Angelina Jolie victorious in legal custody battle with Brad Pitt
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Angelina Jolie has secured a win in the custody legal battle for her and ex-husband’s Brad Pitt’s six children.
Jolie, 46, successfully requested to disqualify the presiding judge in the case. This follows on from Judge John W Ouderkirk allegedly not properly declaring his business relationship with lawyers for Pitt, 57.
This means that the child custody case that was believed to be almost completed has been tossed out, and a new one will need to be arranged. No details were made public about the now-defunct custody agreement.
"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 ruling from the 2nd District Court read.
This comes after Jolie first asked the judge to disqualify himself in August 2020.
Lawyers for Pitt released a statement about Jolie’s request being granted by the court, saying the case was thrown out on “technical procedural issue” and alleged that Jolie was trying to sabotage the agreed-upon custody arrangement.
"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," it read. “We will continue to do what’s necessary legally based on the detailed findings of what’s best for the children."
An attorney for Jolie said that the judge knew the rules and simply did not follow them regarding the court ruling on 23 July.
"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," said Robert Olson, a lawyer for Jolie. "Matters that should have been disclosed were not disclosed."
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