Depp v. Heard — Trial Archive
Person Davida Brook Depp v. Heard← All People
Defendant's Team · Susman Godfrey

Davida Brook

2022 Defamation Trial Apr 11 – Jun 1, 2022
70 lines 1 proceedings 4 highlights

About

Davida Brook represented Amber Heard during pretrial discovery in the Depp v. Heard litigation. Her recorded cross-examination of Elizabeth Marz was played for the jury on Day 18 of the 2022 trial, where Brook revisited Marz's account of Heard's appearance and the May 21, 2016 penthouse incident.

Brook represented Amber Heard's defense on Day 18, cross-examining Elizabeth Marz about the May 21, 2016 penthouse incident. Brook employed a sympathetic narrative reconstruction approach, guiding Marz through a detailed account of Depp's entry wielding a magnum wine bottle and Heard's disheveled, visibly injured appearance afterward. By proactively surfacing the possibility that Marz could have missed concealer on Heard's face, Brook preemptively neutralized a potential credibility challenge while keeping Marz's account intact. Brook also introduced Exhibit 13 photographs documenting Heard's injuries and hallway wine staining, anchoring the eyewitness testimony to physical evidence and reinforcing the defense's domestic violence narrative.

Trial Record (1)

2022 Defamation Trial Apr 11, 2022 – Jun 1, 2022 1 proceeding

Day 18

Cross Elizabeth Marz Davida Brook 4 70
Summary

Defense counsel Brook elicits Marz's account of Depp's entry into penthouse 5 and introduces photos documenting Heard's injuries and hallway wine staining from May 21, 2016.

Highlights (4)
Key Point

Brook opens by confirming which side of Heard's face bore marks and acknowledges Marz could have missed concealer, preemptively defusing a credibility challenge while leaving the eyewitness account intact.

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Key Point

Brook guides Marz through a vivid reconstruction of Depp's entry — door bursting open, Depp charging with a magnum wine bottle, screaming 'get your bitch out of here' — establishing Depp as the aggressor.

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Key Point

Brook presses Marz on why she hid, eliciting that Marz did not know what Depp would do and remained concealed until certain she would not be attacked.

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Key Point

Brook closes with Marz's description of Heard's post-incident appearance — frazzled, disheveled, swollen face with markings — and introduces Exhibit 13 photographs to corroborate the account.

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Evidence From Their Proceedings (1)

Photographs Unclear

Marz Exhibit 13 — May 21 Photo Set (Face and Penthouse)

A set of photographs taken on the night of May 21, 2016, including images of marks on Heard's face, a broken bed frame, red wine staining in the hallway, and broken picture frames…

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