Ashlee Stemland
Ashlee Stemland is an attorney on Johnny Depp's plaintiff counsel team in the 2022 Fairfax County defamation trial. She served in a supporting role within the plaintiff's litigation team alongside lead counsel Benjamin Chew and Camille Vasquez, handling direct examinations focused on evidence authentication and witness character testimony.
Testimony Impact
Stemland handled two direct examinations for Depp's trial team. She led the exhibit-by-exhibit authentication of 87 Eastern Columbia Building surveillance clips through general manager Brandon Patterson, establishing chain of custody for video evidence covering the May 21, 2016 incident period — and preemptively disclosed Adam Waldman's role in drafting Patterson's prior declaration to neutralize a credibility vulnerability on direct. She also examined Bruce Witkin, Depp's 40-year friend and former brother-in-law, eliciting testimony about Depp's substance abuse patterns and Witkin's observation of a grip-mark bruise on Heard's arm. Both examinations reflected a careful evidentiary strategy: securing the video record while building Depp's personal narrative through close associates, even where that testimony introduced complications for the plaintiff's case.
Key Moments
Patterson authenticates 87 ECB surveillance clips covering the May 21, 2016 incident period, establishing the foundational chain of custody for Depp's key video evidence.
Day 2 · Direct of Brandon Patterson
Stemland preemptively elicits that Adam Waldman — Depp's own former attorney — drafted Patterson's prior declaration, getting ahead of a potential credibility attack before cross-examination could surface it.
Day 2 · Direct of Brandon Patterson
Patterson, with audio restored, revises his characterization of Depp from 'angry' to 'upset about something,' establishing a contested framing of Depp's emotional state in the lobby footage.
Day 2 · Direct of Brandon Patterson
Witkin describes Depp's cocaine and alcohol use from 2011 to 2016, using contemporaneous text messages to anchor his recollections — corroborating the substance-abuse timeline at the heart of both sides' narratives.
Day 19 · Direct of Bruce Witkin
Witkin testifies to observing a grip-mark bruise on Heard's arm, introducing rare eyewitness physical evidence of possible injury while simultaneously noting he had no direct knowledge of violence in either direction.
Day 19 · Direct of Bruce Witkin
Witkin characterizes Dr. Kipper's treatment program as a scam and describes both Depp and Heard as 'zombies,' introducing skepticism about Depp's rehabilitation narrative from within his own circle.
Day 19 · Direct of Bruce Witkin
Evidence From Their Proceedings (13)
Heard March 2013 Self-Portrait Bruise Photo
Self-portrait photograph taken by Heard on March 23, 2013, depicting a bruise on her upper arm, which she sent to her mother. The photograph was introduced at trial to corroborate…
Catalog entry →Depp–Witkin 'Hit the Wall Hard' Text (Feb 4 2014)
A text exchange between Johnny Depp and Bruce Witkin dated February 4, 2014, in which Depp referenced his relationship with Heard.
Catalog entry →ECB Surveillance Footage Corpus (Patterson, May 2016)
Approximately 87 Eastern Columbia Building security camera clips from May 2016, authenticated by building general manager Brandon Patterson as true and accurate copies preserved…
Catalog entry →Bruce Witkin Text re Concern About Dr. Kipper
A text exchange in which Bruce Witkin wrote that he was 'really worried about him and this Dr. Kipper,' expressing skepticism toward Kipper's treatment of Depp.
Catalog entry →Depp 'Just Got a Fucked Finger' Text with Deuters Follow-Up
A text exchange including a message from Depp reading 'I'm good. Just got a fucked finger,' with a follow-up from Stephen Deuters, contemporaneously documenting the Australia…
Catalog entry →Exhibit 1 — Subpoena served on Action Property Management designating Pa
Subpoena served on Action Property Management designating Patterson as corporate witness.
Catalog entry →Exhibit 12 — Text exchange dated April 28, 2016
Text exchange dated April 28, 2016
Catalog entry →Exhibit 2 — List of deposition topics from the subpoena for testimony.
List of deposition topics from the subpoena for testimony.
Catalog entry →Exhibit 4 — Document reflecting which penthouse Raquel Pennington reside
Document reflecting which penthouse Raquel Pennington resided in at ECB.
Catalog entry →Exhibit 49 — Floor plan showing layout of Penthouse 3, first and second l
Floor plan showing layout of Penthouse 3, first and second levels.
Catalog entry →Exhibit 50 — Diagram of the penthouse level showing pool location and gen
Diagram of the penthouse level showing pool location and general layout.
Catalog entry →Witkin Texts to Assistants re Locating Depp (Feb 2014)
A continuation of the February 2014 exchange showing Witkin reaching out to assistants to help locate Depp.
Catalog entry →Witkin–Heard Texts, Manson Bender (Feb 3 2014, Exs. 8 & 9)
A text exchange between Bruce Witkin and Amber Heard dated February 3, 2014, in which Heard reached out to Witkin with concern about Depp during a bender with Marilyn Manson; a…
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