The Johnny Depp and Amber Heard lawsuit has garnered the interest of the American Civil Liberties Union, and the organization has asked to file an amicus brief in the lawsuit to be an advisor on the case. But, Depp’s team isn’t having it.
According to documents obtained by The Blast, the ACLU send a request last Friday to enter the case amici curiae.
An amicus curiae is someone or an organization who is not a party to a case and may or may not have been solicited by a party. Their involvement would be to assist the court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case.
The term means “friend of the court.”
Vera Eidelman, staff attorney for the ACLU sent a letter to attorney’s in the case.
“The ACLU, ACLU of Virginia, and University of Virginia First Amendment Clinic intend to file an amicus brief in Depp v. Heard in support of Defendant’s Motion for Leave to File Amended Responsive Pleading and Demurrer. Could you please let me know whether you consent to us filing?”
Depp’s attorney’s responded they were not comfortable with the connection between Amber Heard and the organization.
Amber reportedly donated half of her $7 Million divorce settlement with Johnny Depp to the ACLU. At the time, the executive director said in a statement, “We are incredibly grateful that Ms. Heard has so very generously shown her support for the important and necessary advocacy for victims of domestic violence.”
Also, the crux of this case revolves around Amber’s op-ed in the Washington Post where she seemingly calls Depp a wife-beater.
The ACLU posted the article on it’s website and worked, in some form, with Amber in making the public statement.
Our sources say, Depp’s team is actually considering adding the ACLU as a defendant in the case for its connection to the publishing. The organization and anyone with knowledge may also be called as a witness.
Johnny Depp’s legal team went as far as to call them “co-conspirators.”
Depp’s lawyer Adam Waldman tells The Blast, “The ACLU, co-conspirators with Ms. Heard in her defamation against Mr. Depp, also today sought permission to file a “friends of the court” brief. Since the ACLU will be a fact witness, and possibly a defendant in their actual role as “friends of the hoax,” we have denied their request. Ms. Heard may have failed yet again in court, but she is succeeding at sucking a number of social movements that have hit rock bottom but are determined to keep digging into her scam.”
It’s unclear if the ACLU will go any further to be heard in the case.
As we first reported, Amber Heard appeared in court last week, to fight making information and documents in the lawsuit private. The judge ordered medical records, banking information, and Heard’s personal diary sealed. But, left the rest public.
The case is headed to trial in a few months.
