The Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard $100million libel case is so complicated, that the verdict sheet has 42 questions the jury must answer before they deliver a verdict.
The document was released by the court in Fairfax, Virginia and shows that there are 24 questions for Depp's claims and 18 for Heard's counterclaim.
The world is waiting for the verdict in the highly publicized Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial, but they may have to wait a while because the jury has no time restriction to make their choice.
The defamation trial, which was carried live from the Fairfax County courthouse by Law & Crime Network, has dominated the media for the previous few months.
The jury is currently deliberating whether Depp should seek $50 million in damages from Heard over a 2018 essay she wrote for The Washington Post.
She portrayed herself as a "public figure representing domestic abuse."
Although some onlookers may be impatient for a verdict, jurors have a lot of evidence to get through, as revealed by the executive producer for Law & Crime Network Cathy Russon.
Taking to Twitter today, 31 May, she wrote: "There are THIRTY-SEVEN pages of jury instructions for the #JohnnyDepp #AmberHeard jurors to go over and 8 verdict forms."
In response, one person said: "That's insane! Did judge give them a time limit for when a verdict must be given?"
Russon replied: "The judge is not allowed to put a time limit."
This is the case for all trials - there is no set time limit on how long or short deliberations can take, and the judge gives them as much time as they need.
Sometimes this can take a few hours; other times, it can go on for days or even longer in particularly complex cases.
The jury faces a difficult task in determining whether Heard's op-ed is about Depp, even though the piece did not directly name him, and, if so, whether the comments were untrue and done with malice.
They must, however, do the same for Heard's $100 million counterclaims, in which she claims Depp's attorney, Adam Waldman, harmed her career by making statements to the public implying the Aquaman actress and her pals perpetrated an 'abuse hoax.'
The most difficult step will be eliminating all emotional ties to the case.
Elaborating on this, Jamie R. Abrams, a University of Louisville law professor, told The Washington Post: “One challenge that they are likely facing is staying focused on the case at hand without allowing all of their own lived experiences and biases to lead them to a snap judgment that is not supported by the testimony.
“The jury instructions are very concrete in helping jurors do that focusing as a legal matter, but this is a real challenge on a human level.”
Depp, the 58-year-old 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star, sued ex-wife Heard in Virginia for $50 million and argued that she defamed him when she called herself 'a public figure representing domestic abuse' in a newspaper opinion piece.
Heard, 36, countersued for $100 million, saying Depp smeared her when his lawyer called her accusations a 'hoax.'
The seven-person jury will continue deliberating on whether either actor was defamed and deserves millions of dollars in damages.
Jurors deliberated for about two hours Friday before adjourning for the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
