Mel Gibson’s Lawyer Vetoes Judge in Divorce Case
Mel Gibson received a new judge after his lawyer has requested to remove Judge Rafael Ongkeko from presiding over his divorce case against his wife, Robyn.
The case was reassigned to Judge Frederick Shaller “for all future court proceedings,” Usmagazine.com confirmed on Friday.
The star’s attorney, Robert Kaufman, filed legal papers on Thursday with the Superior Court of the State of California to boot Ongkeko from the case, Us confirms.
According to the documents, Kaufman said that Ongkeko is “prejudiced against Respondent and/or the Respondent’s attorney or the interest of Respondent so that affiant against cannot or believes that he and/or Respondent cannot have a fair and impartial trial or hearing before Judge Ongkeko.”
Each side in the case is allowed to veto a judge once, within the first 10 days. Robyn’s lawyer, Laura Wasser, has yet to respond.
However, according to TMZ.com, it is more likely that the couple will not appear in an L.A. county courthouse and will instead get a private judge to hear them out away from all the publicity and attention.
Gibson and Robyn filed for divorce this week after 28 years of marriage and seven kids.
For more on Gibson’s shocking divorce — including what Robyn stands to get out of his $900 million fortune and how his controversial 2006 DUI arrest was the “final straw” for her — pick up the new issue of Us Weekly today!
Tags: Divorce, Mel Gibson, Robyn Gibson
