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Johnny Depp, Amber Heard at Southport court for dog smuggling case

UPDATE: After a two-hour deliberation, a Queensland magistrate has handed down her verdict in the “war on terrier” case involving celebrity couple Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.

Jeremy Pierce and Greg Stolz
4 min read
April 18, 2016 - 7:27AM

UPDATE: HOLLYWOOD star Amber Heard has escaped further punishment after pleading guilty to producing a false document to Australian customs officials.

After a two-hour break for deliberations, Magistrate Bernadette Callaghan today placed Heard on a $1000 good behaviour bond.

No conviction was recorded.

Heard must be of good behaviour for a period of one month or risk paying a $1000 fine.

The bond applies only to any offences that would be committed under Australian jurisdiction.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce released a statement which said he appreciated Ms Heard’s “willingness to take responsibility for her actions last year and her acknowledgment that she broke our national biosecurity laws.”

“These legal proceedings clearly illustrate the government’s serious approach to enforcing our national biosecurity laws, and the fact that there are no exceptions to these laws – they apply to everyone equally,” he said.

“As an island nation, Australia is free of many pests and diseases common throughout the world that have harmed human health, agricultural industries, animals, plants and the environment.”

EARLIER: Lawyers for Amber Heard are seeking to have her discharged without a conviction.

Defence barrister Jeremy Kirk SC has asked the court to deal with Heard under Section 19 (B) of the Crimes Act which allows for a guilty plea but for the defendant to be let off if the offence is “trivial” or committed under “extenuating circumstances”.

He said Heard was not seeking “special treatment” but was “entitled as anyone else” to equal treatment .

Magistrate Bernadette Callaghan adjourned the case until 2.30pm.

She said she wanted the case finalised today to “let people get on with their lives”.

EARLIER: The sentencing hearing of Johnny Depp’s wife Amber Heard has resumed at Southport Magistrates Court.

Prosecutor Peter Callaghan SC told the court Heard was required ‘like any other person’ to fill out an incoming passenger card.

Under the section which asked whether they were bringing anything, including animals, she wrote ‘no’.

“She acknowledges this was false,” he said.

The actress was to face trial on three charges after allegedly sneaking Yorkshire terriers Pistol and Boo into the country last May, while Depp was on the Gold Coast filming the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie,

She pleaded guilty today to producing a false passenger card. Two charges of illegally importing animals have been dismissed.

Mr Callaghan conceded travellers are often distracted when filling out arrival forms after long flights and ‘it could be accepted’ that this could have been the case with Heard.

Defence lawyer Jeremy Kirk, SC, told the court Heard had first offered to plead guilty to the count of producing a false document if the other charges were dropped back in November last year.

That offer was rejected by prosecutors, only to be accepted five and a half months later.

In her statement, Amber Heard said travel documents for dogs Boo and Pistol fell to ‘her husband’s people’ when the couple travel together, as they did on the day in question last April.

In her statement, Heard said she did not recall ticking ‘no’ on the question asking if she was bringing animals into Australia.

In her statement, she accepted full responsibility for her actions but said she did not set out to deceive anyone.

Mr Kirk said she had nothing to gain from ticking ‘no’ on the animal question as it had only seen ‘a world of pain would be opened up as indeed it has been’.

“It was a tired, terrible mistake,” he said. “She knew she was bringing in animals.”

He said she wrongly believed the pets had their own immigration documents.

Earlier, Heard pleaded guilty to providing a false immigration document but has had two other charges against her dropped.

A five-day hearing had been set down at Southport Magistrate’s Court but her barrister today entered a guilty plea.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard arrive at Southport court. Pic: Adam Head
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard arrive at Southport court. Pic: Adam Head

A three-hour sentencing hearing has been adjourned and will resume at 11am.

Heard’s lawyer, Jeremy Kirk, SC, told the court Heard had made a video apology and expressions of remorse for her actions.

Controversial magistrate Bernadette Callaghan is presiding over the sentence.

Depp and Heard earlier entered courtroom 10 on the third floor of Southport Magistrates Court for the sentencing hearing. The court is packed with media and members of the public.

EARLIER: HOLLYWOOD superstar Johnny Depp and his wife Amber Heard have arrived at Southport Court for their day of reckoning with a Gold Coast judge.

The glamour couple arrived about 8.45am and were followed by a pack of more than 30 journalists and photographers.

STAR COUPLE: Depp, Heart jet into Gold Coast

The case is expected to begin shortly.

Depp’s only comment was “Fine, thank you,” when questioned by reporters.

EARLIER: JOHNNY Depp and his wife Amber Heard are due to arrive at a Gold Coast court this morning, where the actress will face trial for illegally smuggling their two dogs into Australia on a private jet.

Heard, 29, is accused of sneaking Yorkshire terriers Pistol and Boo into the country last May while Depp was on the Gold Coast filming the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

The incident sparked global headlines when Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said the dogs had better “bugger off” back to the US or he’d arrange to have them put down.

A security man shields Johnny Depp at Southport. Pic: Adam Head
A security man shields Johnny Depp at Southport. Pic: Adam Head

It’s alleged the pooches were not declared to customs officials on arrival.

The presence of the A-list canines was only discovered when their visit to a Gold Coast dog grooming salon was made public. Heard is facing a four-day trial for allegedly breaching Australia’s quarantine laws.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard.
## Johnny Depp's Dogs Boo and Pistol.
## Johnny Depp's Dogs Boo and Pistol.

Depp is expected to be one of 12 witness called by Commonwealth prosecutors to give evidence

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Original URL: https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/johnny-depp-amber-heard-at-southport-court-for-dog-smuggling-case/news-story/441ebfc268af5e06168ff980b102f61c