Depp v. Heard — Trial Archive
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Witness

Richard Moore

Courtroom still of Richard Moore.

Hand surgeon who testified about the cause of Depp’s finger injury

2022 Defamation Trial Apr 11 – Jun 1, 2022
Called by defendant
190 lines 3 proceedings 7 highlights

About

Richard Moore, a hand surgeon with 25 years’ experience, testified for Amber Heard about Depp’s middle-finger injury in Australia. He said the intact fingernail and loss of tissue on the palm side did not fit the top-down vodka-bottle strike described in Depp’s testimony. He described the fracture shown on X-rays as consistent with a crush mechanism.

On cross-examination, Moore acknowledged that he had not examined Depp, had no firsthand knowledge of the incident, and had not reviewed Ben King’s testimony or photographs of the bar area. He said he could not rule out a vodka bottle under a different mechanism. On redirect, he maintained his opinion about the mechanism Depp described. Depp’s later rebuttal expert, Richard Gilbert, disagreed and said the injury was consistent with a bottle striking a hand resting on a marble bar.

Trial Record (3)

2022 Defamation Trial Apr 11, 2022 – Jun 1, 2022 3 proceedings

Day 20

Direct Direct Examination of Richard Moore Richard Moore J. Benjamin Rottenborn 3 100
Summary

Defense orthopedic expert Richard Moore testifies Depp's finger injury is inconsistent with a thrown vodka bottle, citing intact nail, palmar tissue loss, and absent glass.

Highlights (3)
Cross Cross Examination of Richard Moore Richard Moore Camille Vasquez 2 80
Summary

Vasquez challenges Moore's finger-injury opinion, establishing he never examined Depp, didn't review bar-scene photos, and could not rule out a vodka bottle as the cause.

Highlights (2)
Redirect Redirect Examination of Richard Moore Richard Moore J. Benjamin Rottenborn 2 10
Summary

Rottenborn rehabilitates defense hand expert Moore, who reaffirms that Depp's vodka-bottle account is inconsistent with the finger injury pattern.

Highlights (2)
Quote

“it can be - it can be slightly off center, it would pinch that tissue away in a similar fashion. But because it's below the level of the nail bed, it could create this injury with the fracture and the tissue loss and preserve the nail bed”

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Locations

Australia 3 procs

Evidence From Their Proceedings (10)

Photographs Admitted

Australia House — Bar Area Photos (Exs. 1816, 1817, 1820, 1821)

Photographs of the downstairs bar area in the Gold Coast, Australia rental house, showing blood, glass, tissue on the floor, and a possible wall-mounted telephone. Multiple…

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Documents Admitted

Depp 'Cut Off My Finger' Texts to Dr. Kipper and Others

Text messages from March and October 2015 in which Depp wrote to Dr. Kipper and others that he had cut or chopped off his own finger. Depp later characterized the 'I cut my finger…

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Photographs Admitted

Plaintiff's Ex. 144 — ER Photo, Depp's Severed Fingertip (Australia)

Graphic emergency room photograph of Johnny Depp's severed right middle finger sustained during the Australia incident. The photograph provides a clear profile of the injured…

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Documents Excluded

Kipper Deposition Transcript and Related Records

Dr. David Kipper's deposition transcript and associated email describing Depp's 'fundamental issues with anger' and romanticization of drug culture, as well as Kipper's clinical…

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Documents Unclear

Australia Hospital Emergency Room Records

Records from the hospital that treated Depp's finger injury in Australia, including documentation that Depp told the treating ER doctor he had sliced his finger with a knife, with…

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Documents Unclear

Richard Moore Deposition — Alternative Injury Causes (pp. 163–164)

Excerpt from Moore's March 22, 2022 deposition addressing whether he could rule out other causes of Depp's finger injury.

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Photographs Admitted

Defendant's Ex. 1817 — Bar Area Crime Scene, Australia Property

Photograph of the bar area at the Australia rental property where Ben King testified he discovered Depp's severed fingertip. The image shows a broken vodka bottle in the corner…

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Photographs Unclear

DX360 pp.09-10 — X-rays, Comminuted Fracture of Distal Phalanx (Moore)

X-rays of Depp's injured right middle finger showing a comminuted fracture of the distal phalanx, introduced as a demonstrative during Richard Moore's testimony.

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Photographs Admitted

DX369 p.12 — Depp's Hand with Plaster Splint, Post-Injury

Photograph of Johnny Depp's hand showing a plaster splint applied after the Australia finger injury, introduced during Richard Moore's testimony.

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Photographs Admitted

DX369 p.26 — Clinical Photo, Palmar Tissue Loss and Intact Nail

Clinical photograph of Depp's injured finger showing palmar tissue loss on the underside of the fingertip with an intact nail, introduced during Richard Moore's testimony.

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