Dr. David Spiegel testified for Amber Heard. Image Source: Insider 

The defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is in its last week of testimony and closing arguments are expected to be scheduled for Friday then the jury will begin their deliberations, but before that, there is a lot that was said on day 20 of the trial as orthopedic surgeon Dr. Richard Moore was called upon to testify for Amber Heard’s defense.

Dr. Richard Moore shared with the jury that he had reviewed pictures, medical records, and Johnny Depp’s testimony about how his finger was served in Australia in 2015 by a vodka bottle that was thrown by Amber Heard. The doctor said that according to the description that was offered by the actor, there should have been more injury to Johnny Depp’s fingernail, which was intact as the graphic pictures of the fingers were presented in court.

During his deposition, he said that he had operated on finger injuries like the one Johnny Depp had, adding that the idea that Johnny Depp’s finger was sliced off with a vodka bottle seems non-consistent and described the injury as an injury pattern and went on to explain that the back of the hand was not injured and said that such injuries can be caused by a finger getting caught in a sliding door or a car door. In his deposition, Johnny Depp claimed that the bottle exploded after hitting his hand, but Dr. Richard Moore said that the absence of glass injuries on his hand suggested otherwise.

Camille Vasquez cross-examined Dr. Richard Moore and asked if it was not entirely accurate that he testified that Johnny Depp’s hand was lying flat at the bar, to which he said that Johnny Depp’s hand was resting on the edge of the bar, to which Camille corrected him that his fingers were hanging over the bar. Dr. Richard Moore said yes and then Camille asked him if he couldn’t determine what object caused the injury to Johnny Depp’s fingers and he replied that although he could not specify what object could cause that injury, it did not happen the way it was described.

Dr. Richard Moore was later shown the pictures of the bar area where there were drops of blood and a broken vodka bottle and bloody tissue, and then Dr. Richard said that he had not considered the pictures as a part of his analysis.

The next witness for Amber Heard was Dr. David Spiegel, who is an expert in behavioral science, specifically on substance abuse and intimate partner violence. He determined that Johnny Depp exhibits behaviors that are consistent with someone who has a substance abuse disorder. Dr. David Spiegel, who reached his conclusions without speaking with Johnny Depp in person and simply reviewing the evidence, stated that the actor was a perpetrator of intimate partner violence and added that he was not there to impeach Johnny Depp's acting skills or persona, but rather to discuss how drugs and alcohol can cause bad things to happen when people reach their limit.

Dr. David Spiegel also identified that substance abuse could have caused a concerning level of damage to Johnny Depp’s memory, stating that his former therapist asked him to remember three words and repeat them five minutes later, which he was not able to recall, and that’s very unusual for a man who is in his 50’s. Dr. David also pointed out that he was aware that Johnny Depp was given an earpiece to say his lines, which could be the result of the substance he had used. After explaining his review, Dr. David Spiegel said that fortunately during the trial, he witnessed Johnny Depp’s cognition being improved and added that because the actor was taking a lot of prescribed drugs, it resulted in unexpected effects like irritation, and agitation, suspicion, jealousy, and psychotic. According to the evidence he reviewed, Dr. David concluded that Johnny Depp has a history of self-harm behavior and recited the characteristics of a narcissist.

Dr. David mentioned that his opinions are well within Goldwater Rule guidelines, which he mentioned include a lot of professionals and their evaluations and treatment courses, video depositions, picture depositions, court filings, and emails. He added that he had reviewed a whole lot of things that described Johnny Depp and his behavior but he had not spoken to him in person while evaluating him. 

When asked if he thinks that Johnny Depp is narcissistic, he said that he does think that Johnny Depp is narcissistic and the entire trial in terms of a narcissistic insult. Johnny Depp’s lawyer, Wayne Dennison, cross-examined the doctor who was asked if he had made his assessment based on his performances in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, to which Dr. David said that he misspoke when he said that. Dennison also asked David if he had called Johnny Depp an 'idiot', to which he answered that he had called the actor's planning an idiot because he had taken an overnight flight from Europe before the deposition for the trial.

He responded with a no when he was asked if he calls his patients idiot, and Wayne Dennison added that David sat for a deposition and called the plaintiff an idiot and he responded by calling his plan "idiot."