You may be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Good morning, Ron. This is the case o <i>
Baylor v. Earls.</i> Thank you. Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. Miss Baylor, you petitioned
the court for a DNA test. You want to prove
to your ex-fiance, Mr. Earls that he fathered your
three-year-old son,
Marcus Junior. Is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. You say Mr. Earls
called off your wedding just three months prior
to getting married because
of his paternity doubts? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Earls, you and Miss Baylor
have been together since you were 17 years old, and you believe
she's been unfaithful the entire relationship. EARLS: Yes, Your Honor. Today, you're
counter-suing Miss Baylor
for a lie detector test because you want
the entire truth. Yes, Your Honor. All right. Miss Baylor,
what have Mr. Earls'
accusations and denial done to your relationship? Your Honor, his accusations
have ruined our relationship. It has tore us apart. We have been together
since I was 17,
and he moved in with us, and then we had
two beautiful daughters, and then
after our third child, we decided that
we wanted to get married. And he called off
the wedding three months
before we got married. JUDGE LAKE: Really? And we planned everything. I had everything
picked out, Your Honor. I had a dress.
He bought me a ring.
Everything... Our wedding day
was supposed to be 12, 13, 14. Like, that was so significant. And it really hurt me for him
to do that, Your Honor. Can I submit this to you? What is that? This is my wedding planner. I had everything... JUDGE LAKE:
May I see that, Ron? BAILIFF: Yes, ma'am. So you really planned
an entire wedding? Yes. You had three children
with this man... BAYLOR: Yes, Your Honor. ...and I can see
that really hurts you. It hurts, like, so bad for him to not think
that my son is his. Like, I don't know where
these rumors came from, I don't know who started them, I don't know anything.
I love Mr. Earls. I wanna spend the rest
of my life with him. He's a beautiful little boy.
So, Mr. Earls... Yes, Your Honor. You certain this child
is not yours? I'm certain. I'm 100% sure
that that is not my baby. So, this had to be
really serious for you
to call off the wedding
just three months before. It was very serious. What happened? I went away on August 16, and Sondra came
and visited me, two weeks after I was gone. Uh, and she
gave me some news
that she was pregnant. Okay, I was excited... Come to find out a week later,
she visited me again, and she tells me,
"I stepped out on you "a month prior to the time
you had left." A month before I got
pregnant with my son, I did step out
on the relationship. I did. This was nowhere near
the conception date. This was a whole month
before I conceived. And when I told Mr. Earls
that I was pregnant, you know, he was happy,
you know? We were both happy, because we had
two miscarriages before that. Unexplained, you know? And it devastated us,
we wanted a baby.
We planned to have my son. And when he went away, he just feels that, you know,
the dates don't add up. I suppose. We didn't plan anything. Okay, do you know what month
you cheated in, Miss Baylor? July. Sure was. Because I got pregnant
in August. I got pregnant August 14. Let me go to my
conception calculator here
so I can understand this. When was Marcus Jr. born? He was born April 22, 2013. JUDGE LAKE: Okay,
now if we calculate
the date of his birth, your conception date
would've been... (JUDGE LAKE READING) Yeah, but he's
supposed to be premature. That's about a ten-day window. That's when
you said you cheated. I cheated in July, yes,
Your Honor, but that is not
when I conceived. My son was due May 7, but I had a C-section
due to... I had two other kids, my blood pressure goes up
when I go into labor, and I had to have a C-section. That's why
he was born April 22. Miss Baylor, you're saying
the baby was born early. And so, your conception date would actually
have been later than
what is projected here. Yes. Mr. Earls, do you think
the baby was born early? No, that baby
wasn't born early. She carried
that baby full-term. That is not true, Your Honor. You don't know no baby premature at six pound,
nine ounces. I know, that's a big baby. (AUDIENCE LAUGHS) I do agree. A six pound,
nine ounce baby? I mean that is a...
That's a full-term weight. EARLS: Yeah! Exactly, because
I was due May 7, I had a C-section which was
scheduled at 38 weeks. Our daughters weigh
five pound, seven ounces, five pound, eight ounces,
and they was full-term. All babies are not gonna be
born the same weight. All my babies is. No, they're not.
No, they are not, because... We're not going to get
into that, because we're here
to prove that my son is your son. EARLS: He is not my son. BAYLOR: That is your son. EARLS: Look, she
carried him full-term. She cheated on me in July,
the time adds up. She brought me
all the way down. I just want her
to tell me the truth. I wanna understand
why you are cheating
in the relationship. I just felt like
he was still lying to me. EARLS: She couldn't
close her legs. So you... Who was
this person you cheated with? His sister's cousin. So, this was
a one-night thing? A fling? What happened? It was a fling, maybe.
But not that long. Just a couple of times
and, like, that was it. A couple too many. But I used protection
when I stepped out,
unlike him. He has two other kids
outside of our relationship... ...that he stepped out
on me on plenty of times. I do. I do. She cheated on me
with the cable man. No, I did not cheat on him
with the cable man. He was a friend. Wait, when did
the cable man get in it? As soon as I went away,
the cable man came in. He was a friend.
He took me to get my kids
something to eat one day, and we went to go play pool
and have a few beers
at the bar, and I "cheated," supposedly. My brother also even
told me about some things. What did your brother
tell you? Oh, my brother told me
he caught her doing mysterious things
on her phone, talking to others,
talking about she wanna meet up with them,
and things. We have your brother
joining us today
from your hometown. That's good! JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Earls... Can you hear me? <i> Yes, ma'am.</i> Your brother has testified
that you've caught Miss Baylor in some very, uh,
questionable circumstances.
Is that true? <i> Yes, ma'am.
About three weeks
before, prior,</i> <i> before my brother went away,</i> <i> I caught Miss Baylor
texting another dude</i> <i> talking about how
she wanna have sex with him.</i> <i> The dude's picture
kept popping up on the phone.</i> Miss Baylor? Yes, I do flirt a lot. I do. I flirt a lot. Oh, God. Yeah, yeah. <i> More than a lot.</i> EARLS: Yeah, more than a lot. BAYLOR: That is a lie. But you were on the phone
texting a guy. BAYLOR: Yes, I was, but Marcus has done me
so much worse. Mr. Earls, do you know
anything else? <i> Uh, about two weeks
after my bro went away,</i> <i> we was having
a get-together at the house,</i> <i> and she was drinking,
having a good time.</i> <i> Next thing I know
she burnt off,</i> <i> and didn't come back
till the next day.</i> She came home the next day? PAUL: <i> Yes, ma'am.</i> Who did you see her
leave with, Mr. Earls? <i> A dude!</i> I left with my cousin, and that's probably who he's
seen me leave with, my cousin. EARLS: That ain't her cousin. Judge, she's
a compulsive liar. All right, Mr. Earls,
thank you so much
for your testimony today. <i> Yes, ma'am.</i> So, Mr. Earls, you say
she just lies. Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: And that's why
you asked the court to administer
a lie-detector test. Yes, Your Honor. Oh, I just had a light bulb, 'cause I'm thinking
to myself, he is so mad at her
for cheating, and it is wrong, but you were cheating,
and you got two children
outside the relationship, but what you're most angry at,
you're saying, "You told me the truth,
that you cheated," but you feel like
she's making up
this whole story about the baby being early, 'cause she doesn't wanna admit
that it's a possibility that this other guy
is the father. She's in denial, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: That's what's
making you most angry? Yes, ma'am. So, when you
found out she cheated did you
immediately have doubt? Yes, I already knew like,
it already... It clicked to me.
I was insecure. JUDGE LAKE: What clicked? That she cheated
and that's his baby. May I submit my evidence? Absolutely. What did
you bring for the court? It's just the picture to show
everybody in this court room that this is not my... Let me see that. That is not my son. You're presenting
to the court... ...a side by side photo. On the left-hand
side is Marcus Jr. EARLS: Correct. JUDGE LAKE: And on
the right-hand side... Is a picture of you. EARLS: Yes, Your Honor. You don't believe
you don't look anything alike. EARLS: Nothing alike. Okay, I have a question, how did the baby
get the name Marcus Jr. then, if you never thought? I felt bad.
I always wanted a son. I wanted a son with her. I felt bad. I mean she
crying in a hospital laid up with her guts
out on her belly. So, I was like, yeah,
you could give him my name. BAYLOR: Your Honor... JUDGE LAKE: So, wait a minute. You seem like
a strong-minded young man. EARLS: Yes, I am. How did you get to
the hospital and decide, "Okay, I'm gonna give
this baby my last name
as my Jr. "and I don't believe
he's mine." That's, man, I can...
Look, I don't know. I just know I made a mistake. Did you sign
the birth certificate? EARLS: I signed it. You signed
the birth certificate? When you signed
that birth certificate, you acknowledged paternity,
you understand that right? Well, hopefully,
this DNA can help me out. You know black women
like to put people
on child support, I ain't got time for that. BAYLOR:
You're not gonna pay... Hold on! Hold on,
'cause I'm a black woman. No. No. Well, certain ones. I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Hold on! Sorry, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Hold on! Sorry, Your Honor. Now we, look... We get to the
truth in this court room. Okay. JUDGE LAKE: Hold on! Let's get something straight. EARLS: Yeah, I'm back up... It's women of
all races and colors that are receiving
child support for children. But let me be clear the child support
is for the child. EARLS: Yeah. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDS) BAYLOR: Exactly. And then let me
be even clearer,
you did this. Once you sign
that birth certificate, you were responsible
for child support. So, don't come
into my court room talking about what
a black woman gonna do 'cause this black woman
gonna let you know. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDS) Now, I'm really
ready for the results. EARLS: Sorry. Ron, hand me the lie detector
results first. Your Honor. You were asked
during the last ten years, other than the one time
you admitted to cheating, have you
had sexual intercourse with another man? You answered, "Yes." The lie detector
determined that was the truth. That's because we split up. Yeah. Within that, we split up. A lot of times, we split up. Ms. Baylor, we asked you, did you have
sexual intercourse with the man you admitted to cheating on Marcus with
more than one time. You answered, "Yes." Wow. The lie detector
determined that was the truth. Wow. I just mentioned that here,
I've nothing to hide.
I mentioned that. Mr. Earls, you seem surprised. She did
testify in court today that it was kind of a fling.
It was more than one time. Yeah, well, that ain't
what I've been hearing for the last three years. JUDGE LAKE: So, you're saying even though it was determined that she was
telling the truth, the answer she gave to
the questions are different from what's
she's been telling you? Yes, Your Honor. And that's why you
called off the wedding. That's exactly why
I called off the wedding. To be a man that's
always wanted a son, to be excited about it, to go in the hospital,
to give this child your name, to sign the birth certificate to be legally
responsible for the child, why is it, you haven't been able to... It seems like
you've done everything else. I wanna give
him the opportunity
to know his father. He knows his father for the... I grew up
without a father, okay? I've been here for him, okay? But I wanna give
him that opportunity. If you're not the
child's biological father, is this relationship over?
Where do you go from here? It's over, she, she, look,
that lie detector test... She passed it cause I mean, I already knew she was
lying to me all this
whole time, anyway. She passed it though. You said the
relationship is over if Marcus Jr.
is not your biological child. EARLS: Correct. But you had two children
outside the relationship,
and she stayed with you. EARLS: She did, Your Honor. Ms. Baylor, what are
you thinking right now? What are you feeling? I feel that it is
so unfair because... I've been
with him for so long. I'm the one who's been there, but he can have babies
by other women, and then
always run off to them but you wanna leave me? But my son is his.
They look so much alike. You can tell, like,
I wanna be with Mr. Earls for the rest of my life.
I love him. He's the only
man I know since... 17 years old.
I was young. Like, he is all I know. JUDGE LAKE: If Marcus Jr.
is not Mr. Earls'
biological child, where do you go from here? I mean, I would love
to be with him but I can't make somebody stay
if they don't wanna stay. Even though,
I did step out, yes, but I was there for him. All right.
Well, I have the results. Let's get to the truth. In the case of<i>
Baylor v. Earls Sr.</i> When it comes
to three-year-old Marcus Earls Jr., it has been
determined by this court... Mr. Earls, you... ...are the father. I told you. I told you. I have my doubts,
I have my insecurity. But I do love
that little man. JUDGE LAKE: And I'm sure
he loves you too. You're the only man
he knows as his father? EARLS: The only one. Then does it hurt you
in this moment that you did carry that doubt for
three, four years of... Yeah, that's what's
killing me right now. I'm sorry, and
I'm sorry to you too. I'm sorry, too. JUDGE LAKE: This is... ...a time for you to
stand up and be the man, the best man you can be. You're right, Your Honor. When you give
a child your name, there's a
responsibility in that, because when
he looks to the example of who he can be
in this world, his first
point of reference is gonna be the
man that has his name. So that means,
it's time for you to create that life
so your son can have a life
he can emulate. That's how
you break the cycle. That's how you make sure
he doesn't end up in the places
where you've been. If you all are
gonna build a family, or try to
figure this thing out, you got to set
a proper foundation. All this sleeping around
outside the relationship... No, no, no. It's time to
pull that all together. Talk through it, because I can tell you do both
love one another very much. I do love him. I do love her. JUDGE LAKE: And love
is worth fighting for. EARLS: Yes, it is. Go fight it out in a
good way this time, together. Court is adjourned.
