Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's custody battle: Private judge disqualified by Appeals court

Things seem to be looking up for Angelina Jolie, in terms of her divorce from Brad Pitt. According to an update by The Hollywood Reporter, on July 23, a California appeals court agreed with Jolie and disqualified the private judge, John Ouderkirk, who was making the decision over their children's custody. The 2nd District Court of Appeal also agreed with Jolie and explained that Judge Ouderkirk did not sufficiently disclose his business relationships with Pitt’s attorneys. 

An update on Brad and Angelina's divorce proceedings 

The court's decision ruled: 

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 decision which was announced on Friday means that the long dragged custody fight between the couple still has a long way to go. The judge restored Pitt and Jolie to single status in 2019, however, child custody issues have been separated and have been going on for a while. At this point, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have been fighting their post-divorce battles longer than they were married. 

Jolie and Pitt have six children, namely 19-year-old Maddox, 17-year-old Pax, 16-year-old Zahara, 15-year-old Shiloh, 12-year-old Vivienne and 12-year-old Knox. With the exception of Maddox who isn't a minor anymore, all other five children are subject to custody decisions. A representative of Brad Pitt, in a statement, said "We will continue to do what’s necessary legally based on the detailed findings of what’s best for the children."

More about the Judge who was disqualified 

According to THR, Judge John Ouderkirk officiated Brad and Angelina's wedding in 2014 and was also hired to oversee their divorce, when Jolie filed to dissolve the marriage in 2016. Ouderkirk declined to disqualify himself when a filing by Jolie asked him to, with a lower court even ruling that request for disqualification was "too late," however, Jolie's attorneys still filed an appeal. 

While Jolie's attorney's claimed, "Matters that should have been disclosed were not disclosed," in terms of Ouderkirk's relationships with Pitts attorneys, Theodore Boutrous, an attorney for Pitt had something different to say. Bourtrous talked about how the disqualification was a "stalling tactic" by Jolie's team in order to stop Ouderkirk's "tentative custody decision", which would've been in Pitt's favour. 

IMAGE - AP