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Santa Clara County Shows Why Parents Need Jury Trial Rights

30 May Santa Clara County Shows Why Parents Need Jury Trial Rights

Posted at 10:31h in No unwarranted governmental interference, Parents need jury trial rights in California, Promote settlement in our family courts by

Santa Clara County (SCC) illustrates exactly why parents need the right to a jury trial in family court. As one of the wealthiest counties in the nation, SCC has built a system in which court‑appointed professionals—custody evaluators, minor’s counsel, therapists, psychologists, private judges, and others—depend on judicial appointments for their income. And they expect to be paid well.

Over time, a pattern of collusion has developed between judges and these professionals. What began in Santa Clara County and Los Angeles County eventually expanded into the international Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), a network that is anything but “conciliatory.” Most AFCC members, who are not judges, earn money only when a judge appoints them to evaluate parents or make recommendations about custody and parental rights.

Parents’ own attorneys often encourage them to hire AFCC‑affiliated experts. Many of these attorneys later become judges themselves—retiring with full benefits—and once on the bench, they continue appointing the same AFCC members they previously worked with. Parents are then forced to pay for these court‑selected witnesses, even when the witness is being used against them.

It is, in effect, a highly profitable system and extremely damaging to the most vulnerable among us.

Audrie Pott

One of the most widely known cases is that of Audrie Pott, featured in the Netflix documentary Audrie & Daisy. Audrie’s biological father, Michael Lazarin, raised her through kindergarten. Despite this, the Pott family and their attorney claimed he was not her biological father—even though her birth certificate and heritage indicated otherwise.

Michael lost his parental rights because an SCC judge ruled that he had not “timely” asserted them while Audrie’s mother was married to someone else. As a result, Audrie grew up without the parent who loved her most. By high school, she was estranged from Michael, her bedroom door had been removed, and she had no trusted adult to turn to after being physically abuse at a high school party. Feeling completely alone, Audrie died by suicide. Michael continues to fight for justice—not only for Audrie, but to challenge the laws that allowed their voices and rights to be erased.
Alycia Mesiti

Alycia Mesiti was only 14 when she was raped and murdered by her father, Mark Mesiti, around August 13, 2006. Before her death, SCC family court had removed custody from Alycia’s mother because she showed “signs” of depression. Meanwhile, Mark—who had a long criminal record, including DUIs, bank fraud, and domestic violence—was withholding tens of thousands of dollars in child support and selling drugs.

Mark pushed for custody, not to parent Alycia, but to avoid accumulating more child support debt. SCC’s court‑appointed professionals testified against Alycia’s mother, and the court transferred legal rights for both children to Mark.

Mark had an attorney; Alycia’s mother did not.
Mark immediately moved the children to Ceres in Stanislaus County and began alienating them from their mother and extended family. As our organization has documented, it takes less than two years to fully alienate a teenager.

When Alycia disappeared, Mark’s family—despite having far more resources—did not search for her. 

Alycia’s mother was dismissed and demeaned, but she never stopped looking for her. Eventually, she persuaded a Stanislaus County detective to dig up Mark’s former backyard. Alycia’s remains were found there.

Years later, during Mark’s murder trial, the Stanislaus County District Attorney told the jury that the county wanted Mark sentenced to death. He ultimately accepted a life sentence instead.

The photo on this blog is Alycia before SCC Judge Vincent Chiarello gave her life to Mark.