The Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard verdict was about 'credibility' not free speech, say experts
After the seven-person jury declared its verdict on Wednesday, June 1 in favor of Johnny Depp, Amber Heard said she 'lost the right to speak freely and openly'. She was found liable for defamation in the Fairfax County, Virginia trial against her ex-husband. Experts including a former federal prosecutor, Neama Rahmani, seem to think that "this isn't really a free speech issue, this is really a credibility issue."
Rahmani, the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers continued, "The jurors found that she lied, and she knew she was lying."
The centre of this defamation trial was Amber Heard's op-ed piece from 2018 in the Washington Post. in the piece, she called herself a survior of domestic and sexual violence.
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Though Depp wasn't directly named in the article, he accused his ex-wife of defaming him which impacted his professional career negatively. Depp sued Heard for $50 million and Heard countersued him for $100 million.
While Depp sued her for runining his career and reputation, Heard said he assaulted her physically before and during the course of their marriage which ended with a divorce in 2016. Depp denied the assault claims against him.
The six long weeks of testimonies made this the trial of the year. After the six weeks came to an end, the jury awarded Depp $15 million in damages as the verdict was in favor of the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star. However, the jury said they also found Depp liable for defaming Heard and she was awarded $2 million in damages.
Mitra Ahouraian, a Beverly Hills entertainment attorney, told Insider, "This is not about the First Amendment. You cannot lie and say statements that harm people. That is not protected speech." While the First Amendment enshrines Americans' right to freedom of speech, the doctrine does not protect against defamatory speech — false statements that are presented as fact and do subsequent harm.
Depp's legal team tried to poke holes in Heard's testimonies. And they were successful in doing so. First, they caught her lies about Heard not playing any role in the abuse. However, a recording proved she did hit Depp. Heard said it was self defense. Then, she said she donated the $7 million from the divorce to a settlement. This was a lie too.
Several experts also told Insider that Heard's graphic descriptions of violence committed against her by Depp did not match up with the photos of her injuries presented in court.
John Culhane, a law professor at Widener University Delaware Law School said, "If you lie about somebody and the jury thinks you're lying, then you shouldn't be protected in that way, and it's not going to chill your First Amendment right to speak."