Angelina Jolie slams judge for not allowing kids to testify amid Brad Pitt custody war
Angelina Jolie said said in a filing that Judge John Ouderkirk had refused to hear evidence from her children
May 26, 2021
Hollywood star Angelina Jolie has condemned a judge for not allowing her kids to testify in her and Brad Pitt’s custody case.
On Monday, the Maleficent actor said in a filing that Judge John Ouderkirk—whom Jolie had sought to get disqualified earlier—had refused to hear evidence from her children which is relevant to their safety and well-being.
“Judge Ouderkirk 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,” she said in a filing to California’s Second District Court of Appeal.
Moreover, Jolie said that the judge has “failed to adequately consider” a section of the California court code that points out that it is damaging for the child’s best interest if custody is given to someone who is known to have committed domestic violence in the past.
Details of what she was referring to were not mentioned in the filing but earlier in March, her lawyers submitted a sealed document about the supposed additional information.
In her new filing, Jolie says that the judge “refused to hear the minor teenagers’ input as to their experiences, needs, or wishes as to their custody fate,” giving reference to a California code that permits children over 14 to testify if they desire.
Apart from Maddox, 19, Pitt and Jolie’s five remaining children are subject to the custody decision—Pax, 17, Zahara, 16, Shiloh, 14 and twins Knox and Vivienne, 12.
