Thread by @LeaveHeardAlone

🧵Here are all the Amicus Brief Graphics that were made and distributed via my AH Discord. Please feel free to use and spread these! #AmberAppeals #ExpertsForAmber

🧵The Jury's singular focus on allegations of physical abuse is contrary to the evidence presented at trial & demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the law #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals #IStandwithAmberHeard

🧵The trial court rejected Ms Heard's request to provide the jury with an instruction on what amounts to abuse and, as a result, the jury improperly disregarded non-physical conduct when considering whether actual abuse occurred. #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵 Legal Abuse: An Abuser's misuse of legal processes to further control and coerce their partners, referred to as "legal abuse," is itself a widely recognised form of domestic violence. #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵 The verdict in this case is part of a growing and troubling trend of individuals accused of abuse and harassment using lawsuits as a tool to silence victims #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵 Mr. Depp's defamation claims put front and center the question of whether Ms Heard believed she was a victim of abuse. And yet, the trial court refused to provide the jury with an instruction on the full scope of what qualifies as abuse. #ExpertsForAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵 The Jury was not provided instructions on the full scope of what qualifies as abuse - the jury's verdict completely ignored uncontroverted evidence that Ms Heard endured numerous forms of well-recognised non-physical abuse. #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵The undisputed fact that Mr Depp brandished a knife and implored Ms Heard to cut him or else he would do it himself evinces not only a propensity for physical violence but also his attempts to manipulate Ms Heard. #ExpertsForAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵 Putting aside whether Ms Heard believed that she was abused - which is all the law requires in this case - the uncontroverted evidence outlined above clearly demonstrates that Mr Depp engaged in abusive conduct and Ms Heard was in fact abused #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵 Even the parties' respective experts, Dr. Shannon Curry (Depp) and Dr Dawn Hughes (Heard) agree that domestic abuse includes acts of emotional and psychological abuse. #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵 There is a broad consensus that abuse is not limited to physical violence. Instead, the law and the scholarly literature recognise the impact of verbal, emotional and psychological abuse. #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵 Due to the highly publicized nature of the trial, the ramifications of the verdict, if allowed to stand, will extend far beyond this case alone. [...] the verdict will have widespread chilling effects on other survivors of domestic violence. #ExpertsForAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵 The Chilling Effects Will be Clear:
1. Victims may avoid seeking legal redress (TRO, etc)
2. Abusers may feel emboldened to engage in retaliative litigation
3. The environment of distrust & questioning the credibility of survivors will be amplified. #ExpertsForAmber

🧵 The verdict discourages domestic abuse survivors from seeking protective orders: Depp's team occasionally references the op-ed, but the true origin of his lawsuit was Ms Heard's filing for a restraining order #AmberAppeals

🧵Mr Depp's success at positioning a protective order as the root of his alleged financial and reputational downfall will chill victims from seeking protective orders against abusers who may weaponise them in divorce or custody proceedings #AmberAppeals #ExpertsforAmber

🧵The verdict emboldens retaliatory defamation lawsuits, further chilling victims from seeking relief. #AmberAppeals #ExpertsforAmber

🧵 Mr Depp followed a playbook employed by powerful individuals to retaliate against those who accuse them of abuse. Prominent artists, athletes and executives are among those who have filed defamation lawsuits in response to allegations of sexual misconduct. #ExpertsforAmber

🧵 These lawsuits also have harmful emotional impacts on survivors. Victims are revictimized. #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵 The verdict for Mr Depp in the face of uncontroverted evidence of abuse also furthers unrealistic standards in the eye of public opinion as to what qualifies as "credible" victim testimony. #ExpertsForAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵 Ms Heard's credibility was continually undermined online through a firestorm of negative commentary on social media sites including TikTok and Twitter #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵 The Attacks on Amber's credibility employed common victim-blaming tropes: Staying with an abuser does not indicate a person is being untruthful about abuse. #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵The verdict, if upheld, will further contribute to an environment in which victims' actual experiences of, and reactions to, abuse may be discounted or second guessed. #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵 It is already well-known that victims may shy away from seeking legal and police assistance when they experience domestic violence out of fear of being disbelieved. #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵 "Not only was this a highly publicized trial, but it became a social media sensation, possibly in a manner that was not wholly organic." #ExpertsforAmber #IStandwithAmberHeard #AmberAppeals

🧵 "Not only was this a highly publicized trial, but it became a social media sensation, possibly in a manner that was not wholly organic." #ExpertsforAmber #IStandwithAmberHeard #AmberAppeals

🧵 "It is a common tactic for an abuser to sue their victims for defamation, retraumatizing them and impoverishing them through the legal system." #ExpertsforAmber #IStandwithAmberHeard #AmberAppeals

🧵 "Between 2014 and 2020, there were at least 100 defamation cases filed by those accused of sexual misconduct, most of which were filed after the #MeToo movement began" #ExpertsforAmber #IStandwithAmberHeard #AmberAppeals

🧵 "In order to find Ms Heard liable for defamation by implication, a court must make numerous leaps of logic that are not justified by the actual words of Ms Heard's Op-ed or the reasonable implications therefrom." #ExpertsforAmber #IStandwithAmberHeard #AmberAppeals

🧵 "Amber Heard had nothing to do with Johnny Depp's failing career - there were reliable predictions that Depp would not be in any more PotC movies almost 2 months before the Op-Ed was published" #ExpertsforAmber #IStandwithAmberHeard #AmberAppeals

🧵 "Did you know - Depp's business managers filed pleadings in a lawsuit against him asserting they knew Depp had engaged in violence against Ms Heard? Depp was described as extremely volatile & had sometimes 'gotten physical' with Ms Heard." #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵 Saying the trial in Fairfax was a circus is a gross understatement. The outside entrance drop-off crowds championed Depp & vilified Heard. The atmosphere was more appropriate for a wrestling match than a court trial impacting people's lives. #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵 The opening argument, the evidence & the closing argument presented by Depp's counsel would lead a reasonable juror to believe that the defamation lawsuit was not about the Op-Ed, but rather the allegations of abuse by Heard in 2016. #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵 The verdict punishes Ms Heard for being brave enough to write about the abuse of women. The message is clear - no woman who voices her opinion about abuse is safe from retaliation #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵The verdict will likely decrease the reporting of intimate partner abuse. With even less reporting of intimate partner abuse, a heinous problem for Virginia and the United States, such as abuse will worsen. #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵Amber Heard Appeal: For these women, this appeal is an opportunity to erase the message of the verdict: That reporters of abuse will be punished. #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵There was sufficient uncontroverted evidence at trial of actions that satisfied most reasonable definitions of "abuse" to be considered objectively true. #ExpertsForAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵If this defamation by implication verdict is allowed to stand, it will have detrimental effects on the ability of commentators to make facially true statements that could be somehow twisted into an allegation. #ExpertsForAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵No evidence was presented by Mr Depp that any reader of the Op-Ed who would have employed him, but chose not to, had read the article, much less made a connection between the general statements in the Op-Ed and Depp. #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals

🧵It is next to impossible to say that any alleged harm to Mr Depp was due to some alleged innuendo in the Op-ed, as opposed to the dozens of other articles published in the three years prior to the Op-ed that discussed improper behavior by Mr Depp. #ExpertsforAmber #AmberAppeals