Angelina Jolie has asked to remove the private judge overseeing her protracted divorce and child-custody battle with Brad Pitt.
The actress argues that Judge John W. Ouderkirk should be disqualified from their divorce case, filed in 2016. Lawyers for Jolie filed a motion in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging that the judge was not forthcoming enough about other cases he presided over that involved Pitt’s attorney, Anne C. Kiley.
The papers state that during the Jolie-Pitt proceedings, Ouderkirk has allegedly “failed to disclose the cases that demonstrated the current, ongoing, repeat-customer relationship between the judge and [Pitt’s] counsel.”
However, a source close to the case said this was a delay tactic by Jolie, because she believed things weren’t going in her favor. The source said the main issue is custody of their kids and her request for more child support.
The source said, “Jolie is basically trying to fire the private judge overseeing their divorce case. She has every right to do this, but if she thought she was in a good place in this legal proceeding, she wouldn’t need to do it. This is a classic case of someone expecting a bad decision trying to delay the process by asking for a new referee.” Judge Ouderkirk could not be reached, and lawyers for Jolie and Pitt didn’t get back to us.
The source added that Jolie’s move is unusual: While Pitt’s team has sought to keep the same judge, ensuring personal details divulged in the case are kept private, Jolie is now involving a public court and is delaying anything getting resolved. “This is about how much time Brad gets with the kids, how does sharing time with the kids work … This divorce has been going on for four years, for goodness’ sake.”
Jolie, 45, and Pitt, 56, were a couple for 12 years and married for two when Jolie filed for divorce in 2016. They were declared divorced last year when their lawyers asked for a bifurcated judgment, meaning that they were declared single while other issues, including finances and child custody, remain. They have six children.
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