Angelina Jolie Scores, Brad Pitt Reacts: Judge Ouderkirk Who Granted Actor More Time with Children Disqualified
Angelina Jolie scores a huge win in her case with Brad Pitt. The judge she wants seen gone from the case has indeed been removed, allegedly because he was not able to fulfill his ethical obligations.
The actress, 46 has tried so hard to have Judge Ouderkirk disqualified from her custody battle with Brad Pitt, and for a while, she could not win. However, on July 23, a panel of three appellate judges reversed a previous court ruling, and ousted the judge. The panel determined that Judge Ouderkirk has "violated his ethical obligations" and this merited his disqualification from the case.
Specifically, the decision of the panel made Judge Ouderkirk now ineligible from serving as a temporary judge in the case. This is a win for Jolie since this is the private judge who granted Brad Pitt, 57, more time with their five minor children - Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 14, and 12-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox. Maddox, 19, is no longer a minor and therefore, no longer part of the custody case.
His decision is now void now that he was been disqualified from the case.
As soon as the news broke that Angelina Jolie must be rejoicing, a spokesperson from Brad Pitt has approached Hollywood Life with the reaction from its camp.
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According to this spokesperson, this is hardly a win for Jolie and does not change anything. "The appeals court ruling was based on a technical procedural issue, but the facts haven't changed," the spokesperson explained. "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 those detailed findings of what's best for the children," the spokesperson added.
While Jolie is described to having won a bit over this decision, she is yet to actually react to the news.
What were Judge Ourderkirk's ethical violations?
According to the reports, the panel found him unfit for the case because he failed "to make mandatory disclosures" about other legal proceedings involving Brad's legal counseling. This is a grave mistake as this could "cause an objective person, aware of all of the facts" to be doubtful about how impartial Judge Ouderkirk really is.
It can be remembered that Jolie's camp was not able to remove the judge from the custody case last November. Their main argument was just that the judge "denied Ms. Jolie a fair trial, improperly excluding her evidence relevant to the children's health, safety, and welfare, evidence critical to making her case."
The battle has been ongoing since the two's September 2016 split.
