Amber Heard has entered a not guilty plea and said she is "looking forward" to fighting dog smuggling charges in Australia, which could mean jail time or a steep fine if Johnny Depp's actress wife is found guilty.
Heard, who will appear in upcoming movie "The Danish Girl," is accused of illegally transporting her and Depp's two Yorkshire terriers, Pistol and Boo, into the
country earlier this year, Australia's 9News.com reported.
Depp was in Australia filming "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" when Heard allegedly produced a fake document after she was caught bringing the dogs to the Gold Coast.
"My decision to defend these charges, as will become apparent in the appropriate forum of the court, is not intended to in any way diminish the importance of Australia's laws," Heard said in a statement.
Heard reportedly told her attorneys to enter a not guilty plea after the case was adjourned a fourth
time in court Monday, according to The Guardian.
The charges, which include transporting the animals in and then producing a fake document, carry maximum penalties of 10 years in jail and a $102,000 fine, and one year in jail and a $10,200 fine, respectively.
But Gold Coast attorney Bill Potts told 9News.com that Heard is unlikely to face jail time if she is convicted.
"Whilst ignorance to the law is no excuse, certainly a mistake as to the law could be a defense," he said. "I suppose the likes of Amber Heard may not fill out paperwork — they have people to do it for them . . . In a case like this, I would expect that the court would not be happy to see such offending, but a jail sentence quite frankly is not within range, most likely a fine of some kind."