another thing about depp v. heard: if deppās primary objective is to tell his side of the story and present his evidence, he could have done it two different ways, both of which would have been in an appropriate forum and would not have the same chilling effect on the freedom of speech of victims of domestic violence.
first, after AH filed her TRO, depp could have attended the hearing 21 days after the issuance of the TRO, requested a continuance (which he would be entitled to under CA law), then filed his own request for a DVRO against AH.Ā The court would have set the hearings for the same day, several months down the road if requested, and the parties could have litigated the mutual abuse allegations with the court applying the standards found in FC 6305Ā and interpretive caselaw.
depp didnāt do this.Ā in fact, he settled the case & released a statement thatĀ āneither party made false allegationsā.Ā that means that depp and his legal team, who are not unfamiliar with california law, likely believed that the harm to deppās reputation from either litigating at all, or (more likely imo based on 7+ years of experience in litigating these exact types of cases in ca family court) litigating and losing, was too substantial to risk it.
second, after the settlement, after the WaPo article, depp could have done an interview, written a book, done a documentary, done 60 minutes, done any number of things, easily available to someone with his hollywood connections and millions of dollars.Ā he could have laid out his evidence in 10 hr long episodes. he could have brought on his own experts. networks would have probably had a bidding war to get it. he could have made likely more money than he could recover from the damages heās seeking (especially considering how he could receive nothing at all if he loses, and considering how much this is costing him in legal fees).Ā
Ā in fact, he could have done absolutely everything that heās seeking to do in this legal action except he could not have forced AH to participate.Ā thatās why he filed this case. because it forces AH to be in the same room as him, day after day, reliving her trauma for the cameras and the court and the public. even if she is successful, which she may well be, she will still have incurred millions of dollars in legal fees.Ā
depp picked a legal strategy, not the one that would help him the most, but the one that would HURT AH the most. and that, simply put, is the hallmark of an abuser.
turnnoffyourmind
areudirty
gummygunk
janainaart
theartofmadeline
