Please be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This is a case of<i>
Thomas v. Hadley.</i> Thank you, Jerome.
Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Thomas,
you claim you're involved
in a love triangle that has resulted in the
defendant denying your 7-month-old
son, Jeremiah. THOMAS: Yep. JUDGE LAKE: You've petitioned
the court for a paternity test
to prove that he is the father so he can stop
living a double life. Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Hadley, you say
your current relationship with Ms. Stallworth
is in jeopardy because Ms. Thomas
is convinced you are
the father of her child. Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: But, you say
you have hard evidence to prove that you are
not the biological father, is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. So, Ms. Thomas, why
is he denying your son? I don't know, Your Honor. I just know that he...
We're in a love triangle
between me and Tyler. And this is just going
on for way too long.
He keeps denying my son, but he's still around
him all the time. He acts like a father
towards him when
he's with me, and then he goes to Tyler and
acts like he's not. I don't act like a father
towards the child at all. THOMAS: Yes, he does. Why do you think he's denying? He's denying for Tyler. She manipulates him
to make him feel guilty for staying around me
and my son all the time and not being around
her and her daughter. You say when Ms.
Stallworth is not around... THOMAS: Mmm-hmm. He's a good dad
to Jeremiah. Yes. JUDGE LAKE: He's there? Yes. He treats him like
it's his child? THOMAS: Yes. Explain. THOMAS: Well, when he...
He doesn't watch him, however, if he's crying, he'll
go to him, pick him up, make sure he doesn't
fall off the bed, he'll
give him his bottle. When I make his bottle,
he'll give it to him, make
sure he's drinking his bottle. He'll make sure he's...
He puts him to sleep. Well, with all due
respect, Your Honor, um, I don't think anyone
would just let a
child fall off the bed. (AUDIENCE CHUCKLES) He's the one that stands up
by the crib and pats his back the whole time until
he falls asleep. Do you spend quality time
with Jeremiah like that, Mr. Hadley? HADLEY: No, no quality
time. But, you know, if, uh, Ms. Thomas is busy
doing something, uh, yeah, I'll pat the back of the
child to get the child
to, you know, stop yelling. There's times when I'm
laying in the bed, and
he's patting his back. JUDGE LAKE: So, Ms.
Thomas, you submitted a photo to the court. Yes. That's Mr. Hadley
with Jeremiah? THOMAS: <i> Yes.</i> JUDGE LAKE: <i> Oh,
it's a beautiful picture.</i> THOMAS: <i> Thank you.</i> JUDGE LAKE: <i> And
that's you, right, Mr...</i> Yeah, but I didn't
fall asleep like that. THOMAS: Yes, he did. (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) No. Yes, he did, Your Honor,
he was holding him. I'm... He's gonna wake up and
not let me take a picture. JUDGE LAKE: So,
what are you saying? She placed the baby there... THOMAS: That's a lie. Exactly what I'm saying. JUDGE LAKE: And
took the picture? THOMAS: No, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: <i> First,
what I wanna know
is the relationship.</i> Talk to me about the nature
of this relationship. I was friends with Mrs. Thomas
before, you know, me and... JUDGE LAKE: But was it
friends with benefits? Was it friends and you
were having sex as well? THOMAS: Yes, Your Honor. It ain't lead... Let's be clear in court. It ain't lead to sex
until way later on... But you did have a sexual
relationship with her. HADLEY: Yeah. Did you use protection
when you had sex? Um, the first time. Only two times out
of all of them. Twice. Take me to this pregnancy. You tell Mr. Hadley
you're pregnant? Yes. JUDGE LAKE: When you find out? THOMAS: Mmm-hmm. What do you say? I told him I was pregnant,
I even sent him a picture of
the pregnancy test as well. He asked me if I was
keeping it, and I said yes. That was the end of it.
The next day's when he started doubting it. The same
day I told him was the day
he told Mrs. Stallworth, and she was all
upset about it. And so when you have the
baby, do you tell him? Does
he come to the hospital? He was there
the whole time. He got picked up. He stayed
for the whole 15-hour labor. JUDGE LAKE: Wow. He was there the whole
time, coached me through
my contractions, tellin' me <i> I need to breathe,
everything. There's a
picture of me and him.</i> <i> He stayed there.
The next other days...</i> JUDGE LAKE: <i> So, Mr. Hadley...</i> You're there for the birth... HADLEY: Well, honestly... To be honest, I felt a little
pressured to, you know... He wasn't pressured. I felt pressure. No one told
him to come. HADLEY: Overall,
I felt pressure... How did you feel pressure? Who was putting
pressure on you? Well, number one,
her family member brought me to
the hospital. So, you got up... Someone
picked you up and brought you to the hospital. HADLEY: Yes. All right, and you said,
"Okay, I'm gonna go." Yeah. <i> You know, out of respect,
you know, everything I'm
going. So while I'm there,</i> <i> they're about to name
the, um, the child,</i> and she says, "The child's
last name is gonna be Hadley." So, you know, she's Jamaican, and her whole
family's Jamaican, so it's a whole bunch of
Jamaicans in the room and... (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) She's... They're like,
"Oh, is the child's last
name gonna be Hadley?" And I'm not just gonna
disrespect... They didn't say that. He left the room, came
back, and I asked him
myself, and he said, "Go ahead and
name him Hadley." JUDGE LAKE: You said,
"Go ahead and give
the child my last name." No. THOMAS: Yes, he did. So, you didn't consent
to Jeremiah having
the last name Hadley? I just didn't disagree, due
to the fact that her whole
family was in the room. Why are you so convinced
he is your child's biological
father, Ms. Thomas? Because around the time when
we had sex is the time my doctor told me
that I conceived my son. Do you have any
evidence to support that? Yes, I have my
calendar right here. JUDGE LAKE: Jerome, will
you hand me this calendar? THOMAS: I had sex on the
19th around 12:00 to 2:00 am. <i> The doctor told me I conceived
my son around the 22nd,</i> <i> which does put it in the frame
for where I would be pregnant.</i> So, you had sex with Mr.
Hadley on the 19th of April? Yes. <i> And your doctor told you your
conception date was the 22nd?</i> THOMAS: <i> Yes.</i> JUDGE LAKE: <i> So you believed
from that calculation</i> <i> that he is your
child's biological father.</i> THOMAS: <i> Yes.</i> Um, Mr. Hadley, you were
intimate with her on the 19th? Uh, yes. Okay. JUDGE LAKE:
Without protection? Yes. But that week of conception,
I wasn't the only
guy she had sex with. However, the time of
conception, the date I had sex with the other guy was
Saturday, the 26th of April. Oh, so you...
He... Okay, wait. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) Hold on! You're saying, Mr. Hadley, you
know for certain that she was
intimate with someone else, and, Ms. Thomas you are
confirming his assertion? Yes. JUDGE LAKE: So, 22nd
of April is when the
doctor says you conceived. <i> So this is your conception.</i> <i> And this is Mr.</i> Hadley. And when did you have
sex with this other guy? I had sex with the other
guy on the 26th. However,
we also used a condom. HADLEY: <i> Come on, man.</i> THOMAS: <i> We used a condom.</i> (SIGHS) So, Mr. Hadley, how are you so convinced
you aren't when you
admittedly slept with her on the 19th, even if this
other guy did not protect
himself on the 26th? You understand that
you're still within the
window of conception? Well, we also had a home
DNA test done, and the
results were inconclusive. JUDGE LAKE: You did? Yes. So you did a home test? HADLEY: Yes. And the results you got
back were inconclusive? Yes. JUDGE LAKE: So,
are you basing a conclusion off of something
that's inconclusive? (AUDIENCE CHUCKLING) Well... Yes, yes. (AUDIENCE LAUGHS) Okay. Did you bring any
evidence of that test? No, I did not. JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Thomas... THOMAS: Yes. The test was inconclusive? THOMAS: Yes. Anything can mess up
a home DNA test. You have
to be practically perfect. So, you really don't
have an answer at all? No. It's just, the test
can easily be messed up. You know what, I wanna
hear from your witness. Uh, please stand, ma'am.
Like to hear from you. Ms. Stallworth,
am I correct? Yes, Your Honor. Thank you for
joining us. You're welcome. So, Ms. Stallworth,
are you in agreement
with Mr. Hadley that this is not his
biological child? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: And why do
you believe that to be so? Because she was sleeping
with somebody else
around the same time. THOMAS: I slept with... And that test that came... Once. ...back inconclusive. JUDGE LAKE: And you two
are in a relationship? Mr. Hadley and yourself,
you all are in
a relationship now? Um, no, we're gearing towards a
relationship, but this is... There is no gearing
towards a relationship when he's staying
with me. ...causing a problem. He lives with me.
He's only... This is the longest
since I've moved. HADLEY: No. HADLEY: No. THOMAS: He's been
with her for two weeks. THOMAS: That's it. JUDGE LAKE: Wait a minute,
you live with Ms. Thomas? THOMAS: He lives with me. STALLWORTH: He does not. He lives with me. He lives with me. I've stayed over her house. He lives with me. HADLEY: But... Lives! I don't, I don't... He has his clothes
at my house. So, hold on, hold on. Your things are
with Ms. Thomas,
they're at her house. HADLEY: Uh, some of them, yes. Some of them. THOMAS: Most of them. Where do you live? Um, with her. THOMAS: No, he doesn't. JUDGE LAKE: Now you live
with Ms. Stallworth. Yes! THOMAS: No!
(CHUCKLES) But your clothes are
at Ms. Thomas'. HADLEY: Yes. He lives with me. Who are you intimate
with right now? Um, Ms. Stallworth. JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Stallworth. It's a back and forth.
It's been like that
for two years. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMS) JUDGE LAKE: So, Ms. Thomas,
when was the last time you
were intimate with Mr. Hadley? A couple of weeks ago. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMS) That is a lie. THOMAS: It's not
that long ago. That is a lie. You are laughing,
Ms. Stallworth? STALLWORTH: Because
this is... She doesn't know.
She isn't there,
she doesn't live with me. STALLWORTH: I can't say
if it's true or not, but from what I'm getting
from him, it's not. HADLEY: It's not true. It's not like that. HADLEY: I never even
meant for it to
even go this far with Ms. Thomas because I was... You were at fault too,
because you were
intimate with her. You were at my house every day minus these
last two weeks. So, Ms. Stallworth,
will you continue to
pursue a relationship with Mr. Hadley if
in fact it's determined
that he is Ms. Thomas' son's
biological father? STALLWORTH: No, Your Honor. You won't? I won't, no! THOMAS: That's a lie. JUDGE LAKE: So basically
your whole relationship you're working towards
is on the line. Because if he is the father
of her child, you don't wanna
be in a relationship with him. Yeah, if Mr. Hadley
is the father of
Ms. Thomas' baby, me and Mr. Hadley
would just co-parent
with our daughter and nothing further. He's been trying... So you two have a child as well? Yes, we do, we have
a baby girl. How old is your child? Uh, she'll be two
in November. And Jeremiah is
seven months. THOMAS: Mmm-hmm. So this has been
a love triangle that's been
going on for a while. THOMAS: Yes!
A long time. And you just go
back and forth,
Mr. Hadley, depending on whose
house you stay in? THOMAS: Yes! Well, it was like
whenever... She would get mad
at me a lot of times,
and she would kick me out
for no reason. I had plenty
of reason. Ms. Thomas was
the reason. There's so many times
he is texting me saying
he doesn't wanna be there. The only reason why
he is there is because she keeps using,
"Oh, you wanna be around "Ms. Thomas and "her son more than
you wanna be around
your daughter." So, he's up there
for these two weeks
for a guilt trip. So, Mr. Hadley, do you admit
you've just been going
back and forth between these two women
all this time? Uh, I have. JUDGE LAKE: So why are you
standing there with a smirk on your face like
you can't possibly
be this child's father when you are over there
living in a house with your clothes over there,
and you say you are going
back and forth? I have strong evidence,
I have strong beliefs,
I know. You have strong evidence
and strong beliefs. Where is it?
I haven't got
any of it. HADLEY: Well... I mean, I have... An inconclusive DNA test
doesn't tell me anything. And, um, I wasn't the first guy
she told she was pregnant when she first got pregnant.
We gonna get that out there. Well, tell me
something I don't know. Yeah, the first guy,
the guy that
she was messing with, a different guy, who knows, there's probably
more than one guy. Never told anybody else that
I was having his baby. She told him I wasn't
the first guy she told she was pregnant. She told the first guy first. I guess he didn't
say anything. Or blocked her. Oh, so you're feeling like
it's a process of elimination, and since the other guy
didn't want anything
to do with her, she's putting it on you. HADLEY: Yeah! I did not tell anyone else
first before telling him. When I took my tests is
when I told him first. I didn't tell
anyone else first. No! JUDGE LAKE: And what is
that you are holding? I have a picture of Mr. Hadley
when he was a baby and my son. JUDGE LAKE: Let me see
that evidence, please. Thank you, Jerome. Okay, what are these
pictures of? THOMAS: <i> That's my son,
Jeremiah and Mr. Hadley
as a baby.</i> JUDGE LAKE: <i> Jeremiah
on the left,</i> and Mr. Hadley as
a baby on the right. You say you see a resemblance. THOMAS: Yes! How about you, Mr. Hadley? I don't see it. STALLWORTH: The nose
kind of does look alike,
I give her that. And the eyes. So, what is his relationship
like with Jeremiah? He recognizes him
and is excited to see... THOMAS: Yes. He doesn't even have to say
anything for Jeremiah
to smile at him. He smiles at everybody. THOMAS: No, he doesn't. Yes, he does. Ms. Thomas, if he is in fact
determined to be your child's
biological father, do you wanna be in
a relationship
with Mr. Hadley? Do you want him to stay put,
stay in your home and be with you and
your child? I don't want him to be
going back and forth. He can be around
his daughter, but, however, this back and forth,
I don't trust him. JUDGE LAKE: Okay, what about
no back and forth, but he wants to be
with Ms. Stallworth? Are you okay with that? Yes, he just has to take
responsibility of my son. Okay, so you don't wanna
be in a relationship with him
necessarily? I could really care less
about being in a relationship
at this point. It's been going on
for too long, and I really don't trust that
he won't be back and forth. So you think, pretty much, as long as you two
women allow it, he will just continue
to go back and forth? THOMAS: Yes, pretty much. JUDGE LAKE: I can agree
with that assertion. THOMAS: Mmm-hmm. (AUDIENCE LAUGHS) Mr. Hadley, when you say
you can't possibly be this child's father, but
you admit to having sex
without using protection, you understand why
Ms. Thomas has reason to believe
you potentially could be her child's
father, right? Yes, I understand, you know,
there's a possibility,
but, um, I'm fully convinced, myself,
that there's no way. I think it's time
for the results.
Jerome, I'm ready. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics. And they read as follows. In the case of<i>
Thomas v. Hadley,</i> as it pertains to
7-month-old Jeremiah Hadley, it has been determined
by this court, Mr. Hadley, you are not his father. Oh, my God. I feel, you know, now
we can move forward now,
and she can stop, you know... She... No, you gotta stop. Yes, he has to stop. Me? (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Uh, and listen,
you all have a part
to play in this. But before you start getting on your high horse, Mr. Hadley, let's be clear,
you've gotta stop. Because you are going
back and forth between
these two women, and they're letting you.
That's a whole
other conversation. If you keep going the way
you're doing, at this rate, you'll just be
back up here again next year. She'll be pregnant again. Ms. Stallworth'll be standing
right here next to you
talking about, "I'm not gonna stay if he is." So, Ms. Thomas, ultimately, it's time for you to stop
focusing on Mr. Hadley
and Ms. Stallworth. You gotta focus on Jeremiah. There's a man that
you say you know is his biological father,
but he doesn't want anything
to do with him. You need to approach
that person again. THOMAS: Yes. And make it clear that you've had DNA testing for the other
potential father, and try to get a test
with him as well. Okay. JUDGE LAKE: For your son. Because he deserves
to know who his father is. Mmm-hmm. JUDGE LAKE: Now before court
is adjourned, I'm not gonna see you all
back in here again. Mr. Hadley, Ms. Stallworth... Yes. No, but I do... Wait a minute, wait a minute. Wait a minute, you say,
"Yes," he says, "No." Yes 'cause he had
question about our child. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMS) Yeah. Do you have doubts,
Mr. Hadley? Well, I have some doubts. Ms. Stallworth, does he have
reason to have doubt? Tell me now,
don't take me in circles. STALLWORTH:
Yeah, he has reason. All right, you know what,
we're gonna get this
done today. You two submit
to DNA testing, for your daughter, and get these questions
answered, and you will return
to this courtroom, and I will give you
those results. Do you understand? BOTH: Yes, Your Honor. Jerome, can you please
escort them out so
they can get tested? Good luck to you,
Ms. Thomas. Thank you. Court is adjourned.
(BANGS GAVEL) (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
