Please be seated. Hello, Your Honor.
This is the case of<i>
Miller v. Troutman.</i> Thank you, Jerome. You're welcome. Good day, everyone. Mr. Miller, you claim your girlfriend,
Miss Troutman, left you for
another man. Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE:
You say that
when she returned, you forgave her
and quickly resumed
your sexual relationship. Yes. Shortly after, she announced
she was pregnant. Now, you claim there's
a distinct possibility that you're not the father
of her newborn baby, Daja. TONY:<i> No.</i> JUDGE LAKE:<i>
Now, Miss Troutman.</i> PATRICE:<i> Yes, Your Honor.</i> JUDGE LAKE: You admit
to leaving Mr. Miller
for another man and to having
a two-week affair. Yes. JUDGE LAKE:
You claim you left because Mr. Miller
wasn't taking care of you or his family
responsibilities. You argue you're also
fed up with his mother,
Mrs. Miller, because she butts into
your relationship and has convinced
the plaintiff that he is not
your baby's father. Yes. Now, Miss Troutman... PATRICE: Yes? ...how did you end up
in this situation? Well, I wouldn't have been
sleeping around
with other men if he was doing his
responsibility as a father and taking care
of his girls
and me also. He wasn't buying
diapers, wipes,
clothes. His mother
was the man
of our relationship. She took care of us. She put a roof
over our head. She took
all of us in. How did
you two meet? I was staying with
both of my parents, uh, my father's
deceased, so I kind of grew up
a little bit rough. I grew up
with my mother. She was
a single parent. But she was
not a mother to me, she was
more of my friend. I took care
of my brother
and my sisters and I just got
tired of living
that life, so I started
to run away
from home. Well, when I
ran away from home, I had met
Tony's mother,
Cindy. Um, she took me in. She, you know,
put clothes, roof over my head,
food in my mouth. She was a mother
that I never
had before. JUDGE LAKE: Mmm-hmm. I love her dearly and I thank her
dearly for doing
that for me. And well, one day
we were sitting
outside, I was sitting
with her neighbor
and a car pulls up. And I'm like,
"Well, who is this,"
you know, "pulling up in front
of my mother,
Cindy's house?" You know, I look up
to her as a mom. And it was her son. Me and him
got to talking, knowing each other
a little bit and we hit it off,
we had sex
that night. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) Oh, you got to
know each other just "a little bit"? Yeah. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. We clicked really good,
we did click. Yeah. Okay, just one moment,
ma'am. Continue. And well, maybe prior to two
to three weeks, that's when I was feeling
a little bit nauseous, throwing up all the time. So him and his mother
suggested that
I was pregnant. And come to find out,
I was. But after, you know,
we found out
I was pregnant, everything went good.
It was okay. We all had
a good relationship.
They was there for me. They helped me
through my pregnancy. They was there
when I gave birth to her. Everything was fine. JUDGE LAKE:<i> Mr. Miller,
let me hear your account
of this.</i> Well, I fell in love
with her. Love at first sight,
you know. AUDIENCE: Aw... JUDGE LAKE: Okay. I love her. That's lovely to say. TONY: I did. And you had
one child together. We had one child together
after being with her
for a month. JUDGE LAKE:<i> And then
you're on to number two.</i> TONY:<i> Yes, yes, we have
a second child, Daja.</i> JUDGE LAKE:<i> And you have
doubts about number two?</i> TONY:<i> I do have doubts.</i> JUDGE LAKE:<i> Why?</i> I go out of town
and I came home and I seen her
with another guy
at the Plasma Center. He was holding
my firstborn. And I said,
"Who's this guy
holding my kid?" And she said,
"Oh, that's my boyfriend." I'm like, "Really? "You know,
I go out of town
for a week "and you already have
another boyfriend." And I said,
"Well..." JUDGE LAKE:
Wait a minute. Yeah. You go out of town
for how long? TONY: I go out of town. For a week. One week. JUDGE LAKE:
For a week? And you come back
and somebody's holding
your first child? Chelsea, yes. When you ask her... TONY: I asked her. ...she says, "It's my boyfriend"? That's not true. TONY:
"It's my boyfriend." That's not true. "I'm with him." Well, what happened,
Miss Troutman? Well, what happened was, when he went away,
we was broken up. We had got into
an argument. We were
no longer together when I was dating
the person that I met
at the Plasma Center. We were not together. We were still talking. So when he did
come back on his trip, me and my friend,
with my daughter, was leaving the Plasma Center
and he was walking
down the street. So Tony approaches me
and he's all happy, he's lovey-dovey,
he's like, "What's going on?" I'm like, "Nothing.
Me and my friends
feelin' to walk "to my mom's house
for my daughter's birthday." He's like, "Well,
can I talk to you
for a moment?" I'm like, "Yeah,
we can talk." He's like,
"I'm so sorry
for us getting into it "and I apologize..." No, no, no. "I really
want you back." No, no, no. "Will you please
come back home
with me?" Then he got to
talking about
how he was going on some trip
or whatever
with a friend, he doesn't want to
live here no more
and Andy or whatever. And I was like,
"Okay," you know. I fell for it. I told him that
I'd come back home
with his daughter. And I did. I did.
Later on that night
I came back home. Oh, so in just
that encounter, he changed
your mind and you said
I'm gonna
come back home. Yeah, I mean,
the guy
that I was with... I mean, I was upset
when me and him
got into it. I was lonely.
I was looking
for some comfort. What,
after one fight? And he showed me
that comfort. One fight? JUDGE LAKE:
And you admit
that during... No, it was not just
one fight. No. Miss Troutman,
you admit that
during that time, you were intimate
with another man? Yes. And during that time
were you intimate
with anyone else? PATRICE: No. Well, yes, I was. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) I'm sorry. Really? JUDGE LAKE:
Get it straight. Get it straight. When me and him
got into it and
we had broken up, yes, I was with that guy
that I was with. The Plasma Center guy? PATRICE: Yes. Yes, but we were separated,
we were not together. And was that the only man
you were with
during that time? No, that is not
the only guy I was with. (AUDIENCE JEERING) JUDGE LAKE: Okay. Continue. PATRICE: Well, um... Me and Tony's relationship
has not been A1. There is...
It's been so rough and I've just got
tired of it. I got tired of the arguments
between him and his mom. My kids are hearing
all of this to where my own daughter's
saying to shut up and all this extra stuff. So I got tired of it. And you were
so disgusted by that, you ran out the house,
slipped on a banana peel and landed in the bed
with somebody else. (AUDIENCE CHEERING) PATRICE: No, that is not
what happened. I'm trying to figure out
how this evidence leads up to you sleeping
with yet another man besides the
Plasma Center guy. If you want more episodes
of Paternity Court Make sure to subscribe
and click on
the notification bell. You were so
disgusted by that, you ran out the house,
slipped on a banana peel and landed in
the bed with
somebody else. (AUDIENCE CHEERING) No, that is not
what happened. I'm trying to
figure out how this
evidence leads up to you
sleeping with
yet another man besides the
Plasma Center guy. Come on, let's have
the truth now. Well, I moved in
with my aunty. And, you know,
she got to
telling me how he's not
right for me. How I need to do
better for me
and my kids. And she was like,
you know, she got to tell me
about the little
chat line or what not have you and I got on it. And I met a guy,
I did. He took me out
and, yeah, we slept
with each other that night that
we went out
and met each other. (AUDIENCE MURMURING) TONY: I get on
the chat line,
Your Honor, she doesn't even
know that it's me. And she tries to
holler at me while
I'm on the chat line. That is not true. You do.
On the chat line. JUDGE LAKE:
So you're playing
Dick Tracy and you got on
the chat line. I did. And you began
to talk to her
on the chat line to see if she
would respond. Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: And
she took the bait? She did. PATRICE: But
my friend already
knew who it was. So he didn't
catch anything. You were still
on the chat line. But I do have the
calendar of the... When I did
sleep with the men. Okay, so you submitted the issues surrounding the date of conception. Yes. Jerome, can you please
hand me that? Thank you. You're welcome. So you have
a February calendar
laid out so we can understand
what all was going on. PATRICE: Yes. JUDGE LAKE: In yellow,
we have the dates you were with
the chat line guy. Yes, ma'am. The green outlines the dates you were
with the guy
at the Plasma Center. PATRICE: Yes, ma'am. JUDGE LAKE:
And the blue, are the dates
you were intimate
with Mr. Miller. Yes, ma'am. (SCATTERED CHUCKLING) JUDGE LAKE: You look
from the date Daja was born, at the end of November,
look back. It's clear that three different men could
potentially be her father. (AUDIENCE GROANING) Not three, just one. The estimated
time of conception
is outlined in bold. And included within that is a rainbow of colors. (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) So if you say there's only one
potential father... PATRICE: Mmm-hmm. ...who is that? There's only one
potential father... PATRICE: Mmm-hmm. ...who is that? I'm hoping that
it's Tony. I'm hoping
that it's him, but, I mean, as me... All three could be the dad. All three could be. And I can see
that hurts you to say. (SIGHS) You're very
emotional right now.
What are you feeling? I'm just hurt 'cause
we wouldn't be going through this
if he was there. If he was there, it wouldn't be
no problems
right now, it wouldn't be. But he was
not there, he was not there
as a father, he was not there
to comfort me,
he was not there. (INHALES SHARPLY) JUDGE LAKE:
When you say
"comfort you," you mean in general or is there some
particular instance
that you felt like he let you down or he wasn't
there for you? We had a threesome
with one of our
friends one time. Okay. TONY: And... (SCATTERED CHUCKLING) And I think I might be the blame
for her wanting
to cheat on me 'cause of that,
'cause we had
a threesome. I mean, I told her, she wanted to do it. It wasn't my idea. It wasn't just
a threesome. It was time
that I woke up
in the morning and seen him doing
something to her. There's also
been times when I went
through his phone and he's got
pictures of her
in her underwear. In her underwear. There was a time
when we were
sitting in the car he went
through her phone like we didn't know
what he was doing to transform...
Transfer some of her photos from her phone to his. And I feel like that he got
a file in the computer
of pictures of her, if you really want me
to be honest. Mmm. JUDGE LAKE: So this is
an interesting fact. And, Miss Troutman, you fell for what I call
the "okie-doke." The short form of that is, don't write a check
that later... You can't cash. JUDGE LAKE:
...you can't cash. (AUDIENCE CHEERING) This relationship is now in jeopardy
because of choices
you both made. Immature choices. We're not just talking
about Daja, you have
another child together. Yes. Yes, ma'am. JUDGE LAKE: So you two
are parents, running around here
acting like you all are experimenting
and enjoying life and... No, you have
responsibilities! (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) And then
unfortunately at
the end of the day, Miss Troutman,
you're allowing him to do things that
you can't handle
emotionally. Then,
because you feel like he
betrayed you, you go out,
make a rainbow-colored mess and then come back
and blame it on him. (AUDIENCE CHEERING) But I love you.
I love her. I still love her. We still get along.
She's my
best friend. I just hope
Daja is mine. That's wonderful.
I wanna hear
from your mother. Miss Miller, please stand. I've been waiting... You've been waiting
for your turn. I've been...
You let me up here. I am ready
to hear from you. Well, I'm butting
in their business, then let them go find
their own place
to live, by the way. Okay. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Okay, I heard that. I'm buying diapers,
they should both
be working, doing what they're
supposed to do and then
I won't butt. But these kids
are needing things
that they can't provide and I've been
helping out. And I seen that guy. Daja looks
just like him. I wanted
to believe her because she said
it was my son's baby,
it's my grandbaby. JUDGE LAKE:
Which guy did you see? I seen the guy,
I went and picked... Tony and I went
and picked her up. PATRICE: They both
saw the guy. That she was gone
two weeks with. Bottom line is
you got a glimpse. I know
what he looks like. And I seen Daja and
I can't help but think,
I hope not, but she looks
just like the other guy. Which guy? The Plasma guy
or the chat line guy? PATRICE: The Plasma guy. The Plasma Center guy. JUDGE LAKE: Plasma guy. <i> You feel like she looks
just like him?</i> CINDY:<i> Yes, ma'am. Yes.</i> Prove me wrong. Please. Do you want
this young girl to be your grandchild? I love these...
I love both little children. Both of them,
they're my babies. Show them the picture.
Show 'em both of them. (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) She sure is acting
like a grandparent. I love them dearly. The first one, Chelsea,
she's attached to my hips. JUDGE LAKE:
They're adorable.
Just adorable. And I just love both of them. This is Chelsea,
this is Daja. CINDY:<i>
It's not gonna matter,</i> <i> I'm gonna love them
both anyway.</i> (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) JUDGE LAKE:
That's wonderful. That's wonderful. Now, Miss Troutman, what are your hopes today? I hope that she's his.
I want her to be his. I really do. This is very important
to you. (VOICE CRACKING)
It is. It is. Because, truly,
these people
standing over here are your family
in more ways than one. PATRICE: They've been there
through thick and
thin for me. This is the only mother
that has done anything
for me. And I will tell anybody
that any day. And I don't want her
to grow up like me. I want her to have
both of her parents. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) When I see
situations like this
where I know a child is loved
and accepted, part of me wants
to rip up the results, because if we don't know, she'll never know. And then she can
receive the love
that she deserves. However, I know that the truth in the end is something
that is invaluable. That even knowing this information
for her, if Mr. Miller, you are not
determined to be
her biological father, <i> she should know.</i> Jerome, the envelope, please. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Here, Your Honor. These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. When it comes to
the paternity of
eight-month-old Daja Miller, Mr. Miller... Yes, Your Honor? JUDGE LAKE: You are not her father. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) Hey, hey, hey. (SNIFFLING) CINDY: Patrice. Patrice, baby.
I love you, baby. I will... Come here. (SOBS) Hey, hey. JUDGE LAKE: Jerome,
can you please go check on Mr. Miller
and Miss Troutman. CINDY: May I say
something to you? JUDGE LAKE:
Yes, ma'am. This family has been
torn over this
a lot. And this has helped. And I wanna
thank you, for you and
your staff,
the kindness. JUDGE LAKE:
And I thank you. I thank you
for coming and being
strong enough. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) They're gonna
come back in. Thank you
for returning
to the courtroom. I know this was
emotional for
both of you. Can you put
into words what you're feeling,
Miss Troutman? I'm hurt. JUDGE LAKE:
You're hurt. I can't blame nobody
but myself. I can't blame nobody
but myself. (SNIFFLES) You really wanted
Mr. Miller to be
her father? PATRICE: I did.
Yeah, I did. I really,
really did. Mr. Miller,
how do you feel? In my gut
I always kind of knew, but, like I said,
I don't care, I love 'em. I do. I'm Dad. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) I'm just hurt, you know. I know, without question
that you love these children. <i> I know, without question
that you love Miss Troutman.</i> You two have acted
irresponsibly as it relates
to your relationship. But when you become parents, you got to get it together. CINDY: Yes, ma'am. Because it's not
Miss Miller's responsibility
to buy the diapers and make sure
these children are okay while you all are out,
running around,
having threesomes and acting like
you don't have any sense. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) That's well said. I wish you all
the best of luck. PATRICE: Thank you. Court is adjourned. Miss Troutman,
let me see you
for a second. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Listen, you've got
a young man
that loves you despite those bad decisions with his mother
standing by him saying that she still loves
your children even though her baby boy
is not the father
of your little girl. When you have
a blessing like that served to you
on a platter, feast. (AUDIENCE CHUCKLING) Are we clear? Yes, ma'am. I'm gonna be watching you.
