Amber Heard’s attorneys made a ‘inappropriate argument’ in their closing argument, asking jurors to consider the ‘message’ that ruling against her might send to other domestic abuse victims, according to Johnny Depp’s lawyers.
On Tuesday, Depp’s side urged Judge Penney Azcarate to tell the jury to dismiss that portion of the closing argument, which is presently deliberating the defamation claims filed by the feuding ex-wives.
Depp’s lawyers said in their written argument that Heard’s counsel informed the jury that the case’s outcome would send a message to ‘every victim of domestic abuse everywhere.’
They claimed that this meant the jury would be expected to consider a greater social issue rather than the specific case at hand.
Judge Azcarate, on the other hand, stated she would not consider the motion because the jury was already deliberating.
In his closing statement on Friday, Heard’s attorney Benjamin Rottenborn told the jury that a verdict against the actress “sends a message that no matter what you do as an abuse victim, you always have to do more.”
‘In order for others to trust you, you have to appear perfect, no matter how honest you are about your own inadequacies and flaws in a relationship.’ ‘Don’t transmit that message,’ urged Rottenborn.
Rottenborn’s argument, according to Depp’s lawyers, wrongly pushed the jury to focus on a greater social goal than the issue they were being asked to resolve.
‘Such an argument by Ms. Heard’s counsel urges the jury to determine the case ‘based on passion and prejudice,’ and a particular jury instruction is required to remedy this impropriety,’ Depp’s lawyers said.
The judge told Depp’s lawyers in court that she would not grant the motion because the case was still before the jury.
A request for comment on the motion was not immediately returned by Heard’s public relations agency.
It comes after the jury failed to make a decision in Depp and Heard’s defamation case after a second day of deliberations on Tuesday.
Before departing for the long Memorial Day weekend, the seven-member civil jury heard closing arguments Friday and deliberated for approximately two hours. On Tuesday, the jury deliberated for another seven hours.
They’ll continue deliberations in Fairfax County Circuit Court on Wednesday.
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million, alleging that she libeled him in a 2018 op-ed in which she referred to herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” After his lawyer dismissed her charges as a fraud, Heard filed a $100 million counterclaim against the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star. Each accuses the other of sabotaging their own careers.
During the six-week trial, witnesses testified about a litany of gruesome events from their brief marriage. Depp allegedly abused Heard more than a dozen times, according to Heard.
Depp claimed that he never struck Heard, that she invented the abuse charges, and that she was the one who physically assaulted him many times during his testimony.
During closing arguments, both sides assured the jury that a favorable decision would return their clients’ lives to them.
Meanwhile, Depp has resumed his tour of the United Kingdom with rock legend Jeff Beck. For the second night in a row, pictures showed the actor on stage at the Royal Albert Hall in west London on Tuesday night.
Depp made an appearance with a white guitar, a peaked cap, and many scarves.
After stunning fans with a visit at Sheffield City Hall on Sunday, he joined Beck at the venue on Monday and Tuesday nights.
Following his performance with Beck, Depp was joined backstage by his ex-girlfriend, British model Kate Moss.