The judge denies Amber Heard’s request for a mistrial. Image Source: PEOPLE

Judge Penney S. Azcarate denies Amber Heard’s request for a mistrial.

According to the new legal documents published by Law and Crime Network, it states that Judge Penney S. Azcarate has refused to set aside the verdict that was announced on June 1, 2022, at Fairfax County Court, Virginia.

The judge denied the filed motion by actress Amber Heard’s legal team that mentioned that the verdict was excessive and not supported by enough evidence, along with stating that there was a jury fraud that was perpetuated as a 77-year-old unidentified male was summoned for jury duty, but instead a 52-year-old unidentified male with the same last name and address showed up for jury duty and was selected for the trial. Amber Heard, in her motion for a mistrial, alleged that her due process was compromised.

Judge Penney S. Azcarate said that juror 15’s inclusion on the jury did not prejudice Amber Heard in any way before explaining in a three-page order that the juror 15 was properly vetted, sat for the entire trial and heard everything that was presented in the court, deliberated with other jury members, and reached a verdict that was announced. Judge Penney Azcarate said that the only evidence before this court is that jurors and all jurors followed their oaths and the instructions and orders given to them by the court, and the court is bound by the competent decision of the jury.

According to the document, the teams representing Johnny Depp and Amber Heard spent a whole day questioning the jurors before telling the judge that the jury panel was suitable for the trial. Therefore, all parties to this action were assured and received due process. The court, all parties, and the possible jurors all underwent fair and unbiased Voir dire. There is no proof of crime or fraud.

Amber Heard received the jury list five days before the start of the defamation trial and was aware of the error or should have been aware of it at any moment during the seven-week trial's pendency, according to Judge Penney S. Azcarate. The judge further stated in the records that the actress had every opportunity to object or disclose the truth regarding the jury's confusion, and she clarified that, ordinarily, the parties must raise objections at the time a decision or order is made to inform the court that an issue is intended to be preserved.

Amber Heard and her legal team contested the verdict after it was rendered on several grounds, including the jury's impartiality. Judge Penney S. Azcarate stated that a party may not raise a new objection on a point known from the start of the trial only after getting a negative verdict. The case has been dismissed, she wrote.

She said that the court had pulled Juror Fifteen's jury questionnaire and that the summons given to him showed his legal name and residence but did not include a birthday. Juror Number 15 filled out the jury questionnaire under his name and provided his accurate birthdate. Juror Fifteen's testimony before the court was consistent with the information supplied in the jury questionnaire. It has also been reported that Judge Penney S. Azcarate has unsealed everything in Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard defamation trial. 

Johnny Depp’s legal team said that the claims by Amber Heard stating that she is obligated for a mistrial are based on pure speculation, and even if she is believed, the actress has not proved that she was prejudice due to the mix up of the jurors. 

Johnny Depp filed a defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard after her written op-ed was published in the Washington Post. The op-ed in which Amber Heard described herself as a domestic violence and abuse survivor, although she did not name Johnny Depp, did hint that the actress was trying to pin things on him since she had obtained a restraining order against him in 2016. Johnny Depp said that after the op-ed was published, it went on to tarnish his image and career in the industry, and soon he became a part of the cancel culture and explained that if anyone was being abused in the relationship, it was him.

After six long weeks of listening to depositions from various witnesses and evidence at Fairfax County Court, Virginia, the jury believed and reached the verdict that Amber Heard did defame him, and Johnny Depp won three counts of defamation lawsuit while Amber Heard won only one, where the jury believed that Johnny Depp’s lawyer Adam Waldman’s statements to the Daily Mail UK defamed the actress.

Due to a Virginia rule that caps punitive damages, the court later lowered the jury's $15 million verdict to $10.35 million for Johnny Depp. One of her three defamation countersuit allegations was successful, and she was given a $2 million damage award.