<i> This is</i> Couples Court
With The Cutlers. This is the case
of<i> Blakely v. Brown.</i> You all have
been together
for three years, you're living together, and arguments
over infidelity have you literally going
in and out of your house. Mr. Blakely, why
have you opened
your case today? Because I feel
like my woman
is cheating on me. And I just feel like there's too much lies
and sneakiness going on on top of that. JUDGE KEITH:
What is that doing
to your relationship? Every day we're arguing. Every day we're arguing
over petty things. But it's just...
Basically, I just see stuff going on in her
phones too much. If I could just add... And this
fear of her cheating just keeps taking you
out of the house? Yes, just, sir, it's... You come back, but then, it drives you away again. Yes, sir. BROWN: He says that
I'm through my phone
and I'm doing things. Okay, I do use the Internet,
Facebook and
everything, but, he doesn't see me texting people back, or anything sexual to anybody. BLAKELY: Because you've been
sneaky about it. But how am I sneaky? You've been
too sneaky about it. We could just sit there
and lay and watch TV
side by side. You know, I'm in my phone. And you're
laying to the side, with your phone. JUDGE KEITH: So Ms. Brown,
you're saying you're not
cheating with anybody? No, I'm not. You're not doing anything? I'm not doing anything. You are driving him
out of the house? No, he's driving me
out of my mind, actually. (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) Seriously. Mr. Blakely, tell me why
you think she's cheating. BLAKELY: Well, there's
one incident where me and her
had got into it. So at the time
I was like, "Well, "if it's gonna be over,
whatever, I'm gonna
go get my clothes." I go over there, knock on the door. For about 15 minutes,
I'm like, any other time that me and her break up
or whatever, she'd be instantly ready
for me to come get my clothes. She'd walk me
all around the house. "Get your clothes!
Get your clothes!" But this day she won't
let me get my clothes. I'm beating on the door,
the dog's running in and out barking and all. So I know
she's in the house. The only thing
I hear is her say, "Uh, I don't know." Did you think that
she was in there
talking to somebody? Clearly there got to be
something going on. JUDGE DANA: And you think
that somebody was another man? Yes. That's 'cause of his
insecure, delusional mind. I'm not letting him in
because we got into
a huge altercation. So I didn't want him
to come back, no. Was there
anybody in the house? No. Nobody. Me and the dog. Who were you talking to? Actually I was
on the phone
when he came up. I was on the phone
on a business call. Ms. Brown, when you
say "business call,"
and you did this... JUDGE DANA:
That spoke loudly. JUDGE KEITH: It did. It spoke more loudly than
what came out of your mouth. But Ms. Brown,
you do understand that he's saying in the past
you have always
opened the door. That's not even true.
I've left him out before. That's what I'm saying,
I've left him out before
when we got into it majorly. You ain't never not
let me in the house. But it was so deep, I told him don't come back.
I didn't want to see him. After getting my clothes,
if you didn't want me
to come back, you're gonna let me
get my clothes and leave. JUDGE KEITH:
Who did you believe she
was in the house with? One of her
Facebook friends,
to be honest with you. Who? So-called friend. The same one
who, around Christmas, he just popped up and called
out of the blue talking about
he needed a ride. Let me tell you
this story. This man ain't called
since I've been around. But all of a sudden
he wants to call. JUDGE DANA: Okay, so tell me
what happened on Christmas. So we were just
chilling or whatever, it supposed be a holiday, so it was just
me and her. If I don't have my phone,
I'm using her phone. So I'm like,"Your
phone ringing." 'Cause
I don't know the number. She like, "You know
who this is?"
I'm like, "No." I look at it again
and I'm like, "It might be
somebody I know. "Hold on, let me see."
Before I could reach for it, she hurry up and grabs it. You are lying. When she grabbed it,
she answered the phone. You're lying. I hear a dude say,
"What's up?" Or something like that. You're lying. So when he says
"What's up?"
She steps back. Step back,
get on the phone. You know
what I'm saying? And turn the volume down
and I can't hear nothing
he's saying. She's standing
right there.
I'm sitting down. I'm looking dead
at her, like, "Really?" So I'm just sitting
there and she like, "Oh, well, I can't
get out right now." JUDGE DANA: All right,
Ms. Brown, did that happen? What happened was... JUDGE DANA:
What happened was... What happened was,
we're sitting there
in the kitchen, I'm cooking 'cause
he's sitting there
watching me cook. You know
what I'm saying?
So... JUDGE DANA: That's
a beautiful thing. JUDGE KEITH:
He's keeping you company. Yeah, it's beautiful.
It would be nice if you
can get some help every now and again
while you wanna
run your mouth. So I answer the phone, I'm like, "Hello," or whatever,
and he's like, "Hey, I'm
seeing if you can give me "a ride somewhere.
I'll pay you some
gas money "to take me somewhere." And I'm like, well, "No,
I'm chilling," or whatever. JUDGE DANA:
Who is this person
that could call you... This was a friend of mine. He's not no friend if he can say that,
"I like you,
you know I like you," or something like that. This is a friend
of mine that I've known. JUDGE KEITH: Hold on,
Mr. Blakely.
Hold on, hold on. JUDGE DANA:
Ms. Brown, hold on. Is this a man who
has told you he likes you? Maybe... Something... Maybe. JUDGE DANA: No, no, no.
Yes or no? Yeah. He may have
told me that before
at some point. Okay, and you... BROWN: A lot of guys do that.
I mean, yeah. A lot of guys?
Okay, let's... Yes, Your Honor, he have.
He have at some point. JUDGE DANA: All right.
Hold on, hold on. In a relationship
that's gonna survive, you have to make
sacrifices sometimes for that person's
well being. And if he's
saying to you,
"This bothers me," then there should not
be any friendship that's more important
than his heart health. BROWN: Right. And it's not.
It's not, though. BROWN: It's not. JUDGE DANA: But from
what I'm hearing... He called me
out of the blue
at a month. I don't talk to him
on a daily basis or monthly basis or anything. JUDGE DANA: But let me
show you how it should
have gone down. Ring me up. Hey, how you doing? Hey, how are you? Uh, yeah. Can you
give me a ride? Hold on. Honey, yeah, this is my friend. I just wanna let you know.
Hold on, let me handle this. Um... You know,
I'm with somebody and he's not
comfortable with this. JUDGE KEITH:
Oh, come on now.
Don't be like that. I know. I know. I know you want me. But... JUDGE KEITH:
You know I do. I know you do. And so,
therefore, I'm saying
to you we can't, I don't want you
to call me anymore. I wish you the best.
Be strong. Uh... But don't
call me anymore. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) No, he's driving me
out of my mind. Are there any other
inappropriate contacts with men that
you're concerned about
regarding Ms. Brown? Yes, ma'am. She have this
one so-called cousin that I'm just finding out
that's not her real cousin. So this is
a fake cousin?
A play cousin? BLAKELY: Yes. Those are the ones
you gotta look out for. And playing cousins
get you every time. Every time. Uh, tell me about your
play cousin, Ms. Brown. I told him. I met him
round when I was
17 years old. And we met as friends
and whatnot. Sometime later, after
hanging out with my family
and his family, we realized that he's
married into to my family in some type of way. So ever since then
we've always hung out. You know,
he'd look out
for me at times. And I always
look out for him... Look out
a little too much. BROWN: But, look,
the thing is... Hold on, Ms. Brown. So, Mr. Blakely, what are you
worried about, about this fake
cousin or this play cousin? Okay, late night, she'll be, like,
all of a sudden she
just gotta go somewhere. If I ask her,
"Where did you go?" She'll get mad
and be like,
"I went to the store." But when I look
in her phone, she'd been
hitting him up. JUDGE DANA:
So you believe that instead of going to
the store, she's going
to be with her fake cousin? Yes, 'cause he only stays a second away. And she got a heavy foot. So she'll be there
in three seconds. Quick. JUDGE DANA: What proof
do you have that she
actually was with him? BLAKELY:
A lot of the times, we'll be broke whatever, she, "I gotta go somewhere." And be gone and come back. She got all type of stuff. Where you get
all this stuff from? You know
what I'm saying? JUDGE KEITH: This type
of stuff like what? I mean, as far as money,
uh, gas money... And you think that
this fake cousin
is giving it to her? Yeah, I'm pretty sure,
you know what I'm saying? JUDGE DANA: Are you...
What are you saying? I'm saying the fake cousin
is giving it to her. Giving what to her? Whatever he thinks
she's getting. Are you talking about
more than just... I'm talking about what
Mr. Blakely is saying. He's saying the fake cousin
is giving her stuff. JUDGE DANA: You know what? Do you have his number? Yes, I do. All right. You know what,
I think we should call him. AUDIENCE: Ooh! The fake cousin? Yeah. He doesn't know
we're calling. And we can
catch him off-guard. I think we can
break through
and find out what is going on
between Ms. Brown and the fake cousin. Where do you have
his number, Ms. Brown? Uh, it's in my phone.
In my purse. Okay, is your purse
with security? Mmm-hmm. Okay, Ron, would you
please bring it in? RON: Yes, your honor. Thank you. BROWN: Insecure. JUDGE DANA: Sometimes,
Cutler, when you
catch folks off-guard the truth becomes known. (OVERLAPPING CONVERSATION) We're doing what we can. No, he's driving me
out of my mind. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. Thank you, Ron. I suppose she would've
hit him up. JUDGE DANA: Hello. ANTOINE JONES:<i> Yes.</i> JUDGE DANA:
Is this Mr. Antwan Jones? <i>Yes, ma'am it is.</i> All right. Mr. Jones, this
is Judge Dana Cutler with <i>Couples Court
With The Cutlers.</i> We have a couple here. Uh, Edward Blakely, and Tiffany Brown.
Are you familiar with them? JONES:<i> Yes, ma'am.</i> Do you know Ms. Brown? <i>Yes, I do.
That's my cousin.</i> JUDGE DANA: How long
have you known Ms. Brown? <i>Found out she was
my cousin, I believe, when, um,</i> <i>she was about 17.</i> All right. You say you
all are cousins.
Why do you say that? <i> Her aunty
married my uncle.</i> So you are
not blood relatives, but you are
married-in relatives,
is that right? <i>Yes, ma'am.</i> And have you ever
given her money? <i>Yeah.</i> Do you expect something
in return for that money? Yeah. <i> No.</i> So why are you
just giving
this woman money? That's not typical. <i>That's what family do.</i> So you... <i>That's what family do.</i> (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) He ain't got it
to give. This is the gentleman,
Mr. Blakely, you're concerned that your intended
is sleeping with.
Is that correct? Yes, ma'am. JUDGE DANA: All right. All right, so I've
asked Mr. Blakely. He says he's concerned that you are sexually active
with Ms. Brown. BROWN: Gross. He is very concerned
about that. <i>That's nasty.</i> (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) Thank you. Isn't that
what I was just saying? How gross is that? Disgusting. You all ain't family.
How can that be gross
if you all ain't family? When was the last time
you and Ms. Brown
were sexually active? JONES:<i> Never.</i> You have never had sex
with Ms. Brown? BROWN: Ew. JONES:<i> Heck, no.</i> All right. Mr. Jones, thank you
so much
for your testimony. And thank you
for taking our call.
You have a good day. JONES:<i> All right.</i> All right. Thank you. <i>Thank you.</i> You know, we do that
with our kids. We try to catch
them off-guard and get to the truth. I'm not sure
I believe him, but his testimony sounded credible. Especially
when he said, "Ooh, that's nasty," like, that is the last thing. BROWN:
That's what I told him. I said, first of all
I'm insulted that
you'd even think some foolery
like that. And then I'm like, but... Okay. But you think
that it's about him, but what exactly
do you see, this... You've never seen me text
him sexually or anything. And then he was even
with me when I went and paid him back money
that he had let me borrow. No, I ain't. And stuff like that. I ain't never gone when you
pay somebody else back. JUDGE DANA:
Mr. Blakely, you heard
the testimony of Mr. Jones. He said he has not
slept with Ms. Brown. Did you believe
his testimony? I don't believe no man. You won't believe
no human. JUDGE KEITH:
And so you still
have your suspicion? First of all, because
he's not blood. You know what I'm saying?
I just can't... JUDGE DANA: You can't get
your mind around the thought that a man who is
not a blood relative is doing these things
for your girlfriend and not expecting or getting
something in return. Is that correct? Yes. JUDGE KEITH: And if you
found out she's cheating, then that's
the last straw. I'm goin' about
my business. JUDGE KEITH: You're done. BROWN:
You are anyway, so... AUDIENCE: Ooh! JUDGE KEITH: Here's what
we're looking at. Because the way the
evidence is mounting up, he thinks that you're
involved with two men. And, if that's true, Mr. Blakely said he is done. This court has done
a full and complete
investigation to determine, "Is she cheating?" (AUDIENCE APPLAUSE) (AUDIENCE CHEERING) JUDGE DANA: At this time,
the court will like to call former expert
military interrogator, Lena Sisco
into the courtroom. Ron, would you please
escort her in? RON: Yes, Your Honor. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) (INDISTINCT CHATTERING) Good day, Ms. Sisco.
How are you? LENA: I'm great.
How are you, Your Honor? We're good. JUDGE KEITH: Tell us what you
did to investigate this case? Sure, Your Honor. First, I had the accused
write a witness statement, which I then analyzed for
any indicators of deception. I studied their case file and I put together
an interrogation plan. And then I interrogated
Ms. Brown to see if she was cheating on Mr. Blakely. And, based on that,
what were your
initial findings? So my initial findings... Um, usually,
when I interview, I look for nonverbal
and verbal indicators of both truthfulness
and deception. Ms. Brown
was very talkative and she expressed
a lot of feelings and emotions
during the interview, which are all indicators
of truthfulness. However, when I did ask her why I should believe her, she didn't give me
the truthful response
I had expected. Hmm. So further into your
investigation,
what did you learn? No, he's driving me
out of my mind. So Ms. Brown opened up
and admitted to having conversations
with the guy on Facebook. She also admitted, when I asked
about her cousin, that she has known
him for 17 years and Mr. Blakely wasn't
gonna ruin that relationship. And she also told me,
when I asked her, "Why do you want to
come to court today?" she said,
"Because I wanna prove "that I'm not the monster "that Mr. Blakely has
made me out to be. "And that he needs to
look deep inside himself "to find the real issue." BLAKELY: Mmm. JUDGE DANA: Wow. So, based on all
of that information, what was your conclusion,
as an expert in interrogation and
knowing what people do or don't do? I believe that she's
telling the truth today
and she's not lying about cheating
on Mr. Blakely. (AUDIENCE CHEERING) JUDGE KEITH: Mr. Blakely,
how does that
make you feel? You got answers
from Ms. Brown, and you got answers
from our expert, each of them saying that Ms. Brown
was being truthful and is not
cheating on you. That's got to make
you feel good. BLAKELY: Yeah. Tell her how it
makes you feel. Actually, I feel
a whole lot better. You know, it's... It's hard to explain, you know? (SCOFFS) Well, now you see how
honest and loyal
I was telling you I was, but I feel like
it's too late now. Honestly. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) You know, I've cried,
shed tears, and pleaded and just
really tried to give
my all and... If that ain't good enough,
then I don't know. JUDGE DANA: Mr. Blakely,
are you in it to win it? BLAKELY: All the time. All right. So here's
what she's saying to you. "I'm telling you,
I love you. "I'm telling you
I'm loyal to you." JUDGE KEITH:
"What more can I do?" JUDGE DANA: And so
whatever it is you need to do
to pull this together, to accept what
she's offering you, you need to figure out what's in you that's
pushing that away. And I would
encourage you to talk to our counselors and figure out what
that is so that you
can accept her and embrace her
in the way
that she deserves. And as we say
in this courtroom, do not cheat yourself
out of an opportunity to have a happy, healthy trust-filled relationship. Court is adjourned.
(BANGS GAVEL) (AUDIENCE APPLAUSE)
