Jury to hear opening statements in Johnny Depp, Amber Heard libel case
A jury in Virginia is scheduled to listen to opening statements Tuesday in a defamation lawsuit filed by Johnny Depp in opposition to his ex-wife, Amber Heard.
Depp says Heard libelled him when she wrote an op-ed piece in The Washington Post in 2018 referring to herself as a “public determine representing home abuse.”
Depp isn’t talked about by title, however he says the article implicates him nonetheless as a result of it refers to previous accusations Heard made when she sought a restraining order in opposition to him. Depp denies the abuse allegations.
A civil jury of seven members, plus 4 alternates, was chosen Monday to listen to the case in Fairfax County Circuit Courtroom. Heard’s attorneys had sought to have the case tried in California, the place the actors reside. However a choose dominated that Depp was inside his rights to carry the case in Virginia as a result of The Washington Put up’s laptop servers for its on-line version are positioned within the county.
The trial is anticipated to final for greater than a month. A prolonged witness checklist contains actors Paul Bettany and James Franco, and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk. Some witnesses are slated to look in particular person, whereas others are scheduled to look through video hyperlink.
