Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This is the case of<i>
Moffett v. Johnson.</i> Thank you, Jerome.
Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. Ms. Moffett, you always
believed the defendant
was your dad until two years ago when you received a message
from a man claiming
to be your biological father. You are tired of the confusion
and are petitioning the court
for a paternity test to prove the defendant is
your dad, is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Johnson,
you say the plaintiff's mother
played games, and unfortunately
have substantial reason
to doubt paternity, is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Moffett,
you received a message
from another man? Yes, ma'am. Tell that story. Two years ago,
he inboxed me on Facebook,
was saying that I'm his child,
and I'm looking like... "Wow, this is confusing."
Like, I don't know. And then he had sent me
a picture of me when I was maybe like
two or three, <i> and he was saying
that I'm his child and I
have two other siblings...</i> I can see
you're still shocked. NORISSA: Yeah. And so you submitted
that message to the court. The message reads... (READING) "...because you is
my daughter and I've
been looking for you." You respond,
"What? Who are you?" Right. JUDGE LAKE:
"You aren't my dad." And he responds... (JUDGE LAKE READING) (JOHNSON CHUCKLES) JUDGE LAKE: Really? Mmm-hmm. Did you call? Yes. What did he say? He said that, "It hurt
for you to say that.
Like, come out your mouth," but I'm just like... "You told me.
And I wanna find out.
Are you my father?" But he...
After that, then he just... (SIGHS) I don't know. I know this hurts
to think about and talk about. It's just... I just wanna know
who my father is, that's all. (SNIFFS) I really do. And you were always told
Mr. Johnson was your father. Yes. JUDGE LAKE: And this
phone call out of the blue,
this message... Yeah, just like,
where did it come from? Like, all of a sudden,
after two or three years. Mr. Johnson, tell me
why you have doubts. Me and two more other guys,
you know, at the time, was dealing
with Ms. Moffett. And... I just had doubts that I was
her biological father at
the time, when she was little. I didn't know.
I really didn't. I didn't know
if I was the father or not. You know? So, here we are. Ms. Moffett, what was the
nature of your relationship
with Mr. Johnson? Well, Mr. Johnson and I
met when I was young.
We fell in love. And we just were
seeing each other,
going places. He showed me things
that I never saw before and that made me fall for him
even though I knew he was
married at the time. Oh! Yeah. He was married. So there was a lot of
sneaking around, hiding. We used to... Our favorite
spot to meet up was
at Burger King. While he'll go home
and get ready, change clothes
and come back and we'd
just go out and kick it. How long did
this relationship go on? Oh... The relationship
went on strong for, like,
about two years, and then I left
and went to Mississippi. Mr. Johnson. JOHNSON: Yes, ma'am. Did your family ever
find out about this affair
with Ms. Moffett? (CHUCKLES) Yes, they did. (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) What happened? JOHNSON: Oh, well... I was sitting at a restaurant
with Ms. Moffett, and a young dude
went back to my house and told her that I was
sitting in a car
at a restaurant with her. After then... We had words
from then on. You know? JUDGE LAKE: So at that point,
you were exposed. JOHNSON: Yes, ma'am. Did you keep
seeing Ms. Moffett? JOHNSON: Yes.
Mmm-hmm. So that lesson wasn't learned. (LAUGHING) JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Moffett. MOFFETT: Yes, Your Honor. Tell the court what happened
when you found out
you were pregnant. I wasn't sure
who was the father because I had went out
to Maywood to see Mr. Johnson, and at that time
Mr. Johnson was at work
so I stayed around till he got off work
so we could see each other. But in the meantime,
I had went to one of my friends' houses
named Mr. Saunders, which I was dating
before Mr. Johnson. <i> Basically, I ended up having
sex with him that day</i> and Mr. Johnson
at the same time. So that's why I'm not sure... So wait a minute, you had sex
with Mr. Saunders and
Mr. Johnson on the same day... Yep. Not at the same time. Um, yes, Your Honor.
Right. The same day. And so, when you found out
you were pregnant,
who did you tell? Well, I told them both.
Exactly, because I wasn't sure
who was the father. Once the baby was born, and as soon as Mr. Saunders
sees her eyes, he's like,
"Oh, that's my baby." And I'm, like,
saying to myself,
"I don't think so." <i> But, you know...
But I led him to
believe that it was.</i> But you believe Mr. Johnson
was her biological father. MOFFETT: Yes, because
Mr. Johnson and I
had a connection and, pretty much, Rissa
was a love-child. And I feel that Mr. Johnson
was more of a father
than Mr. Saunders was. And then as Rissa got older, she starts to get
more features of Mr. Johnson. And then everybody,
like, in my family, like, "Oh, this is
Mr. Johnson's child." I didn't know
she was pregnant. JUDGE LAKE: You didn't? No. Uh-uh. We weren't seeing each other
that often at that time, and all of a sudden, she came
to me with a picture, and showed me
the picture of Rissa. And that's how I found out
that I might be
the biological father. So you gave him a picture. MOFFETT: Yes, Your Honor. You brought it to him?
You sent it to him?
How did he get this picture? I brought it to him.
I showed him. JUDGE LAKE: You brought it
to him, and what did you say when you brought the picture? MOFFETT: I told him, I said... "Here's Rissa.
And here's your child. "You know that you could
be a possible father." And also, I did let him
know about Mr. Saunders
at the same time. Oh, you did? Yeah. So you brought him
this picture and said, "You could be the father." Yes. JUDGE LAKE: And there was also
another potential father, Mr. Saunders,
is that what you said? Yes, Your Honor. Do you remember her
being honest about that? Mmm-hmm. Yes, she was. And so then, did you
have doubt at that point? Mmm-hmm. Big time. Okay, so once you started
feeling like your family
and everybody was saying it was Mr. Johnson's child, you loved
Mr. Johnson, you said,
"You know what, this... "I believe this is
Mr. Johnson's child." You allowed them to form
this father-daughter bond, where you would
let her visit him, and spend time with him. Yes, Your Honor.
Yes, Your Honor. And Ms. Moffett, Mr. Johnson
was the only man you knew
to be your father, right? You had no idea
and had never been told
about Mr. Saunders. No. JUDGE LAKE: So,
during Norissa's childhood, were you told you were
the only possible father? JOHNSON: No. Uh-uh.
Mr. Saunders... JUDGE LAKE: Okay.
Mr. Saunders. All right.
You were told Mr. Saunders was her biological father? JOHNSON: Yeah. JUDGE LAKE:
So wait a minute, now,
this is confusing. Ms. Moffett,
Mr. Saunders insisted,
you testified to that, that he was
Norissa's biological father. MOFFETT: Yes, Your Honor. So... That's what Mr. Johnson
understood? That Mr. Saunders
was her biological father? Mr. Johnson didn't know that
I was leading Mr. Saunders on letting him know,
Mr. Saunders,
he was the dad as well. He didn't know that
I told Mr. Saunders
that he was the dad also. Okay, so why are you
telling two men they are
the biological father? 'Cause Mr. Saunders knew
I had sex with him, you know,
that we had sex, and Mr. Johnson,
about at the same time
that Norissa was conceived, that he kind of
figured that... Okay. ...Rissa was his. And he was going by the color
of her eyes, because Rissa had the same
eye color that his mom does. But Norissa testified
that it was just two years ago that she was told
that there was
another possibility. So you knew this
all this time? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: But you didn't
tell your daughter. No, Your Honor. What I don't understand is,
you're telling two men
they could be the father. But you're not telling
your daughter that two men
could possibly be the father. I told her, you know, that it
could be a possibility. But I... When did she
tell you this, Ms. Moffett? Three years ago. But... I just wanna
get this over with. I know it's hard, honey.
I know. (SNIFFLES) And the truth is,
you weren't informed. (SNIFFLES) JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Moffett? Yes, Your Honor. Why did you decide
to just come clean now? 'Cause Norissa needs to know
who her biological father is and needs closure
so she won't be torn
between two fathers. So she can have clarity
and... And just go on. And they could build a bond. Because she has
other siblings out there
that she needs to meet. And you know, 'cause
they never did believe
that Rissa was his anyway. Your family never
believed that Norissa was
your biological child? JOHNSON: Right. Mmm-hmm.
They don't believe it. I stayed out of it,
until Rissa got real sick. <i> Went to the hospital
and spent time with her.</i> <i> I said to myself, "Man,
this child is laying up here
fighting for her life,"</i> you know, and she doesn't know
really who her father was and she says
she wants her father there
at the hospital. And I spent
three nights there with her. I said, "I'm gonna be there
for her from now on out."
Bottom line. And so how did you find out
that Norissa was sick
and in the hospital? Her stepdad. He told me, he
said, "Ron, you need to get to
Indiana, soon as possible. "We don't know if Rissa
gonna be much around here
much longer." So... I shot on over there. Oh, my goodness! You know, I see all these
tubes and stuff and I just
couldn't believe it. And so, at that moment,
you decided to go
to the hospital because you believe
you were her father. You're right. Yeah.
Yes, ma'am. (SOBBING) Did Mr. Saunders also come
to the hospital, Ms. Moffett? No, he didn't. (NORISSA SNIFFLES) And then when... Did you let him know?
Did you tell him? Well, I didn't have any
information for Mr. Saunders to let him know
what's going on, but Norissa came
out of her coma. She gave me information
to get in contact with him 'cause she wanted him
to come and see her. But he made
every excuse to reason
why he couldn't come. But if he claimed to be her
daughter, it wouldn't matter. With no cause or whatever,
he'd be out there
trying to see her. If he thought that was her
last days on this earth, he'd at least try to
come out there and see
how she was doing. And this is the man
that had been so persistent that he was
her biological father. Yes, Your Honor. And that he had even been persistent enough
to send her these messages. MOFFETT: Yes, Your Honor. And then, when
she's in a coma,
he doesn't come? No, Your Honor.
Only one who came
was Mr. Johnson. True that. Norissa, I'm so happy
you're okay. I really am. Thank you. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDS) So grateful you're all right. Can you tell the court
what you feel? (SOBS) I'm just hurt. (SNIFFLES) JUDGE LAKE:
And you feel hurt because of this paternity secret? Whole situation. The whole situation. And it really is a lot
to process, because you're
receiving new information in this very moment. (SNIFFLES) I know that. Do you feel disappointed
in your mom? No. JUDGE LAKE:
What are you feeling? Just hurt. It's stressful. To wait this long.
And I'm 28. I should have figured this out
when I was little. Ms. Moffett, as you
look at your daughter... How much of a toll
this has taken
on her, emotionally. Yes. Your secret. Yes, Your Honor,
I know it hurts. And I didn't
mean for it to hurt her. You know, I just didn't
feel that, you know... They pretty much wasn't
even worth it because
they never was there. You feel like neither man
truly showed the effort. Yes, Your Honor. So you just decided to let
the secret lie. Yes, Your Honor. But did Mr. Saunders
also know that Mr. Johnson
was a possibility in terms of being
Ms. Moffett's
biological father? Yes, Your Honor. Do you think both men
just didn't show up because they were in doubt, and they had no idea
if they really were
her biological father? Well, Your Honor,
I don't think that would
have mattered, because if they're saying
that they're the father,
they would be there. You're saying because
Mr. Saunders was professing that he was
her biological father... He should be
the first one there. Exactly. Exactly. I need to ask respectfully, are they the only
two possibilities? Yes, Your Honor. Yes. There are no other men
out there that could say, "I'm her biological father"
as well? No, Your Honor. There are only two. (SNIFFLES) I believe I've heard
enough testimony. I'm ready
for the results. Jerome? These results were prepared
by DNA diagnostics and they read as follows. In the case of<i>
Moffett v. Johnson,</i> when it comes to
28-year-old Norissa Moffett, it has been determined
by this court... Mr. Johnson, you... Are her father. (ALL CHEERING) (LAUGHING) Man, I'm happy for you. (SNIFFLES) You gotta let me go. JUDGE LAKE: She doesn't
have to let you go. (LAUGHING) (NORISSA SNIFFLES) (CRYING) I'm so happy for you both. Thank you. You know,
she needs me. And now it's time
to do a lot more for her. (SNIFFLES) JUDGE LAKE: Amen to that. That's the beauty
of the truth. It gives a second chance as it
gives us another opportunity. To do better. Mmm-hmm. JUDGE LAKE:
I love this picture. Thank you. (CHUCKLES) I am a daddy's girl. I know that pose well.
And there's nothing better
in the world. Nothing. (NORISSA SNIFFLES) Thank you. JUDGE LAKE: I'm gonna
keep my eyelashes on. All right. (LAUGHING) NORISSA:
I think mine came off. (LAUGHING) 'Cause you all ain't
gonna get me today. But I'm so happy
for you, honey. NORISSA: Thank you. You feel good? I feel a lot better. Thank you. (LAUGHING) (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Thank you, Mom.
I love you. Love you, too. Take care of your little girl. I will. I will. I'm gonna hold you to that. JOHNSON: Okay. (LAUGHING) All right? JOHNSON: All right. I wish you
the very best of luck.
Court is adjourned. JOHNSON: All right. MOFFETT: Thank you.
