Amber Heard New Evidence Is Emerging Amid Johnny Depp Appeal | CTB NEWS

Amber Heard: "New Evidence Is Emerging" Amid Johnny Depp Appeal.

Amber Heard's new legal team has been announced less than a month after she formally filed a move to appeal the Johnny Depp decision.

For her current legal battle, Amber Heard has hired new counsel.

The actress has retained Ballard Spahr as lead appellate counsel in the appeal of the verdict in Johnny Depp's defamation action against her, which she filed a motion to appeal less than a month ago.

David L. Axelrod and Jay Ward Brown, who represented the New York Times in Sarah Palin's defamation claim earlier this year, will be in charge of Heard's legal team.

We are honored to have the chance to defend Ms. Heard in this appeal, which has significant First Amendment consequences for every citizen of the United States. We have faith that the Court of Appeals will follow the law strictly without regard to public opinion, overturn the verdict against Ms. Heard, and uphold the constitutional right to free expression.

After her defamation trial in the summer, Ben Rottenborn will continue to represent Heard as co-counsel. But Elaine Charlson Bredehoft has stated that she will be withdrawing from the case.

To help Amber and her appellate team succeed, I have promised my "full cooperation and support."

Heard's spokeswoman explained why the actress decided to retain outside counsel for her impending appeal.

A representative for Heard remarked, paraphrasing a famous quote, that the jury's ruling was "not the beginning of the end, but just the end of the beginning" in terms of defending the right to free speech. As fresh information emerges, it becomes clear that a new attorney should be retained for court proceedings.

The defamation trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard concluded on July 1 in Virginia. The jury deliberated for over six weeks before finding Heard guilty of defamation and awarding Depp $15 million ($10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages).

After further consideration, Judge Penney Azcarate of the Fairfax County Circuit Court capped the punitive damages at the state's legal maximum of $350,000, bringing the plaintiff's total damages to less than $10,450,000.

Heard was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages in her countersuit.

However, on July 22, Depp filed a notice of appeal challenging the $2 million defamation decision in favor of Heard.

The ruling "was extremely good for Mr. Depp," his attorneys claimed. "Mr. Depp thinks it's time for all sides to heal and move on now that the verdict is in. If Ms. Heard is set on continuing the case by appealing the verdict, however, Mr. Depp has filed a parallel appeal to make sure the Court of Appeal takes into account the entire record and all applicable legal problems."

Although Judge Azcarate disagreed with Heard's claim that she was not given a fair trial because a juror had allegedly served on the jury without being summoned, Heard plans to appeal the ruling because there has been "no evidence of fraud or wrongdoing" that warrants a mistrial, according to Heard's attorney.