Amber Heard's Lawyer Claims Social Media Had An Effect On The Case

Amber Heard’s lawyer says she believes the jury in Johnny Depp’s defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife were influenced by what they saw on the social media. 

Yesterday, after almost 13 hours of deliberations, the six-week long trial reached its conclusion with the jury ruling in favour of Depp and awarding him $10m (£7.9m) in compensatory damages and $5m (£3.9m) in punitive damages. The punitive damages were later capped at $350,000 (£278,000) by Judge Penny Azcarate.

The high profile case was widely spoken about in both traditional media and social media, and Heard’s lawyer Elaine Bredehoft has claimed that there’s ‘no way’ jurors wouldn’t have been influenced by what they saw on social media during the trial. 

Speaking on Today, she said: "How can you not? They went home every night. They have families. The families are on social media.

"We had a 10-day break in the middle because of the judicial conference. There's no way they couldn't have been influenced by it.”

She went on to say the coverage of the trial on social media was ‘horrible’. 

Speaking about the intense public attention it gained, she said: "It's like the Roman Colosseum, you know? How they viewed this whole case.

"I was against cameras in the courtroom, and I went on record with that and argued against it because of the sensitive nature of this. But it made it a zoo."

Bredehoft was then asked if her client was able to pay $10 million in compensatory, to which she replied: "Oh no, absolutely not."

The lawyer also revealed one of the first things Heard said to her after the verdict was read out. 

She told the programme: "One of the first things she said is, 'I am so sorry to all those women out there. This is a setback for all women in and outside the courtroom'.

"She feels the burden of that."

In a statement after the verdict was announced, Heard said she was ‘heartbroken’ over the result. 

She went on: "I'm even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women.

"It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated. It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.

"I believe Johnny's attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of Freedom of Speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the UK.

"I'm sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American – to speak freely and openly."