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Mel Gibson Gives Divorce Judge the Boot

Posted Apr 17th 2009 5:20PM by TMZ Staff

Mel Gibson divorceUPDATE: 7:16 PM ET We just got the papers Mel's lawyer filed with the court, in which he said Mel believes he "cannot have a fair and impartial trial or hearing before Judge Ongkeko." The case has now been removed to Judge Frederick Shaller, but expect the whole case to be handled by a "private judge" -- and that should happen soon.

Mel Gibson already has issues with his divorce -- at least his lawyer does.

We've learned ... Bob Kaufman, Mel's attorney, filed legal papers yesterday to boot the judge from the case -- Hon. Rafael Ongkeko. Each side is entitled to ding a judge from hearing the case, but that can only be done in the first 10 days. Your move Laura Wasser.

Here's the reality. The chances that a judge in the L.A. County Courthouse will actually hear Mel's divorce case are slim to none. That's because both Kaufman and Wasser almost always get a "private" judge to hear their high-profile cases, away from the public glare.

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Tags: affair, celebrity divorce, celebrity support, CelebrityDivorce, divorce, drunk driving, DrunkDriving, laura wasser, LauraWasser, malibu, mel, mel and robyn gibson, mel gibs, mel gibson, mel gibson community property, mel gibson divorce, mel gibson divorce mel gibson dui, mel gibson dui, MelGibson, MelGibsonCommunityProperty, MelGibsonPrenuptial, MelGibsonsPrenup, MelGibsonsWife, spousal support, SpousalSupport

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(Page 1 of 4) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Most Recent | Next 15 Comments

1. first and booya

Posted at 5:32PM on Apr 17th 2009 by rayabt4

2. 1st

Posted at 5:33PM on Apr 17th 2009 by brian

3. Judge must have been Jewish

Posted at 5:44PM on Apr 17th 2009 by Bill

4. She expects $450 MILLION for servicing him over the years. . . a hooker would have been a lot cheaper and lower maintenance.

Posted at 5:48PM on Apr 17th 2009 by Ooooo Noooo!

5. If he wants to keep it quiet and out of the public eye, give her and her/his children half the money. She put up with him for many years and many children. She deserves half. He is only hurting his image by dragging it out in court.

Posted at 6:01PM on Apr 17th 2009 by Linda Mott

6. HEY MEL!!!!!!!!!!! I am single!!!!!!!!

Posted at 6:02PM on Apr 17th 2009 by the barbarian

7. Are there any Gentile lawyers in L.A.?

Posted at 6:17PM on Apr 17th 2009 by Crabby

8. She deserves every penny she gets. He should give her the money without any trouble. There is plenty to go around

Posted at 8:00AM on Apr 18th 2009 by Diana

9. oh mel
there you go with those jews out ta get me

Posted at 9:45AM on Apr 19th 2009 by evilive

10. this is my old judge from my hometown...he's not jewish he's japanese...very fair and compassionate guy...

Posted at 6:20PM on Apr 17th 2009 by murray

11. Mel's attorney is Kaufman. Isn't that a jewish name? I guess Mel has seen ths light

Posted at 6:29PM on Apr 17th 2009 by C-Crest

12. I'm a lot younger than Mel... but he really turns me on...
Oops... I just squirted.

Posted at 6:32PM on Apr 17th 2009 by Ashley

13. Mel should set up half his money in trust for his 7 children. His wife can't fight that. Then give her a decent allowance since she sacrificed 30 years of career skill building to be his baby machine, leaving her essentially unemployable in any profession other than entry level work. That would be more than fair to both of them, and do what's right for the kids as well.
Don't forget, the whole reason he could take off and do as many films as he did and still have the 7 kids he wanted, was that she was home raising them.

Posted at 6:46PM on Apr 17th 2009 by Delia

14. Yes, Mel stuck to his Catholic beliefs and shunned birth control. He couldn't have done this without a big sacrifice from his wife who have up all hopes of a career to be his incubator.

Posted at 6:48PM on Apr 17th 2009 by frannie201

15. How do non-celebs get a private judge, or is that yet another exclusive domain of celebrities?

Posted at 7:00PM on Apr 17th 2009 by Democracy??

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