Please be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This is the case of<i>
Porter-Atkins v. Fisher.</i> Thank you, Jerome. Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day! Ms. Porter-Atkins, you say,
since, giving birth to your son Jeremiah
three months ago, the defendant has done nothing
to contribute to his care. You are tired
of the defendant's
paternity denial and claim he better step up
once these results prove he is Jeremiah's father,
is that correct? Yes, Your Honor.
That is absolutely correct. Mr. Fisher, you state,
you're certain you're not her child's father and say, another man
is claiming that Jeremiah <i> is his biological son.</i> Ms. Porter-Atkins,
explain to the court how the defendant's
paternity denial makes you feel. Your Honor, to be completely honest, it enrages me because he knows for a fact
that he's my son's daddy. I already st...
When I had came back
to Arizona I specifically told him
who else was I sleeping with, I slept with you, I didn't see
nobody else, but you, so how are you gonna
stand here and deny your son, he even look little like you,
so you... Like, look at him. Now, the forehead,
look at him! (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) FISHER:<i> Take it easy.</i> PORTER-ATKINS:<i>
Look at that forehead.</i> (FISHER LAUGHS) <i>You can't tell me
that's not him.</i> You can't tell me... I'm sorry, I realize you're passionate
about the similarities
you see but we know good and well
we can't go off of looks in this courtroom.
We just can't. But tell me
about this relationship. So, I was at work,
I was working at a fast food restaurant. I saw him,
I was on front counter, he was at the drive through,
he was lookin' my way,
I'm not gonna lie, he wasn't...
He wasn't ugly or anything,
you know, he had a couple of tattoos,
and I was feeling it like, I like dudes with tattoos,
I'm not gonna lie. So, I just so happened
to get told to walk out
his food. Oh, he was like, "You know,
you're really pretty." (FISHER CHUCKLES) I was like, "Oh, thank you."
He was like,
"Can I get your number?" I was like, "Sure, why not?" FISHER: So, I grabbed
her number, we was textin' and stuff, and she wanted me to
come up here
on her break. So, I come up on,
come here, on her... Her break, she... She's all on me,
she's kissing all on me... (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) ...she's touching on me. PORTER-ATKINS: Stop lying'. And first of all,
Your Honor... And it was... (OVERLAPPING CHATTER) JUDGE LAKE:
Wait, hold on, y'all.
Wait, wait, wait. This all happened
at the fast food restaurant? PORTER-ATKINS: No,
he's lying. Tell me. FISHER: Yes,
in the parking lot. And, and... She... She even
told me to bring a condom
just to be safe. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) JUDGE LAKE: Wait a minute! She said come up on my break,
and bring a condom? FISHER: Yes, she said bring
a condom just to be safe. It was the combo-special
they had. (CHUCKLES) (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) You said it was
a combo-special? Yeah, it was a com... (FISHER LAUGHING) (AUDIENCE CHEERING) Lord, Lord, Lord! Ms. Atkins... Porter-Atkins, Is this true?
I need to understand first... No. JUDGE LAKE:
Did it happen that way? It... It...
That are his allegations
that follow... Let me tell you
what actually happened since, you wanna be
a clown. Okay. No, I did not get down
and busy with you at
no parkin' lot... FISHER: No, you called me... ...because I've morals. Basically, when I had
texted him, it wasn't a
couple hours later, it was the next day and he was like, yeah,
cool, let's come kick it. That's the first time
we had our encounter. Now... JUDGE LAKE: So, "encounter"
means sex? Yes, and that was
in his bed... So... ...not at a parkin' lot. This is 24 hours
after he pulls up
at the drive-through, you all in the bed? Yes, ma'am, and that's
because I don't see myself being in a relationship with.
See, we both know
what we're here for. I'm not lookin' to be with you,
I'm not lookin' to be booed up. You know, I'm an adult,
you're an adult, I know what I'm here for,
I'm just trying to get it in
and leave just like guys do to us. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) Guys act like, that's the only thing
they can do, only guys can do that,
no, females can do it, too. Females can do it. MAN IN AUDIENCE: Yeah. But we always lose that game. WOMAN IN AUDIENCE: Mmm-hmm. And as a young woman,
you gotta be smart enough to be able to say,
"That ain't my game, "'cause I play game, I win." WOMAN IN AUDIENCE: Mmm-hmm. Right? If it's a game that's set up
for me to lose... I ain't playin'. And this is one of 'em. So, how soon
after this happened and you started
sleepin' together, did you find out
you were pregnant? We had a second encounter
after I had came back home
to Arizona. And it was on July 27th, and he asked me to send him
a picture of the dress I was wearin' that night
'cause I was gettin' ready. And I actually
have that for you. You have a picture? Yeah, well... You submitted to the court? Yes, ma'am, I sure did. And that night,
we were sitting in the car, we were talking,
I specifically told him, that night,
I'm on my ovulation cycle, today is a fertile day. If... If you slip up,
I'm gonna get pregnant. Right. Asked him if he had a condom, he said, "no,"
we still proceeded to have sex. When I found out
I was pregnant, they told me, I was
eight and a half weeks along, and they said,
possible conception
was July 27th. July 27th was you. She presented this has a photo
taken on July 27, 2017 at 6:54 p.m.
You said this is the photo that <i> Mr. Fisher asked you
to send him</i> and you believe
this is the night you conceived Jeremiah... Yes, ma'am. ...and that's the day. Yes, that is... I understand. Now, Mr. Fisher,
I wanna go to you, and give you an opportunity
to respond. We... It was an
on and off thing, like, she used to hit me up,
all the time, just to like, you know, chill, and get intimate. She was very
on-top-of the condom situation. I wanted to... I want...
I ain't wanna use a condom. There is some concerns
'cause... After we had that night,
she was talkin' and she was telling me
about how
all are sexual affair, she had a threesome.
(CLICKS TONGUE) And I was very concerned,
I had to grab a flashlight... (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) ...and flash it on her
'cause... (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) I just wanted to see
what I was gettin' myself into. (AUDIENCE CHUCKLE) JUDGE LAKE:
Boy, you're about crazy... (BLOWS RASPBERRY) ...standing up here testifying
about a flashlight... FISHER: I wanted to see... Hold on, uh-uh, uh-uh, listen, don't be silly,
'cause at the end of the day you didn't have sense enough
to know I need to wear that condom
regardless of what
it looked like... Yes, Your Honor. ...or what the light shows. We don't need to be having sex
without a condom. If you want more episodes
of Paternity Court Make sure to subscribe
and click on
the notification bell. JUDGE LAKE:
But you're saying
you did have sex with her on a certain night unprotected. I don't know what night, but... JUDGE LAKE: All right. PORTER-ATKINS: That's how
I know you're lying,
'cause you just don't... JUDGE LAKE: So, listen, listen. Take it easy. We know what happened
and we know it only
takes once, what I wanna understand
from you is, your other doubt. That I just wanna know... 'Cause it's...
It's multiple people
that was having affairs with her.
I just wanna know... JUDGE LAKE: So, you feel like, she was having sex
with other men. Oh, yes, that's what... How do you know that? Because she sat there
and told me in the car. Oh, she told you herself? Yes. And who are these people? She have a boyfriend
that I believe... I was single. No, you... You were... I was single. Keyword you said
was complicated... Try again. I said I was single
and I do what single people do. What you mean? I'm an adult.
I'm grown. Oh. Oh, I'm not... So, Ms. Porter-Atkins,
did you have a boyfriend?
Were you having sex
with somebody else in addition to Mr. Fisher? No, ma'am, I was not.
I was single, and he's the only man
I had sex with. The whole, from, when I left,
Memphis is on July 10th... FISHER: That's not what... ...to August 4th,
he is the only person I had sex with. I was not in no relationship,
I wasn't committed to nobody, <i>I wasn't even talking
to nobody.</i> <i>He's the only guy.</i> FISHER:<i> That's not what
she told me.</i> PORTER-ATKINS:<i> And for him</i> to stand up here
and lie, look... I'm not lying. Just repeating what she said. Let me... Let me explain
something to you, you deadbeat. Lemme just
explain this to you real fast. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) What you're now about to do
is play and make me seem like
I'm something that I'm not. Okay. Because, we both know that...
(SCOFFS) If anybody getting down and
dirty, it's you. And she didn't even call me
for delivery. She didn't even
put my name on it. 'Cause you don't deserve to be there,
my whole 40-weeks pregnant...
(CLAPPING TO CALL ATTENTION) My whole 40-weeks pregnant,
where were you? Every three to four months, you won't even call to ask
how I'm doing. (SNIFFLING) You didn't do nothing.
You didn't buy no Pampers,
no wipes, no bottles, I did that! Take it easy. Everything for my son,
I did! You ain't buy anything,
you didn't even check on him!
(CRYING) Ms. Porter-Atkins,
calm down. PORTER-ATKINS:
Jeremiah deserves
so much better than this. He deserves to have a dad,
somebody to be there for him, somebody to teach him
how to throw a football, somebody to teach him
how to change a tire. Somebody to teach him
how to be a man! (CRYING) I should not be
the only person there for our son. He told me himself, "I know he's mine,"
so, why would you stand here
and try to deny him? Why would deny him
the father that he deserves? Ms. Porter-Atkins, calm down.
(SIGHS) FISHER: Please. Mr. Fisher has said that he believes
you were with other people... That's... ...and that he knows
he may be a possibility but he doesn't believe
the child is his... FISHER: Yes, ma'am. ...because of other
sexual relationships
you were having. But, who are those
other sexual relationships?
I wanna know, because I don't know
these ghost people. The ghost people
you told me about when we were in the car. The ghost people... JUDGE LAKE: Well... Send me the receipt
of taxi then. What are you... JUDGE LAKE: Well, listen, this court
is all about receipts. And we have identified
a man who claims to be Jeremiah's biological father.
Jerome... (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) Please escort Mr. Tate in. (AUDIENCE MURMURING) Go right up there. Uh, he look like
the baby, too. See. Here you go. JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Tate... And I hope he's his
and not yours. TATE: Excuse me, ma'am. Please have a seat. Thank you for joining us today. This court is aware that you
believe you are
Jeremiah's biological father. Yes, ma'am. Tell the court
what your relationship
with Ms. Porter-Atkins is. Well, we met on Instagram,
I'd say 2015. We was
school best friends, We've been friends
for like a long time. We was talking and everything.
Our relationship
going fine, well. Then we ended up like, say,
we're having like, um, sexual intercourse
unprotectively. I ended up
getting her pregnant before. I was finding out she
ended up
having a miscarriage. JUDGE LAKE:
And then what happened? Basically, I also had
sexual intercourse with her befo... A day before
she left to go, like leave, I guess to go back
to Arizona. I think, that was, like,
the 9th. So, then I feel like,
put on, like, you know, probably like
a possibility he's mine because I know I had
sexual intercourse with her
before she left unprotectively. JUDGE LAKE: Understood. Where were you going? I was going back home
to Arizona. To Arizona, and that's where
Mr. Fisher was. So, the bottom line
is you had sex
with Mr. Tate, and then, when you got back
in town, you had sex
with Mr. Fisher. Yeah, couple of weeks later. So, from July 10th,
from me landing in Arizona to August 4th, I only had
an encounter with him, but before
I left, it was like,
a very emotional night. I'm not gonna lie, like,
our relationship just ended. I loved him to death,
I'm not gonna... I love... I love Jadrien. And I still do. He wants to be a father to Jeremiah
more than he does. And he's willing to step up
and take that responsibility. And I appreciate him
so much for that because Jeremiah deserves it.
He really does. (SNIFFLING) JUDGE LAKE: So, Mr. Tate,
when I hear you testify, I can see that you do
truly believe that this is your child. Yes, ma'am. Quite frankly, the time frame
you all are talking about
is very close in proximity. MAN IN AUDIENCE: Yes. Yes, ma'am. In this courtroom
that equals "doubt." Mr. Tate, you spoke
about your mother. Yes, ma'am. And I know that
you have confided in her and she knows something about
this particular case as well. And I'd like to bring her in,
and hear from her. Jerome, will you please
escort Ms. Tate
into the courtroom now? So, you can go on... On the inside of here. MS. TATE: (SOFTLY)
I'll be fine. Ms. Tate, thank you
for joining us today. Your son, um, Mr. Tate has testified
to the fact that he truly believes he could be
Jeremiah's biological father. What do you know about this? If you look at the timeline... Between the time Jeremiah
was born... And the last time
they slept together, being in the nursing field,
in the medical field, that's what I'm lookin' at. Your son submitted a calendar
that outlines the timeline. She had sex
with Mr. Tate, your son <i> on July 9th.</i> MS. TATE:<i> Correct.</i> <i> Jeremiah's birthday
is April 16th.</i> <i> In your mind,</i> that puts the window
of conception near the time when your son was intimate
with Ms. Porter-Atkins. MS. TATE: Yes, I've to say just because you've sex today
doesn't mean
you get pregnant today. You can get
pregnant tomorrow... From having sex yesterday. Honestly, I can't
say for sure, but we need to know, 'cause we want to know.
If Jeremiah is my son's <i>then, we want him.</i> And you've been looking
at these pictures... Mmm-hmm. ...every day you look at 'em? That's my baby. (LAUGHS)<i> I mean,
I see the resemblance</i> but then again,
I just don't know. <i>I just need to know
if he belongs to me.</i> All right. Thank you so much
for your testimony. You may have a seat here. Thank you. JUDGE LAKE: So, Mr. Fisher... Does any of this testimony affect your belief as to whether Jeremiah
is your biological son or not? I hope so, I still don't think
that's my kid. JUDGE LAKE:<i> You don't think
it's your child?</i> <i>No, to be honest.</i> There is just something in you
that doesn't believe it. Yes, I feel like... He'll probably be happier
over there. With Mr. Tate
as his biological father? FISHER: Yes. Why is that? Um, look, he's a... Look like
a respectable young man. Like... (AUDIENCE LAUGH) He does. Yeah, yeah, he look like he got his head
on his shoulder, so. I feel like that's his kid. Let's get the result. (SIGHS)
Jerome... (AUDIENCE CLAPPING) These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics and
they read as follows. "In the case of<i>
Porter-Atkins v. Fisher,</i> "pertaining to whether
Mr. Fisher "or Mr. Tate, "is the father
of the child Jeremiah, "Porter-Atkins..." It has been determined
by this court... The biological father is... Mister... Fisher. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) (PAPER RUSTLING) JUDGE LAKE:
You're the biological father. All right. Do you need diapers right now? WOMAN IN AUDIENCE: Oh! You keep te...
This is not a joke. (LAUGHING) It's my kid,
why can't I joke about him,
I'm pretty happy now. Like I know he's my kid,
why can't I... Don't you treat him
like a joke,
'cause it's not a joke. The whole 40-weeks
I was pregnant... It's how it is. I tried to tell you,
it's not funny. Listen, listen,
Ms. Porter-Atkins, the reason why we come here
is to get the truth. FISHER: Yeah. The reason why we get the truth
is so we know how to move forward. You came into this courtroom
saying you believe Mr. Fisher was your child's
biological father, <i> and he is.</i> <i> But I will say this,
Mr. Fisher did in fact
have a right</i> to be confused
about the paternity. And so, with that said,
the actions
you engaged in sexually they did produce
paternity doubt. But the real fact and the absolute truth is,
ultimately, Mr. Fisher is your child's
biological father. You gotta figure out
how to go forward in a different way.
And I will say Mr. Fisher, he been
a little bit silly but I didn't take
his statement of
"Does the baby need diapers?" as being disrespectful. I thought it was his own way
of saying... I'm... I'm in, yeah. ...this is my responsibility and I'm ready to step up. You know
when you carry this hurt and when you engage
in these activities, this is what
I want you to learn, remember I told you? As a young girl,
as a young woman, you do gotta learn we don't win this game. We never go out-sex boys. I don't want you
to do this anymore. So, going forward,
I want you to figure out
how to co-parent. You wanted him to be there, so Jeremiah could have a father
but now, you have to make room. Right? You gotta make space. And I wish you the very best
with your beautiful little boy, both of you, all right? I want you to go talk
to Dr. Jeff now, and take advantage
of the counseling and the resources
we have for you. Court is adjourned.
