Photo: Yahoo
Some jury members fell asleep during the trial of Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard, according to a court stenographer who recorded six weeks’ worth of sessions.
Jurors were tempted to doze off during the video depositions, especially when it came to more prolonged or more boring sessions – stenographer Judy Bellinger revealed this surprising information on Monday to Law&Crime Network.
“There were a few jurors who were dozing off,” stated Bellinger, elaborating that the napping jurors were in the front and back rows. “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 drop,” she continued.
The most committed juror was an alternate and did not have a say on the final ruling. (For context: Alternates replace a juror who can’t stay in the trial due to illness and emergencies, yet don’t weigh on the verdict except if called to step in for a juror.)
“Unfortunately, the one alternate that was on there, she was probably the one that listened the most,” the stenographer stated.
“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.”
The jury was composed of seven persons in favor of Depp on June 1, discovering that Heard willfully and maliciously defamed her ex-husband when she published her op-ed in the Washington Post in 2018 narrating her encounters as a domestic abuse survivor. Heard wants to appeal the ruling.
When asked about the rumors, Bellinger said she did not go to a party with Depp and his team after closing arguments but went to the hotel because she left her recording equipment in the courthouse, and it was retrieved by Depp’s lawyers, which they had her pick up at the hotel.
Bellinger met Depp at the hotel and captured a photo with him that has gotten viral.
“I was there for probably less than 10 minutes, and he just hugged me and thanked me again,” she stated. “And I had a couple of other people there, and I got my equipment, and I came out.”
