Judge Rejects Brad Pitt's Bid to Seal Divorce Documents

LOS ANGELES, CA -- A Los Angeles judge Wednesday declined a request by actor Brad Pitt to immediately seal court documents and proceedings in his pending divorce from actress Angelina Jolie.

Jolie, 41, filed for divorce Sept. 19, citing irreconcilable differences. She and Pitt, 52, have been together since 2004, but weren't married until August 2014. The couple have six children: Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne.

The divorce filing came in the aftermath of an apparent mid-air dispute involving the A-List actors and at least one of their children, Maddox, that led to investigations by the FBI and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.

The DCFS has not publicly commented, although the agency was reported to have determined that Pitt did not abuse the boy. The FBI announced last month that it had reviewed the matter and opted not to pursue any further investigation.

An attorney for Jolie filed court papers last week outlining a temporary custody agreement reached earlier between the estranged spouses, with Jolie maintaining primary custody and Pitt allowed monitored visits at the discretion of a psychologist. The papers also note that Pitt is subject to drug and alcohol testing.

Pitt's attorneys asked a judge Wednesday to hold an emergency hearing to have all documents and proceedings in the case sealed. One of Pitt's lawyers, Lance Spiegel, told E! News that the judge declined to hold an emergency hearing, but agreed to review the issue in January.

City News Service; Photo: Georges Biard via Wikimedia Commons