This is a letter of Input for the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner’s report on violence against women and children in custody cases.

Laura Lynn Hammett

The litigation in my custody case culminated in my complaint sent to the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner almost a decade ago.

                It was like waking from a nightmare to see the call for input to inform the Special Rapporteur on this issue concerning violence against women and children. My thanks to God and the United Nations for focusing a light on the devastating practice of our courts in the United States of America of giving no respect to the women and children who report abuse, beg for relief and are retaliated against by the judges who are supposed to protect them.

                My struggle against the Court devoured 16 years of my life. There were several corrupt judges who presided, including Commissioner Alan H. Friedenthal (retired and deceased), Judge Elizabeth R. Feffer (retired), and Judge Marjorie S. Steinberg (retired). Mr. Friedenthal was a lifetime friend of an enemy to me, and I believe that, besides being an abusive man himself, he severed my parental rights as a political favor.

                Fox news did a story about Commissioner Alan Friedenthal called “Lost in the System: Imbalanced Justice” that can still be found on YouTube. My work writing about the court corruption was featured in the piece.

                These dishonorable people severed my parental rights completely. They then added insult to injury by charging me hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars for “child support”. I was gifted over $400,000 of non-liquid assets by my parents in 2009. Judge Feffer said this was my “income” and used the figure as an annual income to calculate child support. Eventually I was able to liquidate the property and had to give $279,000 to my former abuser, to reward him for separating my children and me completely.

                The California State Court of Appeals, California Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court did nothing to help us.

                “Luckily” my oldest son had behavioral problems that subjected him to juvenile court. We were blessed to have a good judge there who placed my then 17-year-old son with me 100% of the time. I was told that he would probably need to be institutionalized his entire life. Instead, he earned a college degree and is a wonderful father himself now. But he fell far below his potential for being a productive member of society. Before he was ripped away from me, he tested at the top of the charts for academic ability. Because of the lack of justice in our courts, he went to community college instead of MIT.

                My younger son and I had no communication for five years, from the time he was 13 until three days before his 18^th birthday. I am surprised I was not arrested and incarcerated when I violated the custody order those three days.

                My younger son, who is brilliant and has a sweet soul, has not finished community college. He wanted to be a doctor like my father or to write computer programs, but instead he delivers pizza and does light construction. He has earned a real estate license but cannot afford to support himself through the initial months before earning a commission. He has PTSD and struggles with feelings of abandonment.

                The worst damage is that we missed so much time together and my sons were taught that I abandoned them. No matter how illogical that is, considering that I took my fight for custody to the Supreme Court, twice, it is a permanent scar on their psyche.

                My older son also has a permanent physical scar above his eye from when his father punched him in the face. (He was tried on criminal charges, and found not guilty. Still he retained 100% custody of my younger son.)

                Eventually I was able to have the Committee on Judicial Performance convince the California Supreme Court to give a public admonishment against Commissioner Alan Friedenthal for the appearance of bias on my case. But the Draconian orders he and Judge Feffer made were left in place.

                Several other judges have recused themselves from cases where I was a litigant since then. Unfortunately, some not so honest judges refused to recuse and instead use their position of power to punish me further for speaking out against the politically connected judicial officer.

                Years have passed, but I am being tormented by Judge Janis L. Sammartino, Judge Todd W. Robinson and Judge Linda Lopez in a simple civil case in Federal District Court in the Southern District of California. I think it is retaliation for exposing the commissioner who was disciplined on my child custody case. I can think of no other reason three intelligent judges would ignore my most basic rights on the civil case.

                I am diagnosed with PTSD, in large part caused by the trauma of losing my children to an abusive man and being let down so terribly by the people who are tasked with serving justice.

                Thank you to the United Nations for any wake-up call it issues to the world. We need to stop these monsters from destroying the lives of our children and their loving mothers.