Heather Locklear Seeks New Judge

By: Shannon Gossage

The filing comes one week after Sambora filed similar papers alleging the judge initially assigned to the case was prejudiced against him. Locklear now claims the second judge assigned to the case is prejudiced against her. Lance Spiegel, Locklear’s attorney, filed the papers on Monday claiming that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Juhas was prejudiced against the actress and would prevent her from receiving "a fair and impartial trial or hearing."

Reportedly, the case will be reassigned. Locklear and Sambora are allegedly not really concerned about the judge’s objectivity, but are seeking to have their divorce case handled by a private judge. This seems to be the new way to get a Hollywood divorce and to keep the details of the divorce secret. With a private judge presiding over the case, celebs can avoid having the nitty gritty details of their lives made available to the media and public. Locklear and Sambora are following the suit of other celebrities who have gone or are going through a high profile divorce and are using or have used private judges. Among those that chose this route were Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, and Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards.

Locklear filed for divorce on February 2 citing irreconcilable differences. In the months leading up to the split, the couple both denied rumors of marital strife. Locklear is seeking physical custody of the couple’s daughter Ava with visitation rights for Sambora. The couple was reportedly trying to work on their marriage, but Locklear reportedly lost it after she found an intimate email that allegedly included some racy photos of Sambora’s ex-assistant.