Please be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This case is
of <i> Jones v. Houston.</i> Thank you, Jerome.
Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. Today's case is unfortunately
another one of these cases
about young love, and pregnancy. Ms. Jones, you and your
mother say you are tired
of the defendant's denial. He's the biological father
of your 6-month-old son and once the DNA results
prove your claim, you demand to be
reimbursed for baby
Lyric's child care expenses, is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Houston, you and your
mother believe jealousy
over your new relationship has led the plaintiff
to point to you
as her child's father, and you were convinced
the truth will be revealed
in court today. Is that correct? BOTH: Yes, Your Honor. Ms. Jones, where did
your relationship with
the defendant go wrong? Well, Your Honor,
he was so immature that I had to break it up, break it off with him
a week before prom. He let everybody in his ear,
he doesn't have a brain
for himself, he can't... Were you boyfriend
and girlfriend? JONES: Yes,
we were boyfriend
and girlfriend. In high school? Yes, ma'am. Mr. Houston,
do you think
for yourself? No. You don't.
Who thinks for you? (AUDIENCE LAUGH) Yes, you do, honey. Who thinks for you? Oh, I'm sorry.
Yes, I do. You do? Yes. Yes, my son thinks
for himself. They were, um,
she broke up a few
days before prom, it was not a week. It was a week before prom... It was two or
three days before. JONES: No, it was a week
before prom, Your Honor. We broke up because
she was getting confronted
of cheating on me. (LAUGHS) Boy, I never
cheated on him. I have never
cheated on him. But once I... They, his family
had him believe... I confronted her... ...that he was, that I was
the one cheating on him. It was mainly you
and your husband. So, who...you're right, because me and my daughter
were catching text messages
coming through your phone. What text messages? MS. HOUSTON: Um, you were... What text messages? ...answering the phone. Um, the one about
the gentleman asking about did you all have
a good time last night? It wasn't a text message
in my phone. And then you denied it. When my 14-year-old
daughter was sitting there? Ms. Houston, how did
you see text messages in
a high school girl's phone? Because she used
to let my daughter
use her phone, like, to play on. My daughter, like, uh,
she's 15 now, but she would
let her use the phone at my house sitting
on my couch, 'cause she to come... JONES: No. I never
let her daughter... ...and, so, she would
be on the phone... ...use my phone. She used to use my phone. She would bounce
the wifi and all... So, hold on,
one at a time. So, once the phone
would go off, my daughter would just
ignore it, ignore it... And all of a sudden
she came to me
and she said, "Mama, you won't believe
what came across, uh,
Ms. Jones's phone." <i> And I was like, "What?"</i> <i> She said, "Look,
a gentleman said,</i> "Did you have
a good time last night?" JONES: No guy
never text me. Bottom line is you're denying
their allegation that some
man was texting you, some other boy? I don't know why
they got that. When you two were dating
were you dating anyone else? No, I was with him.
I was faithful to him. So, you broke up
around prom, the time, right before prom? Yes. A week before prom. When did you find out
you were pregnant? I found out June 3rd
that I was pregnant. And then, like, once
I scheduled the date
for my actual appointment to see how far along I was,
I was a whole month pregnant. That's when I decided
that I didn't know if
I was gonna tell them because all the drama
that I went through
with being with him, and so, I knew that they
were probably gonna
deny my baby. Not one time. So, I waited. So, once you told them,
how did you tell them? I told them when
I was eight months 'cause that's... You told them when
you were eight months? JONES: Yes. HOUSTON: Told my mom. Told my mom... No, she called me
up on my phone. Because he didn't
have a phone
at the time, Your Honor, 'cause he didn't have a job. So, I don't wanna have
nothing to do with it. Yeah, he didn't
have a job... It's between you... So... ...and Mr. Houston. MS. HOUSTON: Oh, no,
I actually I just said
that last week when I heard... No, no, no. She's being,
she's being... JUDGE LAKE: One at a time! One at a time. Your Honor,
she's been this, like, disconnecting
herself this whole time. She's like, "Well, that's
between you and Nigel..." The whole time. "That's between
you and Nigel. So..." JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Houston,
have you, you stepped out
of the picture, you said it's between
her and your son? Yes, ma'am.
Because it's so
much drama going on. When you call somebody
eight months pregnant and say, "Hey, um,
I just found your number
in my old phone, "so, hey, you actually too
much drama, I didn't wanna
tell you I was pregnant." Oh, while I was already
treating a bad... No, no, no, no, no. I said that I was, like,
I'm eight months pregnant, it's a boy
and it's Nigel's. And then she was like,
"Well, why did you
wait so long to tell us?" And then I was like,
"Because after all the
stuff that I went through "with you and your family, "I decided that I wasn't
sure if I was gonna
involve you guys, "and then plus,
I had a hard
first trimester." So, I didn't wanna
involve myself with
all that drama. And, so, then,
she was like,
"Hold on, hold on. I'm gonna call you back."
And then she called me back, and then, she was like,
"Is this, are you doing this "because of his
girlfriend, Savannah?" And I was like,
"What does she have
to do with my pregnancy?" And then, she was like,
"Because that's who
she's dating now, "and she's pregnant also." I was like, "Well, that has
nothing to do with my baby." What does she have
to do with my grandson? What does she had to do
with my grandson? Wait, another girl pregnant? Yes, she didn't tell me
till she found out
she was pregnant. Yes, yes, Your Honor.
That's how it happened. How the heck I might have
known she is pregnant? How I know you was dating her? All of a sudden
the phone call came. HOUSTON: Yeah. Because, you know,
these two use to know
each other. And you are
18 years old, with two girls pregnant
at the same time? STRANGE: At the same time. No. Well, if you would
have known
the first one, maybe he wouldn't
have did
the second one. Oh, well, if you wouldn't,
if you all wouldn't have
gone through all that drama, if you all wasn't so drama... You know what,
you are a drama. JONES: No, no, no... You're not gonna talk to me or my children
about any kind... No, no, no, you... One at a time. (ALL ARGUING INCOHERENTLY) One at a time. I can't hear
you all when you're
talking at the same time. Your Honor, that's why
I told my daughter
to stop reaching out to Mr. Houston and his mother because she don't have enough
sense to teach her son
with respect any way. Yeah, They're very
disrespectful. And to take care of his... JONES: They was
disrespectful the
whole time... So, why would she
wanna deal with him? They would disrespect
for the whole time. When she said
she was pregnant, do you believe your son
thought it was his child? He didn't know
what to think because she waited until
she was eight months. I mean, what?
You can't just
throw eight months, and I'm about to have
a baby in a month and expects
somebody to jump
on ship with you, and be like, "Okay, great.
Let's go shopping." You know, Your Honor... JUDGE LAKE: Hold on. MS. HOUSTON: And I text
her and called her never
got a return call. Your Honor, I asked for
a DNA multiple times,
more than three times. 'Cause I already knew
that me telling them
at eight months that I was pregnant,
I already knew it's probably
gonna be like, some denial, so, I offered a DNA test. And then,
the mom was like... So, when did the co-worker
say somebody else
was the baby daddy? What co-worker? The manager said. The manager! Your Honor... The manager said,
"Oh, you're one of the guys that she's claiming
to be her baby daddy." Your Honor... (CHUCKLES) JUDGE LAKE:
Wait! What's the story? What the heck
is they talkin' about? MS. HOUSTON:
Ms. Hasty worked at (REDACTED) um, one of the
managers came in, and, um, saw
Mr. Houston and my son and said that, um,
is that one
of the guys that um, Ms. Jones
is claiming to be <i> her baby's father because
I guess she's, he's one
of the few?</i> He said that there
were multiple men
that she was claiming... Yes. ...were potential fathers? Yes. I'd like to hear from
your witness stand, ma'am. And state your name. Savannah Hasty. Ms. Hasty, you are
now Mr. Houston's... Girlfriend. ...girlfriend. And you also
have a child together? Yes. Okay. When you were working,
a co-worker told you
something about Ms. Jones. Am I correct? My manager did. What did they say? He seen Nigel come
and he said, "Is this the dude
dating Nakesha?" Then I say,
"Yeah, that's him." And he was like,
"The dude told me,
that's over there stalking," and he pointed him out to me,
it was like, that she told
him that she, he was the father
of her child too. How was I even supposed
to cheat or anything when
I was with him the whole time? When did I have time... I was working
the whole time... No, she was not! STRANGE:
He came to my house. So, when did I ever
have time to cheat? At school we were... Why would the store manager
just come out of the blue and say something
like that? JONES: I don't know. STRANGE: 'Cause that's
what she's saying. That is all made up, ma'am. I was with him the whole time. I wish it was made up
but it's not. And if they are smart enough,
they can do the math. I was, had the baby,
January 26th. It's not even about the math. But they can't even
do the math. No! It's about the multiple
men you have slept with. There wasn't no multiple men because you know
that I was with your
son the whole time. When did I have time? Let's get some order! Ms. Houston, you just made
a very strong allegation. You said that,
"It's not about the timing, "it's about the multiple men
you were sleeping with." Yes, ma'am. What other evidence do you
have that would suggest that Ms. Jones was sleeping
with more than one person? When she broke up
with my son, she dropped him
for another gentleman
to go to prom with. When we were actually
in the car with her, she answered the phone,
there was a gentleman
on the other line, she acted that she
did not hear it, and, um,
"Oh, you got
the wrong number." Um... Ooh! We have, um,
numerous of people
in the family that, um,
were hearing things. Mr. Houston, have you
played any role in Lyric's
life thus far? No. JUDGE LAKE: None. Have you seen him? No. You've never seen him? She won't allow us. JONES: They never tried. One family member
has seen the baby, and I would let
her see him, willingly. So, for them to be
like, I won't let
them see the baby... Why wouldn't I come by
to see him if he hasn't
come by himself? And every time
we set up a date for them to come
see the baby... Because Nigel can only
come by himself. They wouldn't even,
they wouldn't
even show up. It's the scene that's
playing out as why... As to why babies
don't need
to have babies. MS. HOUSTON: Yes, ma'am,
you're right. HOUSTON: True. I mean, it's just playing out. (APPLAUSE) STRANGE: That's true.
That is so true. It's like, you are
a living PSA. (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) No, really, for everyone
to see this is just so sad, and it's just
so disrespectful
on so many levels. If I close my eyes
I wouldn't know
who's the parent and who's the child. Your Honor, this wouldn't
be happening if he wasn't
trying to get me pregnant. He admitted to it. So... (AUDIENCE GASPS) He wanted a baby. Well, news flash
for you, sweetie. Someone can't get
you pregnant
if you protect yourself. (APPLAUSE) And at your age,
and his age, getting ready
for you prom, you should be getting ready
to go on to college. Figure out what you
wanna do with your life. Where are we now with this.
Now we've got two children, Ms. Hasty's
had a baby,
you have a baby. Ms. Hasty, is Mr. Houston
involved in your child's life? Yes. How old is your baby? Six weeks. Six weeks old. Was he there for the birth? Yes. <i> Is he on the
birth certificate?</i> HASTY: <i> Yes.</i> <i> So, you've been
there for this baby?</i> HOUSTON: <i> Yes.</i> But not for Lyric? No. 'Cause I don't know
if it's mine or not. And Ms. Jones,
that's the basis
of your suit, and why you're suing? Because you're saying
you've had to raise
the child thus far, and all Lyric's needs. Financially, you've had
to provide? JONES: Yes, ma'am. Totaling, close
to $3000, 2000... $2,819, ma'am. Have you brought
any evidence
to support that? Yes, ma'am. Jerome, can you hand
me that, please? You submitted
to the court a list of receipts as well
as the physical receipts <i> for clothes, diapers, food,
toiletries, toys, books.</i> Totaling $2,819
and furniture. Yes, of course,
we need that. Crib, et cetera,
am I correct? Yes, ma'am. You've not got one dime
of support from Mr. Houston? No, ma'am. You admittedly haven't
sent any money? Do you have a job? No. I go to school. What about after school? How in the world do you think
you're making babies in this
world and don't have a job? Who's supposed
to take care
of them? Me? No. How do you think
you cannot have a job? Yes, what? How do you... What? I can't hear you... It's called, no,
it's call excuse me, ma'am. Excuse me, ma'am. See, we're gonna
get it right in here today, I don't know who's teaching
you, but I'm gonna give
you a lesson... MS. HOUSTON:
I'm teaching him. Well, you're not. Because when
I say something... I am. ...the answer is not, "What." I understand... The answer is not, "What." Okay. You didn't teach him. I obviously did. You didn't teach
him correctly! But I am going to today... MS. HOUSTON: Okay. ...because what
he's not gonna do, is stand on this court room
and potentially have two
children at 18 years of age. Well, maybe if... No, no, no!
No, no. No, no, maybe
if he was required... MS. HOUSTON: Mmm-hmm. ...to get a job... MS. HOUSTON: Mmm-hmm. ...he would have one. Maybe if someone taught him... Education is more important. ...that when you,
no, no, no, honey. You can get
your education
and work. I've been working
since I'm 13 years old. (APPLAUSE) Hold on.
No, no, no, no. MS. HOUSTON: Yes, you can. Now we're gonna
go to school
on both levels 'cause I'll let you
do the talking. Okay. It's important for him
to get his education. MS. HOUSTON: Right. But if he is going
to continually sleep
with women unprotected and make children
in the world, he's gotta have a job. MS. HOUSTON: Oh, I... Hold on! I've started working
when I was 13 years old, and been working ever since! That baby
is how old,
Ms. Hasty? Six weeks. So, how do you
take care of the baby? I work. (AUDIENCE MURMURING) Uh-huh. How was that you think
you can't have a job? Uh, I didn't say
I couldn't have a job. Why don't you have one? I don't know. Are you applying? Yeah. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. (SNIFFS) And I'm going
to show you in
just one second. Children need guidance. Sometimes they need
tough love. Sometimes they need to be told
what is acceptable and what
is not acceptable. Sometimes they need
the expectations to be here, not lower to there. Let them reach
for the stars. Right? MS. HOUSTON: Right. When I corrected him... Mmm-hmm. ...the next time he responded
to me, he did it correctly because I corrected him. (APPLAUSE) The point is... He, it is possible for him
to be employed right now. MS. HOUSTON: Right. And he should be. We starting a bad pattern
we're going to break today. (AUDIENCE MURMURING) I'm ready for the results. (APPLAUSE) HOUSTON: Me too. These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics
and they read as follows. In the case
of <i> Jones v. Houston,</i> when it comes
to 6-month-old Sinclair Lyric, it has been determined
by this court, Mr. Houston... You... ...are the father. (APPLAUSE) JONES: Boom! Yeah. JUDGE LAKE:
Ms. Jones, Ms. Jones, don't act silly.
don't act silly in here. Oh. Oh. Don't! Don't do it. I know you feel
somewhat vindicated. I realized that, but this is not a time
to perform 'cause this
is not a joke. You're 20 years old, Mr. Houston
is 18 years old. You're at 18 years old,
you got a 6-month-old
and a 6-week-old, and no job. We must change this. Your son, what is your baby,
Ms. Hasty, a boy or a girl? A girl. So, they're brother
and sister. They deserve an opportunity
to know one another, to be able
to play together,
I saw that look. That's his sister. JONES: That's okay. And he deserves
an opportunity
to know his sister. He do. So, don't do that look
when I'm talking. Ms. Jones, you presented
receipts totaling $2819 for child rearing expenses
for baby Lyric. Mr. Houston, you have agreed
that you have not paid
anything to this point because it has been
determined that you
are his biological father. You do owe Ms. Jones
$1409.50
which is half of that amount. Judgment for the plaintiff. Court is adjourned.
