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Why Johnny Depp lost his case in the UK but won in the US

It all came down to whether the case was heard by a judge or a jury and the mayhem that took place online outside the courtroom.

Elahe Izadi and Sarah Ellison

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The outcome of the Johnny Depp defamation trial turned a bit of celebrity jurisprudence on its head – the long-standing conventional wisdom that it’s easier for a VIP to prevail with a libel claim in the United Kingdom than in the United States.

The reason, according to legal experts, may simply boil down to the fact that Depp’s action against his ex-wife Amber Heard in the UK – which he lost – happened to be decided by a judge, whereas his case in the United States was decided by a jury.

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    Original URL: https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/why-johnny-depp-lost-his-case-in-the-uk-but-won-in-the-us-20220602-p5aqkw