn't personally make. How the jury is instructed about Depp's mind-set relating to his lawyer's statements is one thing to observe."
Burden of Proof
Lewis famous that the trial has seen the pendulum swing dramatically from being in favor of Heard to now seeing her face an uphill struggle to win over the jury.
"Ignoring the proof for a second, Heard's burden of proof appeared comparatively low going into trial," he defined. "She simply has to persuade the jury that one incident of violence occurred.
"She doesn't have to show that all of them occurred, or that the sexual violence occurred. If the jury believes he hit her as soon as, the jury should discover that the op-ed was considerably true and Depp should lose. So going into the trial, Depp, not Heard, had the more durable case to show.
"However given how the testimony and proof has performed out, Heard appears to have extra work to win again the jury relating to holes in her tales, the present of the knife to Depp and statements recorded on audio of her taunting Depp."
Query of Malice
As for the closing statements, Lewis believes that Heard's aspect will deal with trying to hammer residence the concept Depp's profession has already skilled a downturn earlier than the publication of her op-ed.
"Count on Heard to deal with the difficulty of causation: that's that Depp's profession was already on a downslide earlier than the editorial was printed in The Washington Submit," Lewis stated. "Heard can even deal with the query of malice: whether or not Heard subjectively believed her statements about Depp have been true."
As for the opposing aspect: "Count on Depp in arguments to deal with the shortage of any credible corroborating witness who noticed any abuse.
"Additionally anticipate Depp to remind the jury concerning the skilled witness he placed on declaring Heard to be borderline persona. Depp's attorneys will make this case as a lot about Depp being abused because the absence of abuse by Depp to realize sympathy for Depp."
"From Depp's authorized workforce anticipate heavy emphasis throughout closing arguments on the knife that Heard gave to Depp, the audio of Heard taunting Depp that nobody would ever consider him, and Depp's personal testimony on the finish of his examination when he confirmed he was a sufferer of home violence," Lewis continued. "From Heard's authorized workforce, anticipate in closing argument reference to Heard's sister's testimony and make-up artist's testimony. In a he-said, she-said case, third occasion corroboration or photographic corroboration is essential."
Discrediting Witnesses
Trial lawyer Manny Arora advised Newsweek that Depp's workforce has gone into the ultimate day of proceedings with "all of the momentum and have tried to discredit all of Amber Heard's witnesses in addition to her personal testimony.
"This was executed by way of different witnesses that have been on the totally different places referenced. This rebuttal testimony tells a starkly totally different story."
Trying on the components he foresees being included in closing statements, he stated: "I anticipate Depp's workforce will say Amber Heard has borderline persona dysfunction, amongst different issues, and was the aggressor, taunter, and bodily abuser—and Johnny is the actual sufferer. This idea is bolstered by the truth that Heard's allegations do not add up; in that her accidents, if any, weren't ever seen or handled by any medical skilled."
Arora, of Atlanta-based Arora Regulation Agency, LLC, predicts that Depp's workforce can even work to persuade the jury that medicine and alcohol performed no half in harming his profession. For the reason that publication of the op-ed, Depp has misplaced roles within the Pirates of the Caribbean and Incredible Beasts franchises.
"Depp will declare that he misplaced the Pirates 6 film, and different roles, because of the launch of her op-ed," stated Arora. "He'll additional rebut her claims he misplaced these roles as a result of his continued drug/alcohol use."
Alternatively, says Arora, Heard's workforce will say the actress "suffered in silence, has PTSD and different traumas [allegedly] attributable to Depp, and hid her accidents to guard Depp as a result of she beloved him.
"They are going to say Depp's drug and alcohol abuse turned him right into a monster," he stated. "One of many different important themes can be that since Depp is a strong male within the trade, individuals will defend him in any respect prices and due to this fact he can get away with something—resembling getting her reduce from the Aquaman 2 film—and he or she is the actual sufferer right here."
Fiery Closing Arguments
New York Metropolis-based prison protection lawyer Julie Rendelman advised Newsweek that she expects the closing statements to be "fiery"—with all sides probably having urgent questions to deal with within the minds of jurors.
"It appears clear at this level that Heard's op-ed piece was about Depp," stated Rendelman. "The issue is whether or not Heard's description of being the sufferer of home violence was truthful and if it was not, whether or not there was precise malice.
"Whereas some consider there may be little credible proof establishing Depp was bodily violent with Heard, there may be proof establishing he was verbally and maybe emotionally abusive, which is a type of home violence.
"With that stated, there may be credible proof—from Heard's personal phrases in audio recordings—that she herself was bodily with Depp, which raises one doable query for the jury: Can an abuser even be the sufferer of abuse?"
"Heard's counterclaim relating to the statements made by Depp's lawyer appear removed from straightforward to show," she went on. "First, she has to show the statements have been unfaithful and with precise malice.
"Extra importantly, nevertheless, she must show that the statements got here from Depp and never his lawyer. I am not clear, based mostly on the proof now we have seen, how her workforce intends to do this."
"I anticipate some highly effective and maybe even fiery closing arguments from either side as that is their final likelihood to make an impression on the jury earlier than they start deliberations," Rendelman added.
The Depp v. Heard trial concludes on Friday, and Newsweek can be masking all of the breaking tales from the Fairfax County courtroom on our stay weblog.
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