Actress Amber Heard closed her case on Tuesday in the civil lawsuit between her and ex-husband Johnny Depp, without calling the actor to the stand.
Ms Heard’s lawyers initially hinted they might bring Johnny Depp to testify, but ultimately chose not to.
The actor is suing his ex-wife for defamation following the publication in the Washington Post of an op-ed in December 2018. Ms Heard then described herself as “a public figure representing domestic violence”. The actor’s lawyers argue that he was defamed by this letter, even though his name was never mentioned.
Also on Tuesday, Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Penney Azcarate, in Virginia, refused to grant a motion by Depp’s attorneys to immediately dismiss a $100 counterclaim. million that Ms. Heard had filed against the actor. In that counter-claim, she alleges that Depp’s attorney at the time, Adam Waldman, defamed Ms Heard when he called her assault allegations a hoax.
Judge Azcarate said the bar for dismissing a claim before it goes to the jury is extremely high, and she believes there is enough evidence to allow this proceeding to move forward. The judge had also already ruled that Johnny Depp could be held responsible for statements made by his lawyer, a principle disputed by his team.
Johnny Depp denied ever hitting Ms Heard; he argues that she was the aggressor in their relationship. Ms Heard testified to more than a dozen separate instances of physical assaults she says she suffered at the hands of Depp.
The trial is now in its sixth week. Mr. Depp and Ms. Heard have both previously testified at length about their toxic relationship.
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