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LOS ANGELES (AP) – A California appeals court on Friday disqualified a private judge used by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt in their divorce case, giving Jolie a major victory.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal agreed with Jolie that Judge John W. Ouderkirk had not sufficiently disclosed the business dealings with Pitt’s attorneys.
“Judge Ouderkirk’s breach of ethics, combined with the information disclosed concerning his recent professional relationship with Pitt’s lawyer, could lead an objective person, aware of all the facts, to reasonably entertain a doubt as to the ability of the judge to be impartial. Disqualification is required, ”the court ruled.
The ruling means that the battle for custody of the couple’s five minor children, which was drawing to a close, could start again.
The judge has already ruled the couple divorced, but separated the custody issues.
Like many celebrity couples, Pitt and Jolie have chosen to hire their own judge to increase their confidentiality in the divorce proceedings.
Ouderkirk refused to disqualify himself when Jolie asked him to do so in a file in August. A trial judge ruled that Jolie’s disqualification request came too late. Jolie’s lawyers then appealed.
The July 9 pleadings before the appeals court focused on the exact ethical rules that should apply to private judges, who, like Ouderkirk, are usually retired superior court judges.
“If you want to play the role of a paid private judge, you have to follow the rules and the rules are very clear, they require full transparency,” said Jolie’s attorney, Robert Olson. “Things that should have been disclosed weren’t.”
The panel questioned whether such an arrangement should be allowed in California, but its ruling only applies to Ouderkirk.
Lawyers for both sides did not comment immediately on the decision.
Jolie, 46, and Pitt, 57, have been among Hollywood’s hottest couples for 12 years. They had been married for two years when Jolie filed for divorce in 2016. They were divorced in April 2019, after their lawyers filed for a judgment allowing a married couple to be declared single as other issues remained, including finances. and child care.
In May, Jolie and her lawyers criticized Ouderkirk for not allowing the couple’s children to testify in the proceedings.
The actress also said the judge “failed to adequately consider” a section of the California courts code, which says it is prejudicial to the best interests of the child if custody is awarded. to someone with a history of domestic violence. His file did not give details of what he was referring to, but his lawyers submitted a sealed document in March that allegedly offers additional information.
The decision does not specify whether children should be allowed to testify in the case.
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Follow AP Entertainment writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton
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