Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard: Final day of trial: What will happen today and how it goes

May 27, 2022

After the trial of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard was extended, it will come to an end this Friday. Above all, the lawyers of both parties will have the floor.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s defamation trial was supposed to last six weeks. But because of the extensive evidence, it was extended by a week. The lawyers on both sides will hold their closing arguments this Friday.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard: closing arguments in the trial

Depp’s defense attorney and Heard’s defense attorney are each given two hours to convince the jury one last time. In the afternoon (local time) the jury will be dismissed. As Judge Penney Azcarate explained in court Thursday, the seven jurors will have an opportunity to confer and discuss. “I don’t make dinner,” the judge joked, but stressed that citizens were getting all the time they needed.

The jury members will not speak to each other over the weekend, nor next Monday, because that is Memorial Day, a national holiday in the USA. So if the jury doesn’t come to a verdict today, they’ll continue debating Tuesday.

What could a verdict look like?

Johnny Depp originally sued Amber Heard. He accuses her of dragging his name through the mud with an opinion piece in the Washington Post and having harmed him professionally. Depp wants $50 million from Heard. She then filed a counterclaim. She also accuses him of defamation and wants $100 million from him.

If the jury decides in Depp’s favor, the final sum that Heard would have to pay him could still be negotiated. The court could make a recommendation and order a lower or higher amount.

Likewise if Amber Heard wins. Likewise, if Johnny Depp is convicted of defamation, the court could rule that the $100 million claim is over or underestimated.

Another possible outcome would be if the jury came to the conclusion that neither party had to pay the other any money. This outcome would probably be unsatisfactory for both Heard and Depp, but it is possible.

It would be even more unsatisfactory if the jury could not reach an agreement, i.e. no majority was achieved. In that case, Judge Azcarate would declare the trial a “mistrial,” an inconclusive trial.

Those: “AP News”