Judge bans Johnny Depp and Amber Heard from signing autographs or posing for selfies at defamation trial

• Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are forbidden from posing for photos on courthouse grounds.
• The judge presiding over their defamation trial ordered them not to sign autographs, either.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are in Fairfax County, Virginia, for a trial over dueling defamation claims.

But if you're hoping to get a selfie with either of them outside the courthouse, you're out of luck.

Judge Penney S. Azcarate, who's presiding over the trial, ordered them both not to sign autographs or pose for photos on the court's grounds during the trial.

"Litigants and their legal teams in this trial will not pose for pictures or sign autographs in the Courthouse or on Courthouse Grounds," Azcarate wrote in an order entered into the docket on March 29.

The order also forbids "overnight camping" on courthouse grounds and the surrounding streets, as well as access to electronic devices within the building.

Depp filed the lawsuit in Fairfax County court in 2019, alleging Heard defamed him by writing an op-ed for the Washington Post describing herself as a victim of domestic violence. Though she didn't name Depp in the op-ed, Depp's lawsuit said that any reasonable reader would interpret the language as a reference to him. The two had a tumultuous relationship that began around 2011 and ended in a messy divorce in 2016.

Heard has filed a countersuit, alleging Depp assaulted her on nearly a dozen occasions throughout their relationship. Legal experts told Insider that Depp likely chose Virginia — rather than California, where they both live — as a venue for the lawsuit because of the state's weak laws protecting people from libel lawsuits designed to intimidate them.

The ban on selfies hasn't deterred Depp fans from showing up in force, according to Vulture's Victoria Bekiempis. The main courtroom has enough room for 100 spectators, with an overflow room allowing for 50 more viewers.

Around 30 Depp supporters showed up to court starting around 5 a.m, according to Vulture. One told Bekiempis she traveled 30 hours from Australia to show her support. Another planned to give Depp flowers.

"Right now I'm just hoping that I'll be able to give him these flowers and that I didn't come for nothing," Raylyn Otey, who said she drove for five hours from West Virginia to attend the trial, told Bekiempis.

Celebrity watchers may also crowd the courtroom if Elon Musk, James Franco, and Paul Bettany testify. All three of them are on witness lists, although they would take the stand through remote video.

The jury was empaneled on Monday afternoon, according to Deadline. Opening statements for the trial are scheduled to begin on Tuesday morning.