Amber Heard's Mistrial Motion on Johnny Depp Case Denied by Judge
Amber Heard sustained another legal blow on Wednesday after a Virginia judge denied her motion for mistrial in connection to the bombshell defamation trial she had with her ex-husband, Johnny Depp.
According to Fox News, Virginia Judge Penney Azcarte shut down Heard's claim of mistrial through a new order claiming that "there is no evidence of mistrial" in their six-week court hearing in Fairfax County Circuit Court. Azcarte is the judge who presided over the six-week trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.
Heard filed the motion for mistrial on Friday last week, arguing that one of the jurors, Juror 15, who was seated during the court hearing, was the 52-year-old son of the 77-year-old individual who was supposed to be the original juror.
However, Azcarte on Wednesday argued that the accused juror completed the Jury Questionnaire and filled in his proper birth date. The Virginia judge also highlighted that the information on the questionnaire matched with the information the juror provided to the court.
Azcarte also underscored that the juror in question met the "statutory requirements for service," per E! News.
Amber Heard's motion last week also stressed that it was the court's responsibility to verify the accuracy of the juror's information. However, the judge noted that the law states that t was responsibility involved in the case.
"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," Judge Azcarte said in her recent order.
Amber Heard has not yet issued an official statement regarding the judge's recent decision.
Johnny Depp's Camp on Amber Heard's Motion for Mistrial
Days before Azcarte denied Amber Heard's motion for mistrial, Johnny Depp's camp reacted to the actress's move in connection to their defamation trial.
In a motion filed on Monday, Ben Chew, Depp's attorney, called the actress' various grounds for a mistrial "frivolous." Chew stressed that the jury's concerning the damages was "perfectly reasonable and supported by the evidence and testimony in the case."
Amber Heard's Motion for Mistrial
On July 1, Amber Heard and her camp filed a post-trial motion to ask Azcarte to set aside the decision of their defamation trial and order a new trial. In the motion, Heard's camp called the amount of money they were ordered to pay Johnny Depp "excessive" and "indefensible."
They also argued that Amber's due process was compromised because of the discrepancy of a juror in the trial, an issue that was disputed by Azcarte in her order on Wednesday.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard engaged in a six-week defamation trial, battling over a 2018 op-ed the actress wrote for Washington Post, where she called herself a domestic violence survivor.
The article did not mention Depp blatantly, but he argued that he lost some of his projects in Hollywood, including the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, because of it.
A panel composed of seven jurors awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and another $5 million in punitive damages. In Heard would pay Depp only $10.35 million due to the state cap in Virginia.
Meanwhile, Depp would have to pay Heard $2 million in damages after his attorney defamed Heard by calling her allegations a "hoax."
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written By: Joshua Summers
WATCH: Judge Denies Amber Heard's Request for a Mistrial Against Johnny Depp - From E! News
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