Brad Pitt's custody ruling appeal denied by supreme court

Photo: All rights reserved.

The California Supreme Court has refused Brad Pitt's appeal of a court ruling that disqualified the judge in his long-running custody battle with Angelina Jolie.

The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor's legal team filed a petition to object to the recent disqualification of private Judge John Ouderkirk from their case, which effectively voided a previous ruling that granted the star more time with the former couple's five younger children.

Angelina's team had sought to have the judge - who was hired in 2016 - removed because they felt he could be biased in his rulings as he had failed to disclose continuing or new cases he'd been hired by Brad's lawyers - and the three judges who oversaw a hearing on the matter agreed Ouderkirk's "failure to make mandatory disclosures" about the work he was doing on other cases involving the Moneyball star's team "might cause an objective person, aware of all of the facts" to doubt his impartiality.

Following the court's rejection of the plea, Angelina's attorney, Robert Olson, welcomed the decision and said his client is glad "that her children's well-being will not be guided by unethical behavior."

He told USA Today of the court's decision to not hear the request for review: "Ms. Jolie is focused on her family and pleased that her children's well-being will not be guided by unethical behavior.

"As reinforced by California's appellate courts, our judiciary prioritises ethics and children's best interests, and won't tolerate judicial misconduct to reward the interests of a party. Ms. Jolie is glad for the family to now move forward cooperatively."

The Eternals star filed for divorce back in 2016. The former couple is parents to 20-year-old Maddox, 17-year-old Pax, 16-year-old Zahara, 15-year-old Shiloh, and 13-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox, but the custody battle only involves the teenagers.

Brad's team had said in a statement they wanted the review because, "The temporary judge, who had been appointed and repeatedly renewed by both sides, was improperly disqualified after providing a detailed, fact-based custodial decision, following a lengthy legal process with multiple witnesses and experts."

Angelina's team branded the move to have the judge reinstated "disturbing."