10 h, apr 11, 2022 y - US: DEFAMATION TRIAL DAY 1 JURY SELCTION NO CAMERAS

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Judge Azcarate began by grilling the pool of 60 potential jurors about what they knew of the rancorous three-year defamation case.

'We need to find out what you know and whether you can be a fair, impartial juror,' she told the hearing, which was closed to the public. 'What you hear about this case must be limited to what you hear within the four walls of this courtroom.'

The majority of prospective jurors said they had heard snippets about the case, seen photos or had read a handful of articles but all said they could keep an open mind.

FAIRFAX, Va. (CN) — A loyal following of Johnny Depp’s supporters clustered outside the Fairfax County Judicial Center in northern Virginia on Monday morning, waving flags with skulls and crossbones to wish the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor well on the first day of his defamation trial against his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard.

Monday marked the beginning of jury selection for the $50 million lawsuit Depp filed more than three years ago against the “Aquaman” actress over an article she wrote in The Washington Post. And while it will be some time before a decision is handed down, some Depp fans already had a verdict in mind.

“I believe him,” said Raylyn Otey, a waitress who drove five hours from Bluefield, Virginia, and paid $150 to stay in a hotel so that she could give Depp a bouquet of flowers. Along with roughly 75 other supporters, she waited for Depp to arrive on the grass in front of the courthouse.

Inside, prospective jurors were gathered for the trial stemming from Depp’s claim that he was defamed by a 2018 editorial in which Heard described herself as survivor of domestic abuse. The article’s focus was on supporting women who speak out about abuse – not on her short marriage. Though the piece never mentioned Depp, it referred to a period in which Heard was married to him. Days after the article was published in the Post, Disney fired Depp from his “Pirates” role. He filed the lawsuit in Virginia because the newspaper is printed there and its online edition is created on a digital platform in the state.

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