Ms. Billingsley,
you claim you alone have shouldered
the burden of more than $10,000 in childcare expenses, all because the defendant denies paternity
of your daughter and refuses
to help support her. Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE:
You're suing Mr. Broadnax for half of those costs, in the amount of $5000 and claim today's
paternity results will prove you right. Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Broadnax, you agree you've not done
a single thing... Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE:
...for one-year-old Bailey. You argue that
it's only because
Ms. Billingsley cheated on you,
and you don't believe you are her
daughter's father. Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE:
So Ms. Billingsley, please explain
your lawsuit. Yes, ma'am, Your Honor. So my daughter
is now 21 months, and I've been taking care
of her since day one. For example,
for her first birthday, um, me and Mr. Broadnax
had decided that we were going
to do her birthday party, and I had decided
that we were going to...
(VOICE BREAKING) I'm sorry.
Just seeing her
breaks my heart. Um, I'd decided that I was
gonna take her to the zoo and customize her cake, customize her outfit,
everything for her. Go all out
and beyond for her. Um, when it came
down to the date of ordering those things, Mr. Broadnax went MIA. I couldn't find him.
I couldn't get ahold of him. Um... Messages on Facebook... Everything you could
possibly think of to try to get
ahold of him... BROADNAX: Your Honor. Tell her... BILLINGSLEY: To go ahead... You should tell her
what I have done. Your Honor... What he has done for me, Your Honor, is in the beginning
of my pregnancy... BROADNAX: I'm not gonna
take care of a child that might not be mine,
Your Honor. My first trimester, was very difficult. BROADNAX: I'm not
a deadbeat. I bought her a house... When she told me
that she was pregnant I'd got her a house. I got her a car
and everything. BILLINGSLEY: He did. And that was the hardest
thing for me, because I've
always worked. I've always
supported myself, and when he would
tell me those things, I thought he was
going to do it, and he did. He did it.
In the first trimester
of my pregnancy, it became very difficult. I was almost
unable to walk. It almost felt like
I was paralyzed. He did everything for me. He served me... BROADNAX: I would
rub her feet, I'd rub her stomach. BILLINGSLEY: He did. He did. I talked to the baby
through the stomach. I'd do everything,
Your Honor. BILLINGSLEY:
He did. Absolutely. We planned this baby.
She was planned. When it came down to... When it came down... Your Honor.
She skipped town with, uh...
With my baby... I did. ...supposedly my child... I did. ...and she's so
quick to skip town. I did. I did,
because of the fact that, one,
there was suspicion that he was
cheating on me BROADNAX: There was
suspicion she was cheating. Two... Not me.
There was suspicion
she was cheating. That's why the baby
might not ... JUDGE LAKE: So wait. I'm hearing all these stories about you two planning this baby, and being together during
the pregnancy. What exactly happened
that changed it? There were rumors of cheating? BILLINGSLEY: There were
rumors of cheating. I was three weeks
pregnant when I found out
I was pregnant. It was very early
in my pregnancy. I found out.
I was excited. The first person
I called was Mr. Broadnax
to share the news. Because I couldn't
have been more happy that I was about to
have my family. And then,
it came down to him moving back
and choosing to party constantly. It was constant. No, Your Honor. And when I realized how constant it
had become, I requested it to stop or I was going to leave. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Mr. Broadnax. Yes, Your Honor. Did you hear
her testimony? BROADNAX: Yes. Is that true?
What happened? No, Your Honor. Okay, okay. I'm gonna start
from the beginning, okay? All right, we met
and it was... It was just
a quick process. We met, started talking, and then, she told me
she was pregnant. Just like that,
it happened. Just like that. So when she told me
she was pregnant, I was... I was, uh... I wanted to man up. Be the father or... Know what I'm saying?
Just man up. And then, what made
me start doubting, is I see text messages... And once I had
the baby, he didn't
do anything. I see text messages... He didn't do anything
for her after that. Because it might not
be my child. I'm not paying for
another man's baby. Look at that baby. Look at that baby. Are you gonna tell me
she's not yours? But there are days
that he will deny her, and there's days
that he'll claim her. When did you
start doubting? Because if you're getting
houses and cars, and going to
doctor's appointments, what changed everything? I started doubting,
Your Honor, when I... I was just... Just chilling at
the house, just... And then I heard
her phone go off. So I picked up her phone,
and she was messaging her
ex-boyfriend. I'd seen a message,
"Hey, hey"
and a "I miss you." That's as far as it went,
but "I miss you." If you're missing
your ex, who else you missing? And then, and then, okay. My friend went to college,
the same college that she went to,
the same school. That's all I told her,
"Go to school." And my friend said
he'd seen her in a circle with like 3 or 4 dudes,
all bubbly, laughing,
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Having a good time. I'm sorry, I didn't
know that colleges... But then... But then... ...only consisted
of females. BROADNAX: But then...
But then... Okay. But she's all bubbly in front of males
and everything, and then when
she sees my friend, she's just straight face... Am I not allowed to have... ...and walks away. Okay. ...friends that are male? Bubbly in front of males. BROADNAX: Okay, but if...
But if... I need more doubt than
that, Mr. Broadnax. BROADNAX: No,
if she's texting... Bubbly in front of
males is not gonna... I'm bubbly. I'm bubbly. If she's texting her ex
and texting her ex, missing her ex,
being flirtatious in
front of other dudes, who else is
she being... BILLINGSLEY: An ex that I... Who else is
she talking to? So, did you ever
hear a rumor that she was actually
sleeping with someone else? No... No, Your Honor.
Just my doubt. Was she with anyone else,
to your knowledge, during the time
of conception? Yes. Yes. JUDGE LAKE: Really? It was... It was
just earlier. JUDGE LAKE: What is
your proof of that? I have evidence
right here, Your Honor, stating the conception date... JUDGE LAKE: Jerome, can I
see that evidence, please. Conception dates,
mind you, Your Honor, that are estimated. These are estimated. As you can see,
her window of
conception was between early April, mid-April, from the 10th
to the 18th, I believe. And then, that's
my work schedule I was out of town from
the 6th to the 19th. You were away for almost two weeks. BROADNAX: Two weeks. Okay. So when you started
having doubts, you went to
a conception app. Yes. And so you entered
Bailey's birthday which is January 5, 2013... BROADNAX: Yes. ...and then when
you generated a estimated conception date, it came up as April 10th through the 18th which was... When I was out of town,
Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: ...the exact
time you were out of town. Yes, ma'am. BILLINGSLEY: These dates
are estimated, Your Honor. BROADNAX: Not only
that, Your Honor... Okay, so,
we were together... I've got her a house,
as I said, about 3, 4 months,
it started getting rocky. We started arguing a lot. Her claiming
I was cheating, me feeling
she was cheating. Uh, DNA test,
when I brought that up, she would always, uh... That is a lie,
Your Honor. BROADNAX: She would
always get defensive just like right now. BILLINGSLEY: That is a lie. BROADNAX: You see
it right now. When he would request... BROADNAX: She'd always
get defensive. No. When he would request the DNA test, I told him, "Absolutely, there's
no doubt in my mind. "Let's go. Let's do it." BROADNAX: That's a lie,
Your Honor. She's always refused. BILLINGSLEY: You wanna
have DNA test? I'd be more than
happy to prove. So Bailey's almost
a year and a half. Why haven't you had a DNA test? So when I told him... When I told him
to go ahead and request the DNA, uh, the DNA testing
in court, he wouldn't do it. He wouldn't follow through. So why was it that I, if you're the one
who wants the DNA test, why don't you
go request it? I know who
my baby's dad is. I know who the father
of my child is. I don't need a DNA test. So if you're requesting it,
why didn't you go? When he didn't... Why didn't you go,
Mr. Broadnax? No, Your Honor.
She was out of state, and I always told her... She never wanted
to do a DNA test. I'd always tell her,
she'd get defensive. I have been doing this
on my own from the beginning. BROADNAX: While you do
this, you haven't even... I have proof,
Your Honor, that shows... BROADNAX: Because I have
doubts, Your Honor... I have spent over...
Almost $10,000 on this child alone
being 21 months. That's almost
$500 a month. I'm 21 years old
and a single mother. And you say
he's done nothing. BILLINGSLEY:
He's done nothing. BROADNAX: But I have. When he said
he would do it, it was his mom paying. So your testimony
is he's done absolutely nothing
for this child. No. I have proof, Your Honor.
I've submitted pictures to the court... JUDGE LAKE: Let me
see your evidence. ...showing a few
basic items BROADNAX: Okay. ...that I have
purchased for her. Thank you. BILLINGSLEY: These are
only a few photos of the items
I have sent. <i> I have submitted
to the court</i> <i> over 75 pictures</i> <i> of proof of the items</i> <i> that I have
provided to her.</i> She told me on
numerous occasions that the baby
is not mine. That is a lie. You have never
told me the baby wasn't mine? I never told you that. Ms. Billingsley, you've never
ever in anger, anything... You've never told him
this is not your child? No. BROADNAX: She's lying,
Your Honor. I have
a relationship now, and that's when
she really wanted... You have
a relationship, but you sure didn't... Yeah, I've been... He sure didn't
have a problem laying me down
the other night, did you? She's lying,
Your Honor. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) I'm lying? JUDGE LAKE: Um... So you're in
a relationship,
Mr. Broadnax? BROADNAX:
Yes, Your Honor. But you were intimate with Ms. Billingsley
the other night? No, Your Honor. No, Your Honor.
She just... I'd guess its jealousy.
I don't know what it is,
Your Honor. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Billingsley,
was he intimate with you? Oh, I will... I will
take a lie detector
test on that one. If she's... (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) If she's my baby,
Your Honor, I'm not a deadbeat.
I will man up... Jerome, you think I should send him
back for a lie detector test? (AUDIENCE CHEERING) The "Ayes" say yes. JUDGE LAKE: Well, all right. BILLINGSLEY:
Perfect. Good. (SCATTERED LAUGHTER) If Bailey is your
biological daughter do you want to try to
work things out
with Ms. Billingsley? BROADNAX: Man,
Your Honor, that... That's hard 'cause... (SCOFFS) ...I know we have
past conflicts, but... If it is my child, I would
want to build a family with... With this woman. (SOBBING) (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) (AUDIENCE CLAPPING) JUDGE LAKE: Does your
girlfriend know this? (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) BROADNAX: No, Your Honor. Well, Jerome, I don't think we need
a lie detector test now,
do we? (AUDIENCE CLAPPING) (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) BROADNAX: Man. You can put that
in the bank and cash it. I can see it
in his eyes. Yeah. (JEROME LAUGHING) JUDGE LAKE: How do you feel? (SOBBING) Hurt. Lied to. And not trustworthy. I don't trust him. Knowing that he can sit there and have sex with me while he's in a relationship
with another woman. But did you know he was
in a relationship with the other woman
when you had sex with him? I did. JUDGE LAKE:
Well, then that... BROADNAX: Come on,
Your Honor. BILLINGSLEY: I did. You know, truth, honesty, they're two-way streets. Oh, I know. Absolutely. JUDGE LAKE: Trust... Absolutely. But if he's willing
to do that to her, why doesn't it make me
believe that he would
do it to me. That he's standing
here saying that... Your Honor... ...he wants
to be a family... Then start doing
something for your
daughter. BROADNAX: If we could work
out our conflicts... If we could work out
our conflicts, so once we get this
DNA test back... What are our conflicts other than the fact
that you won't take care
of your child? I want the DNA test. I wanna know 100% sure. BILLINGSLEY: And that's
what I'm saying. That's what we're
here for, Your Honor. Other than that
what conflict is there? The only way to get past all of these doubts
is to get the results. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) (BILLINGSLEY SOBBING) Mr. Broadnax, you have a relationship
on the line right now. Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: And you
may, in fact, find out you have
a beautiful daughter. Yes, Your Honor. Ms. Billingsley... BILLINGSLEY: (SOBBING)
Yes, Your Honor. You gave Bailey
his last name. I did. (SNIFFLING) I did. JUDGE LAKE: And is he on
the birth certificate? Did he sign
the birth certificate? No, Your Honor.
I've submitted a picture of the birth certificate showing that he's not... BROADNAX: I wasn't able to see
her get born or none of that. Because he wasn't
there for the birth. JUDGE LAKE: <i> Ms. Billingsley,</i> if he's not her
biological father will you change her name? Yes. So is there a chance
he's not her... (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) ...biological father? Since we're in court,
we might as well go on ahead and tell truth
and shame the devil, that's what I say. BILLINGSLEY:
Absolutely, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE:
So there is a chance? There's...
I had doubt at first due to the fact that... (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) WOMAN: What's happening? Due to the fact that when he was
out of town and we were
constantly fighting... AUDIENCE: Oh. I did call somebody, and one thing
led to another. It was not meant to happen,
but it was not in any time frame of the conception date. When I had her,
there was no doubt. There is no doubt at all that that child is not his. They look alike. She has traits
that he does... But when he was
presenting his calendar of when he worked versus when the conception
dates were, I see you said... Your testimony was,
"And that's just
an estimation." BILLINGSLEY: Mmm-hmm. So when you say you weren't intimate
with someone during the window
of conception is that an estimation? (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) That's an honest question. No. It's not an estimation. It's... It would have
been too far... Too farther ahead to have had her in January. BROADNAX: Your Honor,
she only calls for money. I just want these DNA results. She only calls for money. As again... She's the liar. BILLINGSLEY: I only call
for money for you to... Hold on, Mr. Broadnax, before you get up on your soapbox and start
pontificating. BILLINGSLEY:
You ain't innocent. You just said you want
to be with her if the
baby was yours. So you just leave
well enough alone... BROADNAX: No, if we could
work out our problems... ...and get these results, which I have for you. Are we ready? BROADNAX: Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: These
results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. In the case of<i>
Billingsley v. Broadnax,</i> pertaining to whether Arthur Broadnax is the father
of one-year-old Bailey Broadnax. It has been determined
by this court, Mr. Broadnax, you... ...are the father. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Okay, Your Honor,
with that being said, I'll man up,
step up to the plate... BILLINGSLEY: Step up. ...and start taking
care of my daughter. She needs her father. But I need
time with her. Not just money.
You need to let her
stay with me for... For time,
not just send money. (AUDIENCE CLAPPING) JUDGE LAKE: Listen. Before we get to where we go from here. You submitted expenses, childcare expenses
to the court that total $10,444, this court finds that Ms. Billingsley
is, in fact, entitled to half of those childcare expenses. However, the maximum
this court can order is $5000. So with that said,
judgment for the plaintiff for $5000. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Miss Adams, you say
you're here today regarding a matter
of extreme urgency. Yes. Now, your son,
Mr. Adams is joining us via satellite from
Flint, Michigan because he's been prohibited
by law enforcement from leaving
your home state. You claim he's on the verge
of being arrested for back
child support and you're both with us today
to prove he's not the father of the defendant's
three-year-old son in an effort to keep
him out of jail. Yes, Your Honor. Now, Miss Williams, you say Mr. Adams
is indeed your baby's biological
father and you argue his legal issues
are his own fault because he never stepped
up for his son. Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Adams is joining us
from WBSF 46 CW
in Flint, Michigan and we'll hear
from you in a
moment, sir. So, Miss Adams,
please tell
the court why things have
gotten to this dire point for both
you and your son. Your Honor, my son
is now facing jail because of
this situation. This very moment,
you're concerned that
he could be arrested for failure to pay
child support... MISS ADAMS: Yes. ...for a child
that both of you
have doubts is even his child. True, Your Honor. Mr. Adams... <i> Yes, Your Honor,
I can hear you.</i> All right, so,
enlighten me
on this situation. You were in
a relationship
with Miss Williams. <i> Uh, no, I really
wouldn't call it
a relationship.</i> <i> You know, I met her
at a house party.</i> <i> She tried to have
sex with me on
the first date,</i> <i> so that was the judge
of character
right there.</i> JUDGE LAKE: But you
weren't in a
committed relationship? MR. ADAMS:<i>
No, Your Honor.</i> So, Miss Williams,
when you met Mr. Adams, did you intend
this to be a
committed relationship? I mean, no. We was...
We was young
at that time we hooked up on and off
and you know,
it just wasn't... So, it was just
an on and off thing. It was just
an on and off thing. So, if it wasn't committed
during that time, were you also sleeping
with other men as well? Yes, ma'am, I was. JUDGE LAKE: Without
using protection? Yes. JUDGE LAKE: All right, so,
the doubts that Mr. Adams and his mother have,
they are valid doubts. It's a possibility.
I never, you know, said,
"Oh, you are the father" or "You're gonna take
care of this baby" or
nothing like that. And yet, he's sitting now
in Flint, Michigan <i> nervous that he could
be arrested at any point</i> <i> for child support</i> for a child everybody agrees
may or may not be his. I asked him twice
to get the DNA test. Mmm-hmm. He said, "I'm hungover."
He was giving me
excuses basically. So I took it upon myself
to get help with the DNA test. It wasn't for
no money at all. I said I'll pay for
DNA test myself. You ain't gonna come
out of pocket. That part is not
my fault. But that... So take me back.
I need to understand these details. WILLIAMS: Mmm-hmm. You tell him
you're pregnant. Yes. What happens? Me and my ex were still
trying to make things work and we were still
messing around. You know, me and my
ex both felt like, "Oh, you're...
You're the father"
or whatever. So we just went through
that whole year
I was pregnant. I didn't mention him
about the baby until I found out
it wasn't my ex. So, when you
got pregnant, you
didn't even include Mr. Adams
in this equation. No, I didn't. You thought it
was your ex's. Yes, yes, I did. And your ex said,
"Well, it's mine too" and you all went
through this
whole process but then,
you had a test. Yes. It was not your
ex's, so
immediately then, you said it
was Mr. Adams'. Yes. I located him
and I told him,
"It's a possibility "that you may be
the father of John." Okay. But you said,
"I don't want
child support. <i> "I don't want
any of this,"
but it got to the point</i> where you needed
help and so you
went to the state. Yes. And then, during
that time, you had
to name who the potential
father could be... Yes. ...and you gave the
state his name. Yes, I did. AUDIENCE: Oh! And then, he was
ordered to go
to court. Yes, he was. Mr. Adams,
did you go to court? <i> Uh, no, Your Honor,</i> <i> only due to the fact
that I was incarcerated,</i> <i> so, I didn't receive
any court subpoenas,</i> <i> anything, Your Honor.
I was incarcerated.</i> So, you didn't
show up that day and you were deemed
the father by default. Miss Adams? Yes. Tell me how you
heard about all this. Uh, my daughter was
kind of close to her.
They work together and I overheard
a conversation
on the phone. I guess they were supposed
to meet or whatever and she must have met up
with some guys... WILLIAMS: That's a lie. But the other conversation
came about, in my very own living room while I was
in the kitchen. And she and my daughter
was talking and the question
came up again... Was my son the father
of the child? <i> And she said, "No."</i> WILLIAMS: <i> That's a lie.</i> MISS ADAMS: <i> Actually...</i> JUDGE LAKE: <i> So, you heard
her saying "no."</i> MISS ADAMS: <i> Yes, she said
"no" in my living room</i> and she's over there
talking about it's a lie and she was in my very
own living room when she said it.
She and my daughter... I would've never
came to your son. Possibility is
a possibility. I never said "no"
and I never said
he was the father. You said "no."
Another situation... We was in
a department store, and I seen her,
she was with a guy, she was around
nine months pregnant, and I asked her
to, um, sit down and talk to me for a minute. She said, "I'm positive
that that's not your
son's child." That's a lie. JUDGE LAKE: Did you tell
her that, Miss Williams? No, that's a lie.
She never seen me when I was pregnant. Yes, I did. So, you don't remember
this happening? Matter of fact,
I'll take that back. I wasn't nine months
pregnant, I was still
in the middle of the pregnancy and that's when I told you
of when I was with my ex and I thought it was
my ex at the time 'cause I was still
messing with my ex. That's what the agreement
was between me and my ex
at the time. So, you said it's not his. Yes. But you understand
why this could then, make her doubtful. Yes, I do. First off, when I was dancing,
the only person that ever watched my kid
when I was dancing
was my mom most of the time. You're lying 'cause you said your
mother didn't like you... A lot of the time. A lot... ...and wouldn't watch
the child. I was staying with
my mom at that time. My mom would watch
my son while I go to work. So, now what are you
doing for yourself? Right now I work
in Memorial Hermann
in Houston, Texas. JUDGE LAKE: So you have
a job. Yes, I have a job. And you're trying
to better yourself. WILLIAMS: Trying to
better myself, yes. And get your life
together for your child. Yes, I am. That's what I wanna hear. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) <i> And, Mr. Adams,
was it your understanding</i> that you may be the father
or that you were the father? <i> Well, Your Honor,
after she had</i> <i> her ex-boyfriend tested,</i> <i> she basically was trying
to come at me</i> <i> like I was the father.</i> That's a lie. I said "a possibility." <i> She said it was
a strong possibility.</i> JUDGE LAKE: You didn't
believe that? <i> No, Your Honor.</i> Why? <i> Because, first off,
she had already told me</i> <i> that the baby wasn't mine.</i> <i> Then she named the baby
after her ex-boyfriend.</i> Right, but, Mr. Adams,
you hear her testimony. She said she told you
it wasn't yours because even though
it was a possibility, she and her boyfriend
had decided they were gonna work it out between
the two of them but then she had the
boyfriend tested and the baby wasn't his. So, do you understand
why she didn't come to you or you feel like there's
other people in the picture
as well? <i> Well, actually, Your Honor,
I do feel like there was</i> <i> other people as well.</i> What evidence do you
have to suggest that? <i> My mother told me
that she talked
to Miss Williams</i> <i> and that Miss Williams
stated that she had</i> <i> some other guys
tested as well.</i> (AUDIENCE MURMURING) That was my ex
I had tested. It
wasn't no other guys. It was just one. So, Mr. Adams,
Miss Williams is claiming that she asked you to take
a DNA test. <i> Yes, that's correct,
Your Honor, she did.</i> Why didn't you take it? His excuse was he had
a hangover, he couldn't get up.
He was basically
being lazy. No, my son was
in jail. My son
was in jail. No, this was before
he had got locked up. I asked him twice. No, he was in jail 'cause I had the paper sent. This was before the lock up. I had the paper sent
to jail to have
the DNA testing. <i> The one time that
I couldn't go...</i> <i> I was hungover.
I'm not gonna lie,
you know.</i> <i> It wasn't being lazy
or nothing. I really
was hungover.</i> <i> But, all the other times
that we scheduled dates,</i> <i> she was not present.
Nowhere to be found.</i> <i> Probably off partying
or anything, Your Honor.</i> Mr. Adams, how did you
even find out that you were deemed
to be the father,
by default? And you'd already
been placed on child support. How did you find this out? <i> At the beginning
of this year,</i> <i> I started receiving
paperwork</i> <i> telling me that I had
to make payments</i> <i> of $99 per month</i> <i> for a child that I haven't
even been tested for yet.</i> MISS ADAMS: She the one
who made the claims. They said she were
in default. She never appeared
and she left town. I'm not about to keep going through this with you.
I told you... I have papers right here,
Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Show me
the paperwork. WILLIAMS: Why wouldn't
I wanna show up to my own DNA test
to get my son tested? Why wouldn't I?
If I knew about it,
I would've showed up. So now, the total arrears
are over $1,000. Over 2,000 now. So this situation just keeps escalating
and escalating. Mr. Adams, you claim you already spent
time in jail <i> for failure to pay support.</i> <i> Yes, Your Honor.</i> What happened? <i> Basically, I was walking
to the store to get
some cigarettes,</i> <i> police just ran our names...
Now, I didn't even know</i> <i> I had a warrant.</i> <i> So I gave them
my name proudly.</i> <i> You know, I'm Lassidere Adams.
You know, I ain't think
I had no warrant.</i> <i> Come to find out.
He come back to me,</i> <i> like, "Oh, Mr. Adams,
you got a warrant
for child support."</i> <i> I'm like, "What?"
And next thing you know,</i> <i> he put me in the back
of the car in handcuffs.</i> JUDGE LAKE: And how much
time did you serve for this? MR. ADAMS: <i> Like, 10 days.</i> And so, all this
is going on because you didn't
make it to a DNA test 'cause you were hungover? Yes. You know... If he just would've got up
and got the DNA test when I asked,
then we wouldn't even
be going through this. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) If she would've known
who the father of her child was,
from jump having all that sex
with all them guys. Okay, I made a mistake. Yes, I did and I'm
gonna own up to it. Unprotected, including my son. Yes, I did. You wouldn't be
going through this. It's a possibility.
I had sex with
your son, not you. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) MISS ADAMS: It don't matter. If that child
is the child of my son, it would be my grandson. And I haven't communicated
with the child. Right. So, don't come at me like I don't know my mistakes.
I know my mistakes and I own up. You don't know
your mistakes. WILLIAMS: I was young,
but I'm grown up. I was a single mother. I... I have three jobs. Okay, and I'm
a single mother. And I'm a single mother.
I'm a single mother. I didn't stop stripping to get no ADC. I sure did shake my butt,
yes, I did. I had three jobs
and didn't ask for nothing
from his father. And I took care of my son
at the end of the day. Okay, ladies... That's all. I'm worried
about my kid. Ladies... I took care of my kid. JUDGE LAKE: Ladies,
I know... And I took care of mine with or without your son. I know this is emotional, but I think that
Miss Williams has
admitted that she knows she made some
pretty huge mistakes. And, Miss Adams,
I don't think you can
make her feel any worse than she feels
about herself. You stand in court,
and don't know who
your child's father is, already had
one man tested, asked the next man
to get tested but he's too hungover
to show up. Now, you got
a child support case
where, look. If he's sitting up there
going to jail, over a child that's not
even his, potentially, that's his fault
'cause he didn't show, but that's not making her
feel any better because
the truth is, she's trying to figure out
who her child's father is. Not just for her. Not just for support,
but I'm sure these tears...
This is about your child. Am I correct? This is about my kid.
I don't care about
how anybody feel. I just want
to get this over with. I don't like when people
try to make me feel
bad about my mistakes, or whatever.
So what, I did it. But I still was trying
to take care of business
at the end of the day. It's about my son.
It's about my son. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) JUDGE LAKE: So,
Miss Williams, as you look
at little John, <i> do you see Mr. Adams?</i> WILLIAMS: <i> Just a little bit.
But I mean, looks...</i> <i> Like I said,
it's a possibility.</i> <i> Looks don't mean
something, sometimes.</i> So, Miss Williams,
you submitted a picture of your child, baby John
and Mr. Adams about the same age. Do you see a resemblance? MISS ADAMS: No. I can't see it, Your Honor.
To me, he favors his mother. Do you see it at all,
Miss Williams? Like I said, looks don't
mean anything. Sometimes they do,
sometimes they don't. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) We definitely have seen
that in this courtroom. That's most certainly true. What part of Mr. Williams
do you see? <i> The head.
Sometimes the facial
expressions my son make...</i> WILLIAMS: I don't know.
Maybe... Mr. Adams, when you look at baby John,
do you see yourself? <i> I mean, honestly,
no, Your Honor,</i> <i> 'cause, you know,
I spent time... I spent
time around this child.</i> <i> You know,
I think I would feel...</i> <i> If he was really my son,
you know, I think</i> <i> we'd have had that bond,
that connection.</i> <i> You know, I just really
ain't feel that, no.</i> JUDGE LAKE: <i> You felt nothing?</i> MR. ADAMS: <i> Honestly, no.</i> So, if you are
baby John's
biological father, you understand that
you are responsible
for this support. This is your
responsibility. <i> Yes, Your Honor,
I understand,</i> <i> but see, everybody trying
to make me out
to be the bad guy</i> <i> just 'cause I was hungover
one time and missed
the DNA test.</i> JUDGE LAKE: I'm not trying
to make you the bad guy. Didn't even hear
Miss Williams try to make
you a bad guy. What you are is in a bad situation
because of bad decisions. JUDGE LAKE: And... What I want you to learn
from this lesson is, when the court calls,
you got to answer. <i> And let me really
keep it real.</i> <i> Because of your
irresponsibility, you've
created a situation</i> <i> where you might
go to jail,</i> <i> if this child turns
out to be yours.</i> Jerome, I think we're ready
for the results. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. "In the case of<i>
Adams v. Williams,</i> "In the case of<i>
Adams v. Williams,</i> "pertaining to whether
Mr. Adams is the father "of three-year-old,
John Jones, "it has been determined "that Mr. Adams "is not the father." <i> Ha! Take me off
child support, baby.</i> Mr. Adams, you done come
to the wrong
courtroom clowning. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) <i> This is not a joke!</i> It's nothing to dance about,
it's nothing to laugh about. Your future was on
the line because of
your bad decisions. Now, you should be
ashamed of yourself. Not sit around dancing. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) What I wanna see
you do is understand that you
don't play with the law
on any level. <i> You're a young man
and you can have
a very bright future</i> <i> if you choose to.</i> Miss Adams? MISS ADAMS: Yes? I know this has been
difficult and you've been
worried about your child, so now you have at least
this piece of information that you can take back
to your home state and hopefully
approach the court
system there and begin to work
things through and help your son and I'm hoping that
this lesson that he's learning here
will help him in his future. To, as I said,
to make better choices. Yes. And most importantly,
to show up when the court calls. Now, with that said,
court is adjourned.
