Angelina Jolie is apparently less than pleased with the judge’s latest custody ruling in her ongoing divorce case with Brad Pitt and feels failed by the court system, but is still planning to appeal.
Earlier this year, Judge John Ouderkirk tentatively granted Pitt increased custody of his and Jolie’s five children who are still minors: Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne. The eldest son, Maddox, is currently 19 and thus legally an adult and no longer subject to this custody battle. And on Monday, Jolie reportedly filed a complaint with California’s Second District Court of Appeal over the custody ruling and Ouderkirk’s continued presiding over the case. But according to sources that spoke to Page Six, the actress feels failed by the California court system and, apparently, it’s not the increased custody that she’s upset over, but the fact that Ouderkirk declined to give her children a chance to testify.
According to the Associated Press, Jolie’s lawyers alleged in the appeal filing that “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.” They also claimed that the judge “refused to hear the minor teenagers’ input as to their experiences, needs, or wishes as to their custody fate.” The lawyers cited a California code that permits minors over 14 to testify in custody cases if they want to, making Pax, Zahara, and Shiloh all eligible. Jolie also reportedly recently submitted alleged evidence of domestic abuse by Pitt to the court that remains sealed.
“The custody schedule was always determined by the court,” a source familiar with the situation told Page Six. “It’s sad that Brad’s people are gloating about a potential win when beating a system that exists to protect families and children from issues that harm their well-being is not something to brag about. The heart of this dispute has not been about keeping the children apart from their father; it’s been Angelina asking for care for her family. Her motivations have never been to deny the children a relationship with their father.” They added that Jolie’s primary driving force is that she doesn’t want other families to have to go through what she’s been through. “This system is at fault, and Angelina is focused on fighting a system that does not take into account the full set of issues that affect her family and other families in this situation. She’s working hard to ensure that other families don’t go through her experience,” they said.
However, other insiders told the outlet that this decision was made after Judge Ouderkirk listened to hours of testimony from child services staffers, therapists, and professionals who had all spoken with the Jolie-Pitt children. The insiders said that Pitt’s only goal is “just to spend more time with his children, to make sure they’re healthy, happy, and cared for,” adding that he is being careful not to celebrate as the ruling hasn’t been finalized. “The process isn’t over, and every step of the way Angie has resorted to extreme tactics to misrepresent her story [to the media] and to destroy anyone who goes against her—therapists, experts, and even the judge,” the source alleged. “And at the end of the day, Angie was found not to be credible by all of these people. She thought there would be charges brought against Brad after the plane incident; she dropped her lawyer Laura Wasser and claimed that Brad owed her millions in support, which was untrue.” They went on to claim that the actress has used their kids as “tools through the [court] process,” while “Brad has never referenced his kids—apart from thanking them in his Oscar speech.”
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