Film star Johnny Depp's wife's dog smuggling case adjourned

The wife of film star Johnny Depp has again left it to her lawyers after failing to appear in an Australian court for bringing the couple's dogs into Australia illegally.

Depp's wife Amber Heard has yet to face court in Queensland despite a summons to appear as her matter was adjourned on Monday until Nov. 16 after her lawyers seek to hold "further discussions" with prosecutors.

The couple made international headlines in May after allegedly breaching the nation's strict quarantine rules, bringing their beloved pooches Boo and Pistol into Australia on Depp's private jet without declaring them to authorities, though the country has no reported cases of canine-born rabies.

Depp was in Australia filming the latest instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

International commentators further criticised Australia's strict rules after agricultural minister Barnaby Joyce to threaten the dogs with extermination if they weren't removed within 48-hours.

Joyce defended the decision saying Depp's predicament was not peculiar to him, but to everyone entering Australia.

"We can't start making exemptions," Joyce said in May.

Heard faces penalties of up to 10-years imprisonment and a 100,000 Australian dollar fine if convicted of the two counts of illegally importing the pets and one count of producing a false document. Enditem