Amber Heard Plea To Throw Out Defamation Case Verdict Against Her Denied By Judge

Judge Penney Azcarate ruled that Amber Heard “cannot wait until receiving an adverse verdict to object, for the first time, on an issue known since the beginning of trial”.

Amber Heard Asks For Mistrial As She Allegedly Lost Case As A Result of Wrong Jury

Amber Heard’s team is pushing for a mistrial and is requesting that the case be started all over again. One of the claims made by Heard’s team as a means to dismiss the case was that the wrong jury showed up to court from the very first day of the case, even though another was summoned.

The motion read: “Thus, the 52-year-old sitting on the jury for six weeks was never summoned for jury duty on April 11 and did not ‘appear in the list,’ as required.”

They said the 52-year-old served as jury for the trial instead of a 77-year-old.

It further stated that Heard and her team had a right to know about this change, and since it wasn’t disclosed to the actress and her team, the verdict should not be made to stand.

On Monday – after days of Heard and her team complaining about how the case was so unjust – Johnny Depp’s team fired back, insisting that the verdict supported the evidence provided.

Depp’s team called Amber Heard “desperate” to restart the trial, which saw both Heard and Depp expose each other’s worst sides, all over again. The 58-year-old actor’s team said that the jury’s “purported error in his birthdate” doesn’t make a difference in the verdict, and it wasn’t the reason she was “robbed” of a victory.

Judge Says Amber Heard’s Team Could Have Presented the Claim Earlier

Okay, Heard’s legal team could have presented this case during the trial but they chose to wait for a negative verdict in order to cry “wolf”. Well, Judge Penney Azcarate is not buying it.

In a ruling on Wednesday, the judge, who presided over the Virginia defamation trial held in Fairfax County Circuit Court, denied Heard’s post-trial motions, saying that there is ““no evidence of fraud or wrongdoing” among the jury.”

In the court documents, made public by Law & Crime Network, Judge Azcarate wrote: “The juror was vetted, sat for the entire jury, deliberated, and reached a verdict. 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.”

Speaking on the timing of Heard’s team raising the concern now after the verdict, the judge said Heard “knew or should have known about the mistake at any time during the seven-week pendency of this trial” and “had every opportunity to object” on the issue.

“A party cannot wait until receiving an adverse verdict to object, for the first time, on an issue known since the beginning of trial. The issue has been waived,” wrote Azcarate.

The judge added, “Defendant does not allege Juror 15’s inclusion on the jury prejudiced her in any way. The juror was vetted, sat for the entire jury, deliberated and reached a verdict. 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.”

Heard’s team has been silent since the judge’s decision was released.

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