Sex, drugs and rock & roll… you to the floor.

This a civil suit regarding defamation. Johnny Depp is suing Amber Heard for damaging his previously weird, but good reputation. In plain English, she accused him of being a nut, a drug abuser and a wife-beater. Now, even if your opinion is that the first two may very well be the opinion of the masses…the wife-beater is another story. Domestic violence in America is at epidemic proportions.

Most states, like CA and TX, prosecute domestic assaults in criminal courts. This TV circus is NOT that. This suit is brought by Depp to clear his name. With Depp it is not about money, he buys stupid stuff with stupid money, like an island. This is about what the world thinks about a movie star. An aging movie star who needs his good reputation back to make more millions.

One thing I heard during the coverage, (I only have watched snippets), is this thing called “mutual abuse.” That is something almost certainly invented by a defense attorney like me. Though most of the time, it is just that, a defense thrown at a jury to try and get a not-guilty verdict for a defendant in a criminal trial who is claiming self-defense.

Enduring abuse tends to bring out the worst in people. Despite the cultural idea of abuse victims as passive punching bags, the reality is often a lot messier. I will admit, in recent years, experts have seen an uptick in abuse victims getting arrested after turning to violence themselves. This throws a kink into many people’s understanding of how victims are “supposed” to respond to abuse. Because abuse victims don’t always suffer in silence. This is NOT “mutual abuse.” Not choosing to suffer abuse any longer IS self-defense, it IS self-care…. nothing like what the victim received from his/her abuser.

There is a “power-dynamic” …one person is the abuser, and the other person has been mentally beat down and manipulated to continue to play the role of the abused. To take abuse and crap no one should have to endure.

Amber Heard has put it out in the public that with all his money and stardom, Depp is playing the role of lifetime and in the “power-dynamic” role…he leads the abuse in the household. That is defamation of character and can get one in trouble with the police as well.

So, between Heard and Depp, who is the abuser? Who holds the stick in the “power-dynamic?”
That’s for the jury to decide

Don’t have a criminal attorney’s number saved in your phone? Well, if you are reading this, save this number to your smartphone, 817-927-0199.