• Video
  • Shop
  • Culture
  • Family
  • Wellness
  • Food
  • Living
  • Style
  • Travel
  • News
  • Book Club
  • GMA3: WYNTK
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Contact Us
  • © 2025 ABC News
  • Culture

Judge rejects Amber Heard's request for new trial in Johnny Depp case

4:27
Possible bombshell in aftermath of Amber Heard-Johnny Depp trial
Steve Helber/Pool/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
ByMark Osborne and Angeline Jane Bernabe
July 13, 2022, 8:27 PM

A judge has denied actor Amber Heard's request for a new trial in her case against ex-husband Johnny Depp.

On Wednesday, Judge Penney Azcarate, the Fairfax County, Virginia, judge who presided over the six-week trial in June, issued a written order denying Heard's request.

Last week, Heard's attorneys filed a motion saying that one of the jurors chosen for the trial was not the same person who received the jury summons.

Related Articles

MORE: Amber Heard legal team files motion for a mistrial

The person on the summons, who listed his birth year as 1945, shares the same last name and address as the juror who served and who listed his birth year as 1970. According to the court filing, "The individual who appeared for jury duty with this name was obviously the younger one."

"Defendant does not allege Juror Fifteen's inclusion on the jury prejudiced her in any way," Azcarate wrote in her decision Wednesday. "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."

Editor’s Picks

Johnny Depp joins TikTok, thanks fans following defamation trial verdict

  • Jun 07, 2022

Johnny Depp's lawyers discuss actor's defamation trial against Amber Heard

  • Jun 08, 2022

Attorneys for actor Johnny Depp on Monday rejected the efforts by Heard's legal team and called the filing, "frivolous."

"While Ms. Heard slings an exceptional amount of mud at the wall in the hope that something might stick, the jury's verdict on damages was perfectly reasonable and supported by the evidence and testimony" heard over the trial, Depp's attorneys wrote.

PHOTO: Johnny Depp attending the trial at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Va., on May 24, 2022, and Amber Heard looking on in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Va., on May 24, 2022.
(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on June 1, 2022, shows Johnny Depp attending the trial at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Va., on May 24, 2022, and Amber Heard looking on in the courtroom at the Fairfax County Circuit Courthouse in Fairfax, Va., on May 24, 2022.
Jim Watson/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Depp sued Heard for defamation in March 2019 after Heard wrote a 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post about domestic violence. The article didn't mention Depp by name, but his lawyers said the article defamed him by referring to allegations of abuse as she filed for divorce in 2016.

In early June, a jury found Heard guilty of three defamation claims and ordered her to pay $10.35 million in damages to Depp. Depp was found guilty of one defamation claim and Heard was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages.

Related Articles

MORE: Juror in Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial speaks out

The jury concluded "they were both abusive to each other" but Heard's team failed to prove Depp's abuse was physical.

"They had their husband-wife arguments. They were both yelling at each other," one of the seven jurors told "GMA" in an exclusive interview in June. "I don't think that makes either of them right or wrong. That's what you do when you get into an argument, I guess. But to rise to the level of what she was claiming, there wasn't enough or any evidence that really supported what she was saying."

"We didn't take into account anything outside [the courtroom]. We only looked at the evidence," he added. "They were very serious accusations and a lot of money involved. So we weren't taking it lightly."

ABC News' Matthew Stone contributed to this report.

Related Topics

  • Johnny Depp

Editor’s Picks

Johnny Depp joins TikTok, thanks fans following defamation trial verdict

  • Jun 07, 2022

Johnny Depp's lawyers discuss actor's defamation trial against Amber Heard

  • Jun 08, 2022

Up Next in Culture—

Jussie Smollett announces engagement to boyfriend Jabari Redd

June 23, 2025

Jon Bernthal reported to join Tom Holland in upcoming 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day'

June 21, 2025

Prince William turns 43! Royal family shares sweet tributes and family photo with the puppies

June 21, 2025

Fat Joe accused of sex trafficking, fraud in new lawsuit

June 20, 2025

Shop GMA Favorites

ABC will receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Sponsored Content by Taboola

The latest lifestyle and entertainment news and inspiration for how to live your best life - all from Good Morning America.
  • Contests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Children’s Online Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • About Nielsen Measurement
  • Press
  • Feedback
  • Shop FAQs
  • ABC News
  • ABC
  • All Videos
  • All Topics
  • Sitemap

© 2025 ABC News
  • Privacy Policy— 
  • Your US State Privacy Rights— 
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy— 
  • Interest-Based Ads— 
  • Terms of Use— 
  • Do Not Sell My Info— 
  • Contact Us— 

© 2025 ABC News