Judge makes jury’s $10.3M award official in Depp-Heard trial

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — The judge in the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial has made a jury’s multimillion-dollar award official. Judge Penney Azcarate entered a written order Friday for Heard to pay Depp $10.35 million for damaging his reputation by describing herself as a domestic abuse victim in a 2018 op-ed piece she wrote. The judge entered a judgment order into the court record after a brief hearing in Fairfax County Circuit Court. She also ordered Depp to pay Heard $2 million, the jury’s award on her counterclaim that she was defamed by one of Depp’s lawyers. The order was a formality after the jury announced its verdict June 1.