Depp-Heard Trial: A ‘Few’ Jurors Fell Asleep, According to the Court Stenographer

judy bellinger

According to the court stenographer who documented Johnny Depp’s defamation trial against Amber Heard, a few jurors dozed off during the six-week proceeding.

In a judgment given down on Wednesday afternoon in Virginia’s Fairfax County Courthouse, a seven-person jury made up of five men and two women, all sided with Depp. 

They found that Heard defamed her ex-husband in her 2018 op-ed about domestic violence, though she didn’t mention him by name. They awarded Depp $15 million in restitution (which was reduced to $10.35 million due to state law).

The Jury also awarded Heard $2 million in damages for her defamation countersuit. She intends to appeal the verdict!

Stenographer Judy Bellinger, the court reporter, who was called the “rockstar” by Judge Penney Azcarate, told Law&Crime Network in a video posted to its YouTube page on Monday that a few jurors struggled to stay awake, particularly during the video depositions.

Here’s a tweet by Law&Crime Network sharing the video from Stenographer Judy Bellinger’s interview, let’s take a look:

 

“There were a few jurors who were dozing off.” These sleeping jurors were in the front and back rows, according to Bellinger.

She further said, “And it was tough. There were a lot of video depositions, and they would just sit there and all of a sudden I’d see their head(s) drop.”

Bellinger also mentioned that the “best” juror who paid the greatest attention was one of the alternates chosen at random and so not part of the final decision: “Unfortunately, the one alternate that was on there, she was probably the one that listened the most. I watched her facial expressions, she was very deeply into every word that was being said. I thought she would’ve made a great juror, and she did not get to see it to the end. She was paying close attention.”

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Later in the interview, Bellinger addressed claims that she partied with Depp and his legal team after closing arguments on May 27, stating she left her recording equipment with transcripts of the day’s trial in the courthouse, which Depp’s lawyers retrieved and had her pick up at their hotel.

She met Depp there and posed for a photo that has gone viral, “I was in there for probably less than 10 minutes, and he just hugged me and thanked me again,” Bellinger said. “And I had a couple of other people there, and I got my equipment, and I came out.”

Let’s take a look at what she said about the rumors of her partying with Depp and his team:

 

In a statement released after the verdict, Heard claimed she was “heartbroken.” She said, “The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband.”

On the other hand, Depp expressed his gratitude for the win, calling it “humbling.” He said, “False, very serious and criminal allegations were levied at me via the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me.” 

He further added, “It had already traveled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career.”

Joshua Garner

Joshua calls himself nerd+geek who is also passionate about rugby. He enjoys comics, animes, and science fiction. He finds his comfort in writing about suspense, thrillers and science fiction shows and movies.