Ep. 251: Understanding The Depp-Heard Defamation Trial

For the last six weeks America has been transfixed by a defamation case between Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard that featured dueling testimony about abuse. The salacious details dominated headlines, obscuring the legal strategies that allowed Depp to mostly prevail. On this week's show we break down the legal arguments and expected appeals with Jeff Lewis, a Southern California defamation and appellate attorney who co-hosts the California Appellate Law Podcast. Also this week, the acquittal of a former Perkins Coie attorney deals a blow to a Trump-era special prosecutor tasked with uncovering malfeasance in the investigations of the former president’s ties to Russia, and a Texas judge skewers the NFL retirement plan for refusing to grant more robust benefits to former players. Finally, the hosts break down a scintillating tale of corporate intrigue as two lovers are accused of conspiring to infiltrate a rival home mortgage company in Alabama.