Angelina Jolie lost the battle to remove the private judge conducting her divorce case with Brad Pitt, as she had requested in the beginning of August after finding out judge John W. Ouderkirk “failed to make timely mandatory disclosures of ongoing business and professional relationships between himself” and Pitt’s legal team.
The messy divorce was filed by Jolie citing, “irreconcilable differences” in 2016, and the custody hearing involving the couple’s six children is set to be taking place this month, however after the failed request of the ‘Maleficent’ star, the case will still be “assigned to Honorable Judge W. Ouderkirk” for all purposes.
The 45-year-old Hollywood actress wanted to ensure a fair trial and feared the judge’s “ongoing professional and financial relationship” with two of Pitt’s attorneys could interfere with the process, but after the recent decision the judge declared that his “continued service does not change my ability to objectively view and evaluate the evidence presented by both sides and apply the law impartially.”
The initial request made the 56-year-old actor, who recently began to get back into the dating scene, feel as if his ex had “gone too far,” and his attorneys announced that the “individuals hurt most” by her actions were the children, “as they continued to be deprived over a resolution to these custody issues.”
Jolie reportedly wants to keep her children happy and “doesn’t want Los Angeles to be the home base for the kids,” while Pitt wants “joint physical and legal custody of the kids and doesn’t want Angelina to be able to take the children out of the county/state/country without his permission.”