A once-private bitter divorce between Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt is making legal news. Judge John W. Ouderkirk was ordered to step down after Jolie successfully accused of him taking sides with her former husband. Pitt did not agree to remove the judge from their case.
The judge handling the contested divorce case between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie was ordered to step down on Friday after Jolie filed court papers stating he was not impartial.
The California 2nd district court of appeals agreed with Jolie, ruling Ouderkirk must step down since he did not disclose his prior professional relationships with Pitt’s divorce lawyers.
The appeals court stated, in part, “Judge Ouderkirk’s ethical breach, considered together with the information disclosed concerning his recent professional relationships with Pitt’s counsel, might cause an objective person, aware of all the facts, reasonably to entertain a doubt as to the judge’s ability to be impartial. Disqualification is required.”
The July oral arguments in front of the appeals court addressed legal ethical standards regarding private judges.
Jolie’s attorney Robert Olsen said, “If you’re going to play the role of a paid private judge you have to play by the rules and the rules are very clear, they require full transparency. Matters that should have been disclosed were not disclosed.”
Ouderkirk is a retired superior court judge and was hired as is customary among many high-profile couples’ divorces, to keep the case out of the public eye. In 2014, Judge Ouderkirk officiated Jolie and Pitt’s wedding.
Ironically, Ouderkirk’s very public dismissal from the divorce case does exactly what he was hired NOT to do: create a media spotlight on the celeb couple and their ongoing divorce. Initially, Jolie and Pitt agreed to hire the private judge in order not to share details of their divorce with the public.
Jolie, 46, and Pitt, 57, are embroiled in a complex custody battle after separating in September 2016. The high-profile couple were married for two years but had dated and lived together previously for over a decade. Jolie cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for her divorce filing.
The couple entered a bifurcated judgment so that their marriage would be legally declared over but they should still work out details such as custody of the minor children.
The power couple is still fighting over custody arrangements for five of their six children, who are minors. Only one child, 19-year old Maddox, is a legal adult and not included in any custody legalities.
Due to the judge being ordered to step down, two months after Pitt was granted the right to have 50 percent joint physical and legal custody, that prior ruling is now vacated. A new judge will now need to step in and decide the legal custody arrangements.
Pitt’s attorneys said they do not agree with the decision by the California appeals court to force Judge Ouderkirk to step down. Since Ouderkirk ruled Pitt was allowed to share custody with Jolie after hearing expert witnesses testify, the spokesperson said the judge’s prior ruling should not be impacted.
In a statement, a spokesperson said, “The appeals court ruling was based on a technical procedural issue. The facts haven’t changed. There is an extraordinary amount of factual evidence which led the judge — and the many experts who testified — to reach their clear conclusion about what is in the children’s best interests. We will continue to do what’s necessary legally based on the detailed findings of what’s best for the children.”
In her fight to remove Judge Ouderkirk, Jolie said he “failed to adequately consider” a section of the California legal code, referring to a specific section stating it is detrimental to the best interest of the child if custody is awarded to a person with a “history of domestic violence.” As part of that statement, Jolie’s attorneys offered sealed a document with information.
