The Johnny Depp VS. Amber Heard trial may be officially over in court, but not the fallout.
Work is hard — that’s why we call it “work” and not “fun.” Regardless of how much you may claim to love your job, the fact of the matter is that we all nod off at work , every now and again.
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It seems counterintuitive, but sometimes a little shuteye is what allows us to get through the day . Such certainly seems to be the case for certain jurors during the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard defamation trial — who reportedly fell asleep during segments of the deposition.
Have you ever fallen asleep at work?
I know, you’re probably sitting at your desk, with your boss leering over your shoulder, answering aloud “What a ridiculous question — of course not!” But as much as you may not want to admit it, sleeping at work is incredibly common.
In a poll conducted by the mattress company, Amerisleep, more than 50% of respondents admitted to dozing off during work hours.
Everyone from the highest-paid doctors to front-line workers in finance and insurance admitted to taking the occasional nap . And according to courthouse stenographer, Judy Bellinger — so do jurors on high-profile celebrity cases.
A “stenographer” is a court reporter, whose job is to record live testimonies in the written word.
Most recently, Bellinger was assigned to work the defamation trial between Johnny Depp and his ex-wife, Amber Heard. In the wake of the court’s ruling, some troubling information has been to light.
During an interview with Law&Crime Network, Bellinger revealed, “There were a few jurors who were dozing off.”
Bellinger was then asked whether the jurors who had fallen asleep were sitting in the front or back row of the jury box. “Both,” the court reporter confirmed.
“It was tough because there was a lot of video deposition,” Bellinger explained.
Bellinger then revealed how at several moments throughout the trial, she began noticing certain members of the jury resting their faces in their hands — and then falling fast asleep.
The court stenographer also mentioned that the best juror, in her opinion, wasn’t a part of the final verdict.
“I watched her facial expressions,” Bellinger explained during the interview. “She was very deeply into every word that was being said.”
“I thought she would’ve made a great juror, and she did not get to see it to the end,” Bellinger said.
The female juror in question was an alternate, picked at random. When Bellinger was asked specifically what made the alternate the best juror, the stenographer replied ” She was paying close attention .”
Bellinger’s revelation comes on the heels of comments made by Heard’s attorney, Elaine Bredehoft.
During the trial, Bredehoft chastised the court for its decision to not have the jury sequestered . This meant that the jurors could watch the news, read the paper, and watch countless TikTok videos all to do with the trial.
Bredehoft also argued that the strong social media presence throughout the trial swung heavily in Johnny’s favor.
” I was against cameras in the courtroom ,” Bredehoft told NBC . “And I went on record with that and argued against it because of the sensitive nature of this. But it made it a zoo.”
Although the jury wasn’t sequestered, they were encouraged to refrain from discussing the case and to keep away from social media.
” How can you not ?” Bredehoft asked rhetorically. “They went home every night. They have families. The families are on social media.”
Bredehoft was also asked whether or not Amber planned to appeal the verdict.
“Absolutely,” came Bredehoft’s reply. “And she has some excellent grounds for it .”
That being said, Amber’s net worth has now sunk to -$6 million . Before she has any hopes of appeal, she must first figure out a way to pay for it.
