VA - Johnny Depp's defamation case against ex Amber Heard, who countersued #2

[BUF]

I may have this incorrect as I was out & just turned this on a little while ago, but isn’t Hughes just being asked questions in generalities, not specifically to Heard & Depp (although inferred)…hence the he & she?

 

[squareandrabbet]

Sky News

'Trauma bond'

Amber Heard's lawyer Elaine Bredehoft is now asking psychologist Dawn Hughes, an expert witness, how a victim of sexual assault by a partner might act.

"This is one of the myths," Dr Hughes tells the court, that a victim would leave. "Nothing could be further from the truth," she says. Victims "bury it" and try to reach out to the "kind and loving" person they entered the relationship with.

Heard is yet to give her testimony, but Ms Bredehoft told the court during her opening statement that the actress would tell the court she suffered sexual abuse.

What role does "love and normalcy" play in domestic violence in relationships? Ms Bredehoft asks.

In a "lull", the victim is back with the loving partner they wanted in the first place, Dr Hughes says.

Pairing a violent dynamic with the love and attachment creates a "trauma bond, a psychological bond", she says.

This makes it difficult for a victim to leave or even believe that she can and she should, she says.

Asked to describe "love bombing", she says this is showering someone with affection and love - sending flowers, buying gifts, going on trips - which gets people "hooked" on the kindness.

i wonder who will be the first person to mention/draw out the major part of IPV wherein the abuser separates their victims from their entire support system… the part which JD in fact did the opposite of, installing AH’s friends and family literally next door, allowing her to travel out of town with them on multiple occasions, and in some instances leaving them alone for uninterrupted weeks/months with Amber, as he goes out of town…

 

[tlcya]

I am curious to see how JD team handles her on cross. If they are smart they can actually use much of her testimony to illustrate that many of these abusive behaviors she describes apply to AH. I had clients in the office briefly near the beginning of her testimony. Can anyone tell me if this woman ever interviewed JD or if she is relying solely on anecdotal information provided by AH and her team to reach her conclusions about THIS couple?

 

[Gardenista]

Jury of mostly men is not going to be pleased with this woman.

 

[LaborDayRN]

i wonder who will be the first person to mention/draw out the major part of IPV wherein the abuser separates their victims from their entire support system… the part which JD in fact did the opposite of, installing AH’s friends and family literally next door, allowing her to travel out of town with them on multiple occasions, and in some instances leaving them alone for uninterrupted weeks/months with Amber, as he goes out of town…

Excellent point!

 

[Lillymac]

Is there any info posted here as far as the make up of the jury? I believe I read 4 men and 3 women. What is the age range and profession? Anybody know? TIA

 

[Allabouttrial]

Sky News

'Men can be victims, too - but there are differences'

Psychologist and expert witness Dawn Hughes is asked by Amber Heard's lawyer Elaine Bredehoft about domestic violence against men.

Men can be victims of domestic violence, too, Dr Hughes tells the court - and says "we have to be careful of gendered stereotypes".

But that said, there are differences, she tells the jury.

Men still perpetrate more severe acts of violence, she says, women are more likely to be injured and suffer sexual violence, and are more likely to be intimidated and afraid - and more likely to be killed by a male partner.

 

[BUF]

I am curious to see how JD team handles her on cross. If they are smart they can actually use much of her testimony to illustrate that many of these abusive behaviors she describes apply to AH. I had clients in the office briefly near the beginning of her testimony. Can anyone tell me if this woman ever interviewed JD or if she is relying solely on anecdotal information provided by AH and her team to reach her conclusions about THIS couple?

I don’t know if she ever interviewed JD, but found this you may be interested in.
gov.uscourts.va.CL-2019-002911.111.0 2

 

[squareandrabbet]

Question for any of those who followed the UK trial... Do you think overall public opinion was initially in JD's favor against The Sun BUT changed in favor of The Sun after AH's testimony? If so, was it her direct testimony and evidence that swayed the opinion, or something else??

i can’t source my instincts really, so YMMV; but ‘no’, IMO.

I think the minute Dan Wootton wrote the article with ‘wife beater’ in the headline, the game was up.

also, the people testifying earlier that this was the very height of ‘MeToo’ and (though they did not specifically say this, it’s rolled up in MeToo so I will) ‘Believe all women’, are spot on.

You didn’t dare disbelieve a woman at the time when it came to DV; and then when Disney seemed to agree with them, well, that just about said it all to anyone sitting on the fence.

JK Rowling, herself a survivor of spousal abuse, in fact came out at one point and said (paraphrasing) ‘as a victim myself, he has told me it was in fact done to him by his spouse, and it had the ring of truth to me’; but she started to have her own PR troubles and soon caved to agree with Disney.

plus, Much of the UK media (IIRC, IMO) sided with the Sun in their reportage because, well, why wouldn’t they? If the Sun wins, it gives them all precedent for greater freedom in the ‘he said, she said’ sweepstakes on both sides of the gender divide; and if the Sun had lost, well, then there’s a journalistic competitor with their nose bloodied.

The Sun may indeed be a rag as @Kiranerys says; it doesn’t mean a rag is always wrong. The legitimate papers back in the thick of JonBenet Ramsey furor, didn’t want to be scooped by the National Enquirer either.

 

[Allabouttrial]

Sky News

Domestic violence victims are 'striving' to be normal all the time

Amber Heard's lawyer Elaine Bredhoft is asking psychologist Dawn Hughes lots of general questions about abuse and trauma - but nothing specific yet about Johnny Depp and Heard.

Ms Bredehoft moves on to common myths surrounding domestic violence, and Dr Hughes says she hopes she has helped dispel some of these during her testimony so far.

She says these could be that "women are weak" and "don't fight back", that they "like the violence", or "if it was really bad she really would have left" or "told the police".

Dr Hughes says there are also myths about how trauma survivors present after an incident.

"People think 'oh, they should be hysterical'," the psychologist says. She says this isn't typically the first reaction - which is actually usually "suppression, emotional numbing".

"Women who are beaten, they get up the next morning, they get their kids dressed, they get them to school, they go to work... they go on with life," she says.

They are "striving" to be normal all the time, Dr Hughes tells the court. Appearing "stoic" doesn't mean victims are not having an internal reaction, she says. "The inside doesn't match the outside."

The fear is that if they let out emotion, they open the floodgates, she continues.

Just because someone is "smiling and happy" it doesn't mean they are not suffering, Dr Hughes adds.

She then tells the court there is no "single profile" that fits all victims of domestic violence.

 

[squareandrabbet]

I am curious to see how JD team handles her on cross. If they are smart they can actually use much of her testimony to illustrate that many of these abusive behaviors she describes apply to AH. I had clients in the office briefly near the beginning of her testimony. Can anyone tell me if this woman ever interviewed JD or if she is relying solely on anecdotal information provided by AH and her team to reach her conclusions about THIS couple?

i do not know, but I think (hope) we will learn this on cross examination from Brown Rudnick.

 

[ar3593]

I don't like the way she keeps using "her" and "him", rather than "abuser" and "abused".

ETA: I think she's making a HUGE mistake.

Very biased...I see exactly where this is leading. JMO

 

[shotgun09]

My guess, from the expert witness' testimony so far, using women as the victim...that she might view all of AH's abuse (which JD claimed) as 'reactionary abuse'. Therefore, her abuse is excused....because she's the woman. Cross exam will be lit.

 

[BUF]

Hughes testified in the R Kelly trial

Prosecutors call final witnesses in R. Kelly trial

 

[ar3593]

My guess, from the expert witness' testimony so far, using women as the victim...that she might view all of AH's abuse (which JD claimed) as 'reactionary abuse'. Therefore, her abuse is excused....because she's the woman. Cross exam will be lit.

Yes, Elaine lead this psychologist to say many women who are abused will react with violence and hit their abuser!! Justifying Amber's abuse towards JD. This is sickening....Unbelievable . JMO

 

[squareandrabbet]

Sky News

Domestic violence victims are 'striving' to be normal all the time

Amber Heard's lawyer Elaine Bredhoft is asking psychologist Dawn Hughes lots of general questions about abuse and trauma - but nothing specific yet about Johnny Depp and Heard.

Ms Bredehoft moves on to common myths surrounding domestic violence, and Dr Hughes says she hopes she has helped dispel some of these during her testimony so far.

She says these could be that "women are weak" and "don't fight back", that they "like the violence", or "if it was really bad she really would have left" or "told the police".

Dr Hughes says there are also myths about how trauma survivors present after an incident.

"People think 'oh, they should be hysterical'," the psychologist says. She says this isn't typically the first reaction - which is actually usually "suppression, emotional numbing".

"Women who are beaten, they get up the next morning, they get their kids dressed, they get them to school, they go to work... they go on with life," she says.

They are "striving" to be normal all the time, Dr Hughes tells the court. Appearing "stoic" doesn't mean victims are not having an internal reaction, she says. "The inside doesn't match the outside."

The fear is that if they let out emotion, they open the floodgates, she continues.

Just because someone is "smiling and happy" it doesn't mean they are not suffering, Dr Hughes adds.

She then tells the court there is no "single profile" that fits all victims of domestic violence.

That’s all greatly accurate of her and all; but if Brown Rudnick lays on the ‘Ms. Heard, you have said that your father in fact committed domestic abuse against your mother; is that not so?’, well, that’s both potentially in AH favor (psychological conditioning predisposing her to an abusive relationship) and against it:

‘so, Ms. Heard, you’re saying that you could in fact have made up stories of domestic violence against JD, just subbing in things you have seen your father do to your mother, no?’

 

[fred&edna]

It just dawned on me during yesterday's coverage... the penthouses likely had an interior "shared" door. It's possible I'm slow to realizing this, or maybe I'm just wrong. Anyone know? TIA!

 

[BUF]

They’re back. Now getting into her examination of Heard.

 

[squareandrabbet]

It just dawned on me during yesterday's coverage... the penthouses likely had an interior "shared" door. It's possible I'm slow to realizing this, or maybe I'm just wrong. Anyone know? TIA!

… that i don’t know. I’m afraid I’m much less good at visual processing than I am at verbal processing, I barely passed geometry… but IIRC, the UK trial flashed around a lot of floor plans so someone should know.

also I thought I saw a real estate blog about the sale of the apartments which said JD had paid for a gut internal rehab of all 5 apartments in 2007, so whatever he wanted to do probably went.

 

[Allabouttrial]

Sky News

Forensic psychological evaluation of Amber Heard

Psychologist Dawn Hughes is now telling the court that she has conducted a forensic psychological evaluation of Amber Heard.

She says Heard is not a client of hers so this was an objective evaluation, which involved an interview with the actress, a psychological test, and reviewing medical and psychological records as well as the records of the case.

Dr Hughes says she approaches any forensic evaluation with a "healthy dose of scepticism".

She tells the court she first met Heard in September 2019 and spent about 29 hours with her in total - 21 hours in person and then a couple of sessions over Zoom.

The evaluation consisted of testing and a clinical interview as well as a review of documents and collateral interviews - two with her treating therapists and also with Heard's mother - Dr Hughes tells the court.