The seven-person jury weighed evidence for about seven hours on Tuesday without reaching a verdict.
Depp, the 58-year-old ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ star, has sued Heard for $50 million and claimed she defamed him when she called herself a ‘public figure representing domestic violence’ in a opinion piece published in a newspaper.
Heard, 36, has sued for $100million, claiming Depp defamed him when his lawyer called his accusations a “hoax”.
Depp denied hitting Heard or any other woman and said she was the one who turned violent in their relationship.
Depp and Heard met in 2011 while filming “The Rum Diary” and married in February 2015. Their divorce was finalized about two years later.
At the center of the legal case is a December 2018 opinion piece by Heard in The Washington Post, in which she made the statement about domestic violence. The article did not mention Depp by name, but his attorney told jurors it was clear Heard was referring to him.
During Tuesday’s deliberations, the jurors asked Judge Penney Azcarate whether they should consider the entire article or just the title. The headline said that Heard “stood up against sexual violence – and faced the wrath of our culture”.
Ms Azcarate said she would tell the jury that the headline was the statement they had to take into account in reaching their verdict.
During six weeks of testimony, lawyers for Ms Heard argued that she had told the truth and that her comments were covered by freedom of speech under the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
Throughout the case, jurors listened to tapes of the couple’s arguments and saw graphic photos of Depp’s bloody finger. He said the top of his finger was severed when Heard threw a bottle of vodka at him in 2015.
Heard denied hurting Depp’s finger and said Depp sexually assaulted her that night with a liquor bottle. She said she only hit him to defend herself or her sister.
The testimony was widely livestreamed on social media, drawing large audiences to hear the details of the couple’s troubled relationship.
Once among Hollywood’s biggest stars, Depp said Heard’s allegations cost him “everything”. A new ‘Pirates’ movie has been put on hold, and Depp has been replaced in the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ film franchise, a ‘Harry Potter’ spin-off.
Less than two years ago, Depp lost a libel suit against the Sun, a British tabloid which called him a “wife beater”. A High Court judge in London ruled that he assaulted Heard on several occasions.
Depp’s attorneys filed the U.S. case in Fairfax County, Va., because The Washington Post is printed there. The newspaper is not a defendant.