Amber Heard’s final attempts to have Johnny Depp’s defamation suit against her tossed out in court have been denied by the presiding judge, so next, it’s her turn to take the stand.
On Tuesday, May 3, Heard’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss a number of Depp’s claims against the actress. This is a pretty standard procedure in these kinds of cases and was expected to happen.
One of Heard’s lawyers, Ben Rottenborn, argued in court that Depp’s legal team had not proven that Heard acted with malice against Depp in her Washington Post op-ed opinion piece since the ACLU wrote the original draft for her and she didn’t come up with the headline of the article.
Additionally, Heard’s team is sticking to the claims of domestic violence, saying that evidence presented in court and Depp’s testimony showed clear signs of his abuse towards the actress, even if it was more verbal than physical as she had originally claimed.
Meanwhile, Depp’s legal team offered a rebuttal in very strong, clear terms.
Ben Chew said to the court, “Mr. Depp has come forward in his case-in-chief with multiple credible witnesses, documents, and authentic tape recordings of Ms. Heard herself, not only satisfying all of the requisite elements of his claim for defamation, including actual malice but also going the extra mile of showing that Ms. Heard physically abused him.”
“She's the abuser in this courtroom!”
It appears that at the end of the day, the judge sided for the most part with Depp, and refused to strike all but one of the claims. She tabled the claim about the Washington Post op-ed headline for later, as evidence about that topic had yet to be introduced.
A representative for Johnny Depp spoke of the case, saying, "Numerous witnesses have testified that Ms. Heard engaged in psychological, verbal and physical abuse towards Mr. Depp and we are pleased at Chief Judge Azcarate’s ruling to continue with the trial after Mr. Rottenborn failed to convince the court that there was reason to dismiss the case."
This representative went on to say, "We stand confident in the future of the case and for the truth to be continued to be shared."
Next up in this weeks-long trial is Heard’s legal team presenting their side of the case, with Heard herself expected to take the stand to testify. She has yet to speak under oath in this case and so it will be interesting to see how she defends her actions and words compared to how Depp and witnesses have portrayed her.
If you are a survivor of domestic abuse or want more information on domestic violence and resources for victims, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline online or at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
The post Judge Rejects Amber Heard’s Attempt To Toss Out Johnny Depp’s Defamation Case appeared first on The Mother of All Nerds.
Judge Rejects Amber Heard’s Attempt To Toss Out Johnny Depp’s Defamation Case
Source: Pinoy Inquirer News
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