Please be seated. Good morning, Your Honor. Good morning. This is case of <i>
Burrage v. Stephanys.</i> Thank you, Ron.
Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. RON: Good day, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Burrage,
you've dragged Ms. Stephanys
to court because you say you're being played
for a fool, and when today's
DNA results prove that you are not
her daughter Faylann's father, you demand that your name
be removed from her
birth certificate, and you be reimbursed
for the past eight months
of child-care expenses, is that correct? That is correct, Your Honor. Ms. Stephanys, you say
you are tired of Mr. Burrage
calling you out and embarrassing you
in front of your family by claiming that your child
belongs to another man. So, Mr. Burrage, tell me
why you feel like a fool. I feel like a fool,
Your Honor, 'cause I signed the birth certificate of
a child that's not mine. So, how did that happen? I'm a good guy.
I want to be a good guy. Do the right thing by signing
the birth certificate because on
my birth certificate, my father didn't sign
my name. At the point that you
signed the birth certificate,
did you have doubts? BURRAGE:
Yes, Your Honor. But you did it anyway? Yes, Your Honor. Did you understand
by doing so, that you would
now be the legal father
of this child? Yes, Your Honor. And that's the way the court
would acknowledge you. You are the father. Yes, Your Honor. But you don't believe
you're the biological father? Yes, Your Honor. STEPHANYS: You signed
the birth certificate. You was there with me
through the whole pregnancy. Taking me to doctor's
appointments,
watching the kids, you've been there
playing the role in her life. But I also... I also had another
woman on the side, and you had another guy
on the side. STEPHANYS: What girlfriend?
I never knew
it was a girlfriend. We were together every day
since the first day
we started hanging out. You know I had my girlfriend
and you know... And you were just
something to do, you know. But when I sent you
the pregnancy test
and told you I was pregnant, you said, what,
"I'm gonna be there. "I'm gonna be in her life.
That's my child." You was there, you signed
the birth certificate,
cut the umbilical cord. <i> I didn't force you
to do anything,</i> <i> you chose to do that willingly
because you felt,</i> obviously that she was
your child. Yeah, because I was having
unprotected sex with you and there's a slight
possibility that the child
might've been mine but, you know, I was
with my girl for two years, and I just feel like,
you know, you sleeping
with this guy, what makes you think
he wasn't the father? He was having unprotected
sex with you. Honestly... JUDGE LAKE: So, wait,
(CLEARS THROAT)
let me understand this. What kind of relationship
were you all in now? It's supposed to be
a one-night stand, Your Honor. You said, "Something to do." Something to do, like,
you know, just a fling. Okay, it started off as
just a, uh, a casual fling? Yes. JUDGE LAKE:
Do you remember the day she told you she was pregnant? Yes. I sent him a text message
of the pregnancy test. I told him, "I'm pregnant." He said, "Oh,
I'm gonna be there. "That's my child.
I'm gonna be
in his or her life." He's saying that
I was just something to do, but that was never
my impression,
me and Fernando, we was together
all the time. It wasn't no one-night stand, we was together
consistently every day. My mom was there
with my kid... How is it we were together
all the time when I had another girl? JUDGE LAKE:
Did you think you were in a relationship? STEPHANYS: I didn't think
we were in a relationship, but I thought it was more,
because I knew that
my intention was to make it
more than it was. But you knew I already had
another girl, and you
also said this to me, pillow-talking like you were
gonna try to take me
away from my girl. You know what I'm saying?
Trying to set me up,
trying to trap me. Oh, so wait, you think
she was trying to trap you? Yes, Your Honor,
because, you know,
with my ex-girlfriend, I was good as well.
She had a son, I took care of him,
so she seeing how I was, you know, taking care of them,
she wanted that for herself. STEPHANYS:
No, the reason that
attracted me to him, I did like the way that
he embraced my children,
you know. Me and him wasn't even
initially talking at first, you know, he embraced
my children, he brought
things over for them, so I was attracted by that. It wasn't me trying
to steal him away
from his girlfriend. He chose, Mr. Burrage
chose to be with me. Let's talk about
how it all went wrong. I mean, you know, because
it seemed like you all
kinda had an understanding, and then
this pregnancy happens. And you immediately
begin to doubt? BURRAGE: Yes, Your Honor,
because I didn't know how many guys
she slept with, you know. Guys coming out of the blue
in the neighborhood
while I stand, just coming out of the blue,
"I hit that, "I hit that, I hit that
I hit that, I hit that..." Mr. Burrage,
you can't keep going off
what other people are saying. He's going off what
other people are saying. Ask him, does he know
anything that's for sure... Yeah... ...not what people are saying? Mr. Barrage,
what do you know for sure? Do you have
any proof of this? BURRAGE:
I have proof, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Please, tell me. Uh, can I show you?
I have, uh... JUDGE LAKE:
Oh, you have an exhibit? Yes. Yes, Your Honor. Please. JUDGE LAKE: (READING)
"The Other Guy." For one, Your Honor... I don't have light-blue,
gray-hazel eyes, Your Honor. That's for one. JUDGE LAKE: The other guy
has light eyes? Yes, Your Honor. And for one, Your Honor, I'm brown-skinned, Your Honor. STEPHANYS: He and my mom,
both have light-brown eyes. The guy got a light-skinned
complexion, Your Honor. So, these are all the factors
you believe that add up, so you're not
Faylann's father? Yes. Yes, Your Honor. And, Your Honor, people say the baby looks
just like him, Your Honor. STEPHANYS: "People say,"
you see, he keeps bringing up
what people say. What have people told you? BURRAGE: People...
I had a party, and which
Ms. Stephanys went to, and the other... The other
alleged father was there. I don't know
exactly what was said 'cause I wasn't there,
Your Honor, but they was talking to her, and the other gent,
the alleged baby father, that, "This my baby.
Why you playing games
with me "and this guys over here
when you know that's
my baby, Ms. Stephanys?" Really? Did that happen,
Ms. Stephanys? Yeah. STEPHANYS: Your Honor,
I did go to the party. People say a lot of things.
I don't like being
around the other guy because I don't want to give
nobody anything to come
back and tell Mr. Burrage. Nothing... No words
were exchanged. The guy asked me
to take him to the store,
and that's all that was said. People are constantly
telling Mr. Burrage... BURRAGE:
That's a lie, Your Honor. ...these things,
and I don't understand. That's a lie, Your Honor. STEPHANYS: That never came
out of my mouth. I never said anything... Because in the neighborhood,
we all stay in a small town,
Your Honor, and in the neighborhood,
why is she always
with the alleged... Mr. Barrage, before you
continue your testimony, please step back
over to the podium. Yes, Your Honor. Thank you for that exhibit. So, you believe she was telling
this other guy that he's the father, too? BURRAGE:
Yes, Your Honor. Really? Yes. I really don't know
who my father is, 'cause my name ain't
on a birth certificate, other than when
my mother tell me, but ain't no name
on a birth certificate. My generation... I can
go back on my generation, my family goes
all the way back to,
like, 1874. And, like, as far
our genetic code, everybody, like,
we, like... Big eyes, big nose,
big lips, you know. That baby got light eyes,
little nose, little... STEPHANYS: Faylann is not
only from you, Mr. Burrage. She's my child also,
she can have my genes. Well, the baby don't look
nothing like you. (SCATTERED APPLAUSE) Mr. Burrage, you think
the baby looks like
the other guy 'cause you know what
the other guy looks like? Yes, Your Honor. But, Your Honor,
if he felt like that, why has he been there? Why has...
We've been taking care of her,
'cause I've asked him when we first
came home initially, we came home
from the hospital. Having a child is a joy. We go to my mom's house,
we're celebrating, so we're drinking,
I ended up... Me and Mr. Burrage ended up
getting into an argument. I've seen some text messages
in his phone from another female,
so I confront him on that. He got this big thing,
I guess he thought
I tried to, like... In front of my family,
front him off
in front of my family, so he just went off and said,
"Oh, from day one, "she's not my baby,
and I want a DNA test." Well, my mom said,
"Barbarann, "you need to go ahead
and get a DNA test
for that baby." <i> I asked Mr. Burrage,
and he told me, "Don't do it."</i> BURRAGE: <i> Yes, but I always ha
doubt in the back of my head.</i> <i> Your Honor,
I always had that thought
in my head.</i> So, when I asked you
to get the DNA test,
why did you say no? You said, "Don't do it." Because I didn't want no child
to grow up a bastard like me. But you said
don't do it, though. BURRAGE: I'm a bastard child. STEPHANYS:
But where is this coming... You know, a man...
You know what I'm saying?
And... And... STEPHANYS: But I felt like
if you had any doubt, you shouldn't have
taken care of her from the beginning. So, that hurt you that... Be quiet, Ms. Stephanys. 'Cause I can see that
that hurt you, the possibility that this child will
come into the world and live out
the experiences you lived. Yes, Your Honor. Did people
call you a bastard? You know how people treat
you. You know how family
members show favoritism for other kid, and these kids
got both their daddies
and their mothers, and my mother is
just a single parent,
Your Honor. That hurts? Yeah. And that's why you
said you stepped in? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: But now you feel
like you were a sucker? BURRAGE: <i> I feel like a sucker
Your Honor, because</i> <i> I had a bad past.
I didn't have several women,</i> you know, before her, and she did have several men. And I didn't try to judge
that against her but
I'm steady here, here, here... And it's a bad... And this just put it
back in my head... And it's a backup
what he said... My mother or my
biological mother... She don't want to
be saved, Your Honor. ...or father
didn't raise me.
I was a foster child. My biological mom wasn't
in my life, nor my father. I didn't meet him
till I was 12. And there ain't
no telling if that's
my biological father. Why would I put my
children through that? Faylann is my fifth child.
I'm pregnant again by
Mr. Burrage and want to go
through the same thing? (AUDIENCE GASP) I'm five-months pregnant
as we speak now. She trapped me, Your Honor.
She trapped me with this one. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIM) Now I want to hear from
your witness, Ms. Stephanys.
Please stand. State your name
for the court. Billea Foreman. Ms. Foreman? Yes. All right. So you are
Ms. Stephanys... Sister. Do you believe Mr. Burrage is
Faylann's biological father? Yes. (STAMMERS) 100% sure. How do you know?
You weren't up in the room,
sleeping with us. I've been with my sister
every day. I know my sister
like the back of my own hand. If she was messing
with anyone,
she would confide in me. I feel that Fernando
is insecure of himself. He listens to what
everybody tell him. They... These...
The guys know that he is
insecure of himself because he's
not attractive. So they getting in his head
and say, "Oh, that is..." (AUDIENCE EXCLAIM) You ain't attractive. "The baby looks
just like me." You ain't attractive. "The baby looks
just like me..." That look like a...
Look at you. "The baby look
just like me..." Okay. 'Cause he's crying in front
of the guys plenty of time. Your Honor, I think that they
enjoy messing with his head... They messing with his head. Real...
To tell the truth. And they get a kick
out of it because the guy,
the alleged father, that he says
that's his... The other guy? Yes. He tells me
to my face, like,
man, he notice his baby. You see they steady around
with each other. Steady at
the party together, talking. Over here talking,
talking... Come on, man, steady,
messing with each other. (BURRAGE, STEPHANYS
AND FOREMAN ARGUING) STEPHANYS: The reason
we did... Now hold on. Let... Let's hold on
for a second 'cause
I wanna understand this. So this other guy,
Ms. Stephanys, have you ever had
a sexual relationship
with this other guy? So you have? Yeah. Yes. So what he's saying is
you've had a sexual
relationship with this guy and for some reason,
you're still around
him all the time? Because it's... Unprotected sex,
Your Honor. Unprotected sex. Was is unprotected
or protected sex? STEPHANYS: Unprotected
when I initially started. When I met
Mr. Burrage... We both was having
unprotected sex with... That relationship...
No, not at the same time. And who else?
There might be
another man baby. Not at the same time. Huh, you know they
got a name for them self. Not at the same time. So was it during
the window of conception? No, it wasn't, no. I have four children
previously before Faylann. (BURRAGE GROANING) Every last pregnancy,
I know... Come on, it's like I'm pretty much, like,
I don't want to say a pro
but I know my body. I know my body. (AUDIENCE LAUGH) No, I know my body
as far as, you know,
having a child. I know my cycle. It's regular every day. So around the time of
conception, Fernando,
Mr. Burrage, was the only one that I was
having intercourse with,
unprotected. The guy was long
out of the picture,
regardless what he said. I know this for a fact... No that's a lie, Your Honor. Every time she gets upset
with me, you know, we get into
a little argument, you know, she go do her thing.
You sleeping... This is all in head. I swear this is
all in his head. This ain't in my head. That's what I know,
Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: So, Mr. Burrage... That's what I know,
Your Honor. I just want
to get in where I fit in. She's supposed to be
just a hitty-quitty. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIM) You know, and
I've made a mistake. STEPHANYS: <i> He's jus
saying anything now,</i> <i> because he was all
lubby-dubby, I'm telling you.</i> You want to be
with me every day. That was his girlfriend.
If they were so happy,
why are you... Land in my bed every night? (BURRAGE AND STEPHANYS
ARGUING) Listen. Listen, you all. I know we're here
'cause there's confusion. And when you stand
at that podium, you want
to prove your point. You want to make sure
I understand your side. But if you think
for one minute
I'm crazy enough to believe that you all just
were supposed to be
hitting and quitting it and just moving on,
I mean, it just... It doesn't even sound right. There is some connection
between the two of you whether it's
a real relationship, a mature relationship or not. No, you all haven't
gotten to that place yet. But there's something that
connects you two. You all have
real feelings for one another and I can see
it in your eyes. STEPHANYS: I do but... (SNIFFLING) BURRAGE: I don't feel
that child is mine. JUDGE LAKE: Let her speak. That's the...
Okay, Your Honor. It's really not right
because I don't know
why he's portraying it like it was just, like... BURRAGE: Mmm-mmm. It was not there. I... You know,
my intentions were, you know, honestly it may
sound bad but
it was to take him from her. I felt like he was a good man
for me and my children. And then when
I got pregnant, he told me
he was gonna be there,
and I really thought that. But for him to
deny her, too, you know, I feel like I'm pregnant
again. I feel like a fool. JUDGE LAKE: Both of you
have stood in court today and testified that
you feel like fools? BURRAGE: Yes, Your Honor. Both of you. A special type of fool
though, Your Honor. What kind? Man, she put some type of
voodoo on me or something,
Your Honor. (AUDIENCE LAUGH) Boy, please. I wish you
quit standing up here, acting like you don't care
nothing about this girl. You are wasting my time. I'm trying to get
to this paternity issue
and you're trying to act like you don't care
nothing about this girl. You are not running up
to no hospital. Stepping up to the plate
and sign the birth certificate for some hit-it-and-quit-it
girl that you don't care
nothing about. (APPLAUSE) Let me tell you,
I've been doing this
too long, Mr. Burrage. I've been here too long. So it's okay if you
have feelings for her. BURRAGE: Look at them
blue eyes Your Honor. And look at the... Look at them blue eyes,
Your Honor. Look at them,
they're beautiful. (SCOFFS) FOREMAN: Our biological mom
has hazel eyes,
and so does she. STEPHANYS:
My eyes are light color. I will give you this. The fact
that she's still constantly
in contact with someone that she had
a sexual relationship with, the fact that you all
had no commitment
and you both say that, I get your doubt. I get why you can be doubtful. So I get that.
But when I see you with this
little baby in this video, <i> you can't tell me that you
don't love that little girl.</i> STEPHANYS: <i> She's all he know</i> <i>
I feel like why play...</i> Why be around
playing the role... So if she's not yours,
what are you gonna do? Well, I will want
a paternity test
for that one. I'm gonna be really hurt
if she ain't mine, you know. I'm gonna feel like
that one ain't mine either. But he's all she know. Why play games with a child,
emotions like that? <i> She's a baby but she knows.
Babies know.
She's old enough to know.</i> (APPLAUSE) BURRAGE: <i> The baby's not mine</i> <i>
Your Honor.</i> So I have the results
for you. Are you ready? Yes. Yes, Your Honor. Ron, the envelope, please. (INHALES SHARPLY) Your Honor. These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics
and they read as follows. "In the case of <i>
Burrage v. Stephanys,</i> "when it comes to
eight-month-old
Faylann Burrage, "it has been determined
by this court, "Mr. Burrage, you "are her father." (APPLAUSE) Thank you, Your Honor.
Thank you, Your Honor. You're very emotional,
Ms. Stephanys, is it? I tell him all the time,
"Misery loves company." Of course they don't...
Don't nobody wanna
see you happy. (SNIFFLING) BURRAGE: Mmm. You gotta... He's gotta
stop listening to what
people being saying. BURRAGE: Mmm-hmm. "Can't nobody tell you
about me," I told you.
Let me tell you. Let me show you.
That showed you. From day one
I'm such a thought, right? That showed you from day one,
I said the same person
ever since day one. JUDGE LAKE:
Don't even claim that, babe. You don't even put
that name on your lips
talking about yourself. Nobody in here is perfect.
You may have made
some mistakes. It is what it is.
But the truth is, is that you have a beautiful
baby girl, both of you... Mmm-hmm. ...and it's one of the most
important steps as we are
in relationships or even co-parenting,
whatever you all choose to do, is learning how to talk to
one another and being able
to listen to the other side and understand
how they may feel. All right. I wish you all the very best
of luck. We have counseling
resources for you. Take advantage of them.
Talk through these issues. Figure out how
to get on a new page for these two
beautiful babies. BURRAGE: Thank you,
Your Honor. Wish you the best of luck STEPHANYS: Thank you. Court is adjourned.
