Full text as submitted to legislators:

To: Legislators of Virginia,

My name is Mark Young. I'm an honorably discharged former marine, have a B.A. degree in social sciences (history, psychology and government) and have worked as a paralegal.

I have no criminal record, yet because this state has treated me worse than it does criminals as a non-custodial parent, I'm required to devote my life to ending the divorce industry and to appear before you today. My kids are grown, but I will forever be an exiled father and they will forever be exiled children. I was treated like a slave for sixteen years by the divorce industry, alienated from my kids, jailed for a total of 9 months, bankrupted and had my drivers license suspended all because I've fought to defend the U.S. Constitution.

I'm a member of Fathers United for Equal Rights, CRC, ACFC and Fathers for Justice. I record videos of parents who've been victimized by so-called family court judges and post their stories on my website, exiledfathers.org.

A child's world consists of his or her parents. The evidence is clear that two parents are better than one but this evidence is continually ignored by judges who destroy parent-child bonds. This is white collared child abuse.

The current winner-takes-all system promotes family breakdown by rewarding those who leave the home or who make false accusations which once made, set the wheels in motion to end a father's parenthood. An accusation, true or false, effectively yields the same sentence for a father: loss of his fundamental constitutional right to be a parent. The numerous violations of civil and constitutional rights and crimes committed by family court judges are listed below.

Neither should courts routinely order parents who seek legal redress into psychological evaluation or counseling any more than they should order them to attend a particular church. Secular priests - attorneys and psychologists - exact fees in a process like that of one centuries ago when sinners were required to pay indulgences to the church in order to be forgiven their sins and allowed into heaven. Most exiled parents have neither committed nor been convicted of any sin or crime that would legally deny them equal parenthood, yet they are "sentenced" to loss of parenthood and forced to pay extortion, so-called child support. Most cannot afford to pay the indulgence: high lawyer and psychologist fees of 10s or 100s of thousands of dollars.

The best interest of the child is to promote parental cooperation, which can happen only on a level playing field - with equal parenting. If neither parent can "win" custody to gain financial "rewards", the incentive to divorce will be eliminated and families will be given incentive to remain intact.

The game of determining a winner and loser, the game which drives profits for the divorce industry... must stop. Children deserve both fit parents. Equal parenting is the only solution - to level the field and respect the U.S. Constitution.

VIOLATIONS OF CIVIL AND CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND CRIMES COMMITTED BY FAMILY COURT JUDGES:

1) Denial of First Amendment Freedoms of Religion and Speech - parents cannot train up their children according to their beliefs when stripped of parental authority

2) Denial of First Amendment Right to Petition for Redress of Grievances - parents, mostly fathers, are denied justice in family courts - their petitions are denied or dismissed

3) Kidnapping - state sponsored stealing of children from fit, law-abiding parents

4) Denial of Fourth Amendment Right to Privacy - unsubstantiated accusations result in invasion of homes and stealing of children by police or child protective services without probable cause

5) Denial of Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment Right to Due Process of Law - including denial of the right to free counsel for poor defendants, denial of the right to take depositions, lack of evidentiary hearings, lack of notice, and improper standard of proof - with defendants being presumed guilty and being sentenced, like criminals, to loss of the fundamental constitutional right to be a parent

6) Denial of the Sixth Amendment Right to a Speedy and Public Trial - "temporary" orders in secretive unrecorded hearings usually become permanent orders. Justice delayed is justice denied.

7) Denial of the Seventh Amendment Right to Trial by Jury - heartless judges make the decisions to sever loving parent/child relationships, which no jury would allow, to ensure continual litigation and profits for the divorce industry

8) Violation of Thirteenth Amendment Prohibition Against Slavery and Involuntary Servitude - effective enslavement as non-custodial parents forced to pay extortion (so-called "child support")

9) False Imprisonment - in debtors' prisons of fit parents who do not or are unable to comply with the illegal extortion/"child support" orders

10) Denial of Fourteenth Amendment Right to Equal Protection of the Laws - Mothers initiate most divorces and are "awarded" sole custody in the vast majority of cases even though both parents are equally fit and loving parents, resulting in state sanctioned gender discrimination and child abuse - stealing one half of the child's world

11) Denial of Fourteenth Amendment Liberty Interest in the Family - established through numerous U.S. Supreme Court rulings upholding the constitutional right to be a parent

12) Fraud upon family courts - by judges and lawyers of the multi-billion dollar divorce industry for the purpose of increasing the amount of custody and family law litigation in contradiction of its alleged purpose - to strengthen and preserve families

Proposed Bill Language - Electronic Recording by Litigants

As a civil rights activist for children and parents, I cannot urge you strongly enough concerning the need for electronic recording in family courts. Litigants can now produce transcripts, if needed for appeals, at a fraction of the cost for traditional stenographer transcripts.

It is a shame that Virginians must plead with a judge for permission to record their own hearings. Electronic recordings help keep everyone honest in order to further the ends of justice, and will thus reduce both the need for appeals and the cost for transcripts when cases are appealed.

According to Fairfax County Circuit Court Clerk, John Frey, it will be a long time before Fairfax installs its own recording systems, if ever. All Virginians should be allowed to use available technology now. And, even if the courts eventually do provide their own electronic recording systems, individuals should not be deprived of the right to bring in their own compact electronic devices. It is now possible to burn CD or DVD copies of a recording for all parties inside the courtroom to avoid the possibility of fraud or mistake in subsequent duplications.

We should pass legislation to ensure the right to use either video or audio recording, but at least audio recording should be allowed. Bill Option #1 includes both video and audio and Bill Option #2 would be for audio only.

Proposed Bill Language - Electronic Recording by Litigants

Bill Option No. 1 - Electronic Recording - video and audio

The purpose for the legislation is to:

1) establish recognition of the available digital technology in order to greatly reduce the cost to litigants for recording hearings and producing transcripts from available software

2) establish the right of all litigants to video or audio record their own court hearings without having to obtain permission each time they appear in court, even if, or after such time that the court provides its own electronic recording service

3) allow litigants to produce, on site, exact duplicate video or audio DVD or CD copies of each hearing and to certify the same by court personnel, with copies to be distributed to the court and all parties before leaving the courtroom

4) establish procedure to notify court security screeners to allow litigants to bring recording devices and/or laptop computers into court buildings to record and distribute duplicate copies of video or audio recordings of their hearings to the court and parties in the case

OR, IN THE ALTERNATIVE,

Bill Option No. 2 - Electronic Recording - audio only

The purpose for the legislation is to:

1) establish recognition of available digital technology in order to greatly reduce the cost to litigants for recording hearings and producing transcripts from available software

2) establish the right of all litigants to audio record their own court hearings without having to obtain permission each time they appear in court, even if, or after such time that the court provides its own electronic recording service

3) allow litigants to produce, on site, exact duplicate audio CD copies of each hearing and to certify the same by court personnel, with copies to be distributed to the court and all parties before leaving the courtroom

4) establish procedure to notify court security screeners to allow litigants to bring recording devices and/or laptop computers into court buildings to record and distribute duplicate copies of audio recordings of their hearings to the court and parties in the case

NOTES TO POTENTIAL BILL SPONSOR:

1) At least three states, Kentucky, Michigan and New Jersey already have video recording.

2) Court stenographers do not have to obtain permission every time they appear for their customers. Litigants should have that same right whether or not they record their own hearings or hire someone else to record their hearings, ie., standing authority with no need to ask permission to record each time we appear in court and no need to pay high fees for court reporters and transcripts.