The case won’t be heading back into court after all
Amber Heard has seen her bid for a mistrial rejected after the presiding judge in her high-profile defamation loss to Johnny Depp said that the issues were largely “irrelevant” to the trial, let alone sufficient enough for the verdict to be thrown out.
The 36-year-old actor appealed for a mistrial earlier this month after it was revealed one of the jurors present was not the person initially registered to serve (a family member serving in their place) as well as claiming that Depp’s legal team made a number of unfounded allegations.
However, none of it was enough it would seem, as speaking in a written order issued by Fairfax County Court, Judge Penney rejected all of Heard’s claims and said of the juror issue, in particular, that it was “irrelevant”, that there was no evidence of “fraud or wrongdoing” and that juror 15 conducted themselves in “a fair and impartial manner”.
She went on to clarify: “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”.
Azcarate also added that Heard and her team had every opportunity to object to the specific juror’s involvement in the six-week trial and in the available period following the verdict, but failed to do so in either instance.
Depp, who has just recently settled his other legal battle with an ex-film crew member who alleged he punched him in the stomach, admitted that while the defendant’s team are understandably disappointed by the result of the trial, their reasons for a potential mistrial “verged into the frivolous”.
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