As stated almost immediately after the verdict was delivered, Amber Heard's legal team have launched their appeal to have the ruling of her defamation case against ex-husband Johnny Depp overthrown – and are citing issues with the jury as part of their argument.
In their motion to set aside the verdict filing, Heard's team (including lawyer Elaine Charlson Bredehoft, who has been vocal about her dismay in the outcome of the trial) have said they believe the seven-person civil jury was not thoroughly scrutinised prior, urging the Court to "investigate whether Juror 15 properly served on the jury".
The motion states that there has been some confusion over Juror 15's birthdate, alleging that "on the juror panel list sent to counsel before voir dire, the Court noted that the individual who would later be designated Juror 15 had a birth year of 1945 [...] however Juror 15 was clearly born later than 1945 [...] Publicly available information demonstrates that he appears to have been born in 1970". Heard's legal team are hoping this alleged discrepancy can raise questions over the suitability of the jury panel as a whole.
Continuing on, the filing also adds that should Juror 15 not in fact be the same individual "on the venire, or that the Court's Clerk office did not verify his identity, Ms Heard's due process was compromised".
The motion also argues that the case relied on flawed logic, arguing that Depp's claims "proceeded solely on a defamation by implication theory, abandoning any claims that Ms Heard’s statements were actually false".
In response to the filing, a member of Johnny Depp's legal team, Ben Chew, said [via Courthouse News] that Heard's appeal was "what we expected, just longer, no more substantive".
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
