Please be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This is the case of <i>
Matherson v. Robinson.</i> JUDGE LAKE: Thank you, Ron.
Good day, everyone. ALL: Good day. Mr. Matherson,
you and your mother
have demanded that the defendant,
Ms. Robinson, appear
in court today because you claim
you are not the father for her three-year-old son
Jah'den. And say she's been ducking
a paternity test for years. Is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Robinson,
you and your mother say Mr. Matherson has known this
is his child from day one, and he needs to grow up
and stop running from
his responsibilities. Is that correct? BOTH: Yes, Your Honor. So, Mr. Matherson,
why wait three years
to come to this court? Uh, Your Honor,
I didn't wait three years. I waited... Well,
I tried last year to contact
this same court, and, uh, she refused. She was ducking
and dodging. JUDGE LAKE: I do see
in the court records original contact date is <i> June of 2015.</i> <i> So, that was more
than a year ago.</i> You say Ms. Robinson
has been ducking
and dodging. Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE:
Ms. Robinson, have you
been ducking this case? No, Your Honor.
I haven't been
contacted by anyone. I have no reason
to duck and dodge. Because,
are you certain? Um, 100%. Jah'den is
three years old. I've seen him maybe
five or six times <i> during the three years.</i> Alexus is always
keeping Jah'den
away from us. There is nothing...
We are not accomplishing
anything. So, today is the day
to find out if Jah'den
is my grandson. So, Ms. Robinson,
are you keeping Jah'den away from Ms. Brooks
and Mr. Matherson? Right now, Your Honor, I am. JUDGE LAKE: Why? Because, um,
Tyjuan is not responsible. I also sensed the threat
that my son, when he got
my son, he was gonna
take him back
to Ohio. So, yes, Your Honor,
I did not. Yes, I was gonna
take him to Ohio to see my family,
if he was mine. Without my permission. Without your permission. ALETHA: The thing is,
Alexus... From the beginning
when we found out Alexus was pregnant
with Jah'den, it was told to me,
it was told to me to get a paternity test when we found out
she was pregnant,
by close friends. So someone told you
to get a paternity test? ALETHA: Yes. Correct. Because she's
very promiscuous. And there she is,
following in her
mother's footsteps. This didn't start,
for the paternity test, until me and his mom
got into it last year. And she started speaking
about a paternity test.
And I guess this... No, no, that's not true.
That's not true. There were things
that started going on. It was a fight
trying to get
to see Jah'den is when I started saying,
"We need to get
a paternity test," because no real mother
is going to keep her child
from her father. I don't care... TYISHA: Just as well
as no real mother is gonna let
their child just go when he or she
is getting threats of what this man
is going to do to her. (OVERLAPPING CHATTER) Let's get some order.
Let's get some order. I want to understand.
Mr. Matherson, what
are you saying? TYJUAN: I wanted my son
to be a junior. My name is no part
of his name. Period.
That's for one. Oh, so do you feel
because they never considered
giving Jah'den your name that that was
somehow an indication that he may not
be yours? She's a compulsive liar. Your Honor, I didn't feel like I should have to
give him his last name because, at the same time,
we was not married. Um, I believe my son
should have my last name because Tyjuan...
At the beginning... Jah'den, I'm sorry. Tyjuan was not showing me
any responsibility that he would be able
to take care of my child. Because y'all wanted him
to give y'all his money to put in a bank
every week for y'all to spend,
for your enjoyment. TYISHA: We're talking
about a new-born child so I was taking
full responsibility of taking care
of their child. But if I'm going to him
and I'm saying, "Give me $20 a week
for your child,"
that's $100 of money. That's not no money
for no charity. There should be
no pressure on it. What does this money
got to do with you? But at the... So, hold on.
Before we get there. I wanna go back because I want to understand
this relationship. You two are very young. Correct. JUDGE LAKE: Well,
were you high school
sweethearts? TYJUAN: <i> At one point</i>■<i>
in high school, yes.</i> Did you use protection? TYJUAN: No. ALETHA: Obviously not. Were you all in
a committed relationship? Yeah, well,
from what I know, yes. I mean, she's a
compulsive liar. She does what she wants. ALETHA: Very vindictive. At the end of the day,
we are here because, like you said,
Alexus is very promiscuous. There were times
when you couldn't
find Alexus, and you found her
with a lot of guys. That was never the case. My mama was very strict. Even if
that was the case, what does have to do
with the paternity
of the child? Well, it does have
something to do
with the paternity if she was sleeping with
any of these guys. I was not. That's just what
she's saying. I was not! One at a time. You're saying that's
not true, Ms. Robinson? ALEXUS: Correct. I was either... My mama
was very strict at the time. (SCOFFS) I was either at school
or around Tyjuan. TYJUAN: Around me, huh? What about when I went to work
and you was with a boy and supposedly,
all y'all did was kiss? What guy is that,
Mr. Matherson? TYJUAN: A guy named... A couple of days later
she told me because someone told her
if she didn't tell me, they were going
to tell me. Um, I did because my mama
didn't even allow me to have
a cell phone at the time. Let it go. So, all this is a lie,
Ms. Robinson? Correct. Basically, this is the first time
we ever heard of it. Ever. JUDGE LAKE: So you're
saying, Ms. Robison, that you never even heard
about this questioning
of the paternity? Until last year. Only when she
and me got into it,
and she tested. But I've never heard anything
from Tyjuan until now. Now. The thing about it is, it boils down to just, like,
"They are money hungry." And just like Ty said
at the beginning, she wanted $25 a week
from Tyjuan for the baby. Y'all put your side up. What we do on
our side, we got this. Your Honor, there weren't... Y'all... If Jah'den is living
in my home... Under my roof. So whatever you're
doing for Jah'den,
we're never seeing, how is that helping
this child? (OVERLAPPING CHATTER) Okay, one at a time.
Let's get some order. ALETHA: She fast.
Watch her, she fast. And that very first time
when I told somebody
that she was pregnant, the first thing
out of their mouth, "Get a paternity test." And that's why I'm here. If you felt like... Sorry, this is not
the first time we're
hearing this. TYISHA: Why was
you showing up
at the house, Le? ALETHA: To see if I could see
any features of him. I don't see any features
of Tyjuan! TYISHA: But, Le... Not even features of me. TYISHA: Just last week,
you stood before him saying, "This is
your grandma." "He looks just like me." Today is the day. Regardless of whatever
relations I had going
with Tyjuan, your son needs to grow up
and be a man and take care
of his kid. And she needs to grow up
and be a mother. And she needs to grow up
and be a mother. (OVERLAPPING CHATTER) All right, one at
a time. Listen. I can't hear you. I can't hear you. I don't understand what
any of y'all is saying, and I really don't want to
have to dismiss your case. I want to understand
this, Ms. Robinson. Yes. You have not allowed
Mr. Matherson to take
Jah'den. He was just getting
Jah'den around
Jah'den's birthday. JUDGE LAKE: So, you did
see Jah'den around his
birthday, Mr. Matherson? Correct. But that was
the first time in a long time. JUDGE LAKE: And even though
you go and pick him up, you still have a doubt
when you look at the baby? TYJUAN: Yes. I mean, he's three now,
he's not even a baby,
he's a little boy. You have doubt? And there's a lot of
different reasons why I have doubts. JUDGE LAKE: Tell me. Let him speak. The first reason is, I didn't get a chance
to sign the birth certificate. I kept calling.
I kept calling. "Oh, yeah, we're gonna do it,
we're gonna do it,
we're gonna do it," never got to do it. Next thing you know,
she's disappeared
after Christmas. You know,
I've got evidence. JUDGE LAKE:
What evidence is that? The birth certificate
that I didn't get to sign. Let me see that.
Ron, will you hand
that to me, please? Here you go,
Your Honor. Thank you. You submitted
the birth certificate
to court, and it does not
have your name. TYJUAN: Right. You're saying that you
were asking to sign this? When are we gonna
execute it? And they kept telling you,
"We're gonna do it.
We're gonna do it," but then,
it never got done. Right. JUDGE LAKE:<i>
And to this date,
three years later,</i> <i> you still aren't listed
on the birth certificate.</i> TYJUAN: <i> Correct.</i> And you feel like
that's them giving you
the run around because they know you're
not the biological father? TYJUAN: Right. What was the second point
you were about to make? I wanna understand it. The second point
is just like, even when we were together,
she's been with
different people. There was this guy
who has ended up being
her boyfriend now. For example... Why would he call
another man, dad? For example, you know... Why would she allow
him to do that? JUDGE LAKE: Does Jah'den call
another man Dad, Ms. Robinson? No, Your Honor. TYISHA: You can ask him. No, Your Honor. TYISHA: He does not.
He calls him Greg. And as far as the birth
certificate goes, she had never obtained
his birth certificate, so they were supposed to go
together for him to sign it
and buy it. Tyjuan was supposed to pay
for the birth certificate. That's something he chose
never to do. So nobody
pressured the issue,
as far you can understand. Ain't nobody gonna pay
no money for you to put
your name on something if you're not there
to support your child. So that's what it was. It wasn't like
we had a problem
with it. You wasn't there. It's always about money. Since the day
Jah'den has been born, my mom has been
helping me take care
of this child. At that time,
I did not have a job. I'm only 19.
I graduated
and got a job so I can take care
of my responsibilities. At the end of the day,
I have not seen any progress
from Mr. Matherson. (OVERLAPPING CHATTER) Let's get some order. Because it's
becoming obvious... TYJUAN: Crazy. JUDGE LAKE: Listen. You sure aren't interested
in who's supposed
to be his father. JUDGE LAKE:
Mr. Matherson, it's becoming
a power struggle. And the paternity issue
is still on the table. I'm trying
to move this forward and understand where
you all are. Now, Mr. Matherson has stated he believes there is
another gentleman that could be
Jah'den's father. I want to hear from him. Ron, can you please
escort him into
the courtroom? RON: The seat next
to the judge. Hello, sir. How are you doing? Have a seat. State your name
for the record. Gregory Collins. JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Collins. Mr. Collins, Mr. Matherson has
indicated that he believes that you are Jah'den's
biological father. Do you believe you are? I'm 100% sure
I'm not his father because I wasn't
even talking to Alexus
on that level at that time. Are y'all in a relationship
or are you friends? We've been friends
for five years. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. Since they've been
on each other... JUDGE LAKE: So, you've
been friends for five years. Correct. Okay. So, now. We're in a relationship
right now. JUDGE LAKE:
Now, you're in
a relationship. How long have you all
been in this relationship? About three months. Three months.
Okay, so 90 days. And the child's
three years old. You mean to tell me
you take three months
to raise a child? Three years... You've been in her
life for how long? ...you ain't did nothing. How would you know? I know. I can... You're going for what
she told you, right? Yeah. You say you are sure you are not Jah'den's
biological father. Yeah. And yet you've been
a father figure to him? GREGORY: Yeah. JUDGE LAKE: <i> Have you</i>■<i>
witnessed Mr. Matherson</i> <i> try to step up to the
plate and see Jah'den?</i> GREGORY: <i> No.</i> Because he ain't been
around that long,
that's why. I've seen him
trying to... Sexual comments. You, over here trying to
text her sexual comments. And that's not cool. Could you prove that?
No, you couldn't. GREGORY: Yeah. He was sending comments,
talking about what
she used to do to him is she doing it to me
and stuff like that. Oh, goodness gracious! <i> It's sad because
this child is three.</i> <i> You just talk at one another.</i> You don't have
a conversation. None of you. Just constant
accusation. And the worst part
of it is, you're arguing that
they haven't done
anything and they're arguing that
you don't let them do
anything. From a person
in my position, this is just so ridiculous
on so many levels. ALEXUS: Your Honor... It's ridic... No! You're not gonna
out-talk me
or over-talk me. I'm talking now. 'Cause this is some
nonsense for this child. The point is,
how you all can be on two opposite sides
of the same page. Because it sounds like, to me, they are saying
they want to see this child, even until they know
whether or not it's his
biological child. And you're saying,
"He's not stepping up
to the plate." Everybody is so offended. I'm offended
for Jah'den.
I really am. You're too comfortable
in just the argument, but no one's coming up
with solutions. They only way
we're gonna figure out how to move forward,
I should say, is to get the results. Can I have...
Ron, I'm ready
for the envelope. Yes, ma'am. (APPLAUSE) The results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics
and they read as follows. In the case of<i>
Matherson v. Robinson,</i> when it comes to
three-year-old
Jah'den Robinson, it has been determined
by this court... Mr. Collins, you... Are not the father. (YAWNS) I'm sleepy. I'm sorry. Well, you should wake up. Don't play in this courtroom. No. No, no, no.
No, no, no, no. What you're not going to do
in this very serious moment, while I'm getting the answers
for this child. Now, you don't come in here
like you're the Surrogate
Father of the Year, and now, when I turn my head
you gonna clown? That's what we're
not gonna do! That's what we're
not gonna do! He don't know... JUDGE LAKE: No, I don't
want to hear it. I'm done with testimony. Well, sit around here
and clown at this turning point
in this child's life. In the case of<i>
Matherson v. Robinson,</i> when it comes to
three-year-old
Jah'den Robinson, it has been determined
by this court... JUDGE LAKE: In the case of<i>
Matherson v. Robinson,</i> when it comes to
three-year-old
Jah'den Robinson, Mr. Matherson, you... Are the father. That's your little boy. Now, can we see him? Your Honor... ALETHA: Now, can we see him? ALEXUS: May I have
that paper, please? May I have
partial custody? This was
about to happen. May I have custody,
part or full? JUDGE LAKE:
Hold on. Hold on. None of you let
anyone finish a sentence. You're so quick
with a comeback,
you keep going back. Backwards. 'Cause
you don't listen! Now, you all
can bring this child up in this nonsense
if you want. And when his life
is in turmoil, when his spirit
is half-full, when he's questioning
who he is, why he is,
and where he belongs then, y'all are
gonna have to take
the blame for that. Because when you
bring a child up
in a toxic environment, that's what happens. Now, the first thing
you need to work on,
Mr. Matherson, you're not on
his birth certificate. So you're gonna have to
take these results back
to your home state and you're gonna
have to petition
the court, because you need to
get your name on his
birth certificate. But you have to
take the initiative. It's hard to get them
to do that, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Listen. Let's not talk
in the negative because it only manifests
more negativity. Now, you're his daddy. People look to their father
to protect them, to provide for them. TYJUAN: Which I will do. JUDGE LAKE:
Part of that protection is protecting
not only him physically, but mentally
and emotionally. And you, too, Ms. Robinson. Because at the end of the day,
you two are the parents. You all have to create
a safe space for this child. Y'all have gotten
on my last nerve
in 30 minutes, I can only imagine
what you're gonna do
to him in 30 seconds. If you can't figure it out
for yourselves, the court will
figure it out for you. Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: And
there will be visitation... ALETHA: Right. Parameters on record,
and you can abide by them or, you can be held
in contempt. <i> You don't even know
how blessed he is that
he got the answer today.</i> You all were blessed
with resolution today, and there's absolutely
no gratitude for it. You're just still angry. I'm not angry,
I just wanna see him. TYISHA: We knew the results
before we came. I'm not angry at all. JUDGE LAKE: I'm not
talking about that. I want you all
to take advantage of the counseling
we have for you. I do. Because this is important
for this child. I honestly am sitting
in this seat right now, my stomach is nervous
for this child. 'Cause there's
too much anger. There's just
too much negativity. And I need you all
to figure out how to
work through this. How to at least
meet each other halfway. Or, you can pass him off
and let him enjoy
the other side so he can have
the fullness of his life and be able to enjoy
the blessings of both
sides of his family. I wish you all
the very best of luck. Court is adjourned.
