You may be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This is the case of<i>
Johnson v. Quintero.</i> Thank you, Jerome. You're welcome. Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. Mr. Johnson, you claim you are here
today with a relationship
on the line. Now, you are convinced
your fiancee's
eight-month-old daughter, <i> Camila, was fathered by her
ex-boyfriend and not you.</i> (AUDIENCE GASPS) If the DNA results prove
your deepest fears are true, you say you plan to leave her
and never look back. Ms. Quintero, you agree there is indeed a possibility
that another man
fathered your child, but say, you're hoping
it's not true. You claim your fiance
has been there for
your daughter since day one. <i> And you believe in your heart
she is his biological child.</i> Additionally, Mr. Johnson
you are asking the court to award you $275
in back-child care expenses, if the results prove
Camila is not your daughter, you'd like Ms. Quintero
to pay you back. Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Johnson,
explain to the court, exactly why are you
doubting the paternity
of your daughter? Well, Your Honor, it starts, maybe,
three years ago. I met Maria at my job,
my ex-girlfriend
brought her over there. The first time I seen her,
I fell in love.
I'm not gonna lie. AUDIENCE: Aw! She sorta had, like,
a glow around her. So... She had a boyfriend
at the time, and I had a girlfriend
at the time. So, I never really
talked to her. Few months went by,
and me and my
girlfriend broke up. Just so happened her
and her boyfriend broke up. She invited me to some party. I never showed up because
I thought my ex-girlfriend
was gonna be there. So, we usually talked
for months and months just through social networks,
never really on the phone
or anything. JUDGE LAKE: Mmm-hmm. And she... Happened to never get
back with her boyfriend. So we started to talk
in a relationship-wise
for a few weeks. We ended up having sex.
We sorta fell off
after the two weeks. She ended up going back
with her ex. You know,
just leaving me, pretty much. I say about a year ago,
we ended up talking again. Midway through March,
we considered dating. Let's put it like that,
we weren't really dating,
but we were talking about it. JUDGE LAKE: All right. And she calls me up one day,
and she's like, "Hey, you know I'm gonna go
look for some apartments,
you should come with." I was a little busy
at the time,
so told her, "No." "You know, I got stuff to do,
I can't do it." I called her back later
and she never picked up. She calls me up
on a phone and like, "Hey! "I'm pregnant."
I was at my brother's house, we were having
a little get together,
we were drinking. You know, just having fun.
I tell her right away,
"I gotta call you back." "You know, I can't talk
like this right now,
I'm a little drunk." I hung up the phone,
talked to my brother. It just caught me
so off-guard, it was really... So you say it caught
you off-guard when she said
she was pregnant. Did it catch you off-guard
because you didn't expect
her to say it? It wasn't a possibility
or you didn't think
you were the father? Uh, it was... I wasn't
expecting her to say it,
it was... We just started talking for
two weeks and just like that. It was just like,
"Boom, I'm pregnant." All right, so Ms. Quintero, you agree with the account
of your relationship? Not completely. You don't? No. Okay, what's your take? Okay, so, yeah, the whole
apartment thing, he... I didn't call him that day,
we had planned to go look for apartments
the day before. It was my first apartment,
I was really excited about it. So, he knew that
I was excited about it. So I called up the next
morning, he didn't answer. So I called him twice,
he didn't answer.
He didn't even hit me back up. So, what I did is hit up my ex to go look for apartments.
He was more than happy
to go look for apartments. And then, that's when
we started talking again. It's not that I was just like, "Oh, he can't come with me,
let me go try him." No... That's what it seems like
though, Your Honor. MS. QUINTERO: I mean... All right, so the bottom
line is you had an ex
you were with... Yeah. Then, you were briefly
together for couple of weeks. MS. QUINTERO: Yeah. You left, went back
to your ex. I wouldn't say I went back
to him. We hung out
for a couple of weeks. So, you hung out
for a while longer. MS. QUINTERO:
A little bit. Yeah. Did you hangout
in the bedroom? We did have sex, yeah. JUDGE LAKE: All right,
so you had sex with the ex. MS. QUINTERO: Yeah. So, during the window
of conception... did you have sex with
Mr. Johnson and your ex? Yeah. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. So, in a nutshell,
that's why we're here. So, Mr. Johnson, (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) when was your daughter born? MR. JOHNSON: <i> My daughter
was born, November 6, 2013.</i> JUDGE LAKE: All right. What are you holding? Yeah, that's a calendar. Jerome, will you please
hand me this calendar? It just states when Cami
was born and... The two months at the top
is midway when me and Maria started talking in on March
and February is the month when she was with her ex. So your daughter Camila was
born on the 6th of November? MR. JOHNSON: <i> Yes.</i> JUDGE LAKE: <i> And outlined
in green is the time,</i> <i> she, Ms. Quintero, was
intimate with her ex.</i> MR. JOHNSON: <i> Yes.</i> MS. QUINTERO: <i> Yes.</i> JUDGE LAKE: <i> And if you do
the math...</i> MR. JOHNSON: <i> Yeah, it leads
right to March.</i> JUDGE LAKE: <i> And count back,
it leads right to March.</i> MR. JOHNSON: <i> Yes.</i> (AUDIENCE GASPS) During the time,
you say she was with... ...her ex. Right around the time
she was with her ex, and right when we
and her started dating. And then when you
got back together... Yes. And two weeks later... Yeah. She says to you,
"I'm pregnant." Exactly. So Ms. Quintero,
do you believe what this calendar... ...represents? Yeah. Yes, Your Honor. And so... MS. QUINTERO: I mean...
Sorry to interrupt you. Her due date
was December 13th. She was born a month
and a half early. JUDGE LAKE: Okay... MR. JOHNSON: Yeah. So in your estimation
you feel like, if she was born around
the projected due date, then that would have
put the calculation back in the months when you two
were back together. Pretty much, 'cause we...
Our a date, official date,
was March 9th. <i> We set that day as because
since that day,
we hung out every day.</i> <i> March 30th, Saturday,
is when I found out
I was pregnant.</i> And I called him.
I mean I didn't call my ex,
I called him. And I told him,
he was just like,
"Let me call you back." And then he called me back
like about a minute later. And... MR. JOHNSON: You see,
Your Honor, uh... I used a condom
when we had sex, and... That was one of the things
that was puzzling me around
the whole pregnancy thing. 'Cause it was so close... MS. QUINTERO: He didn't use
a condom every time
we had sex. 'Cause we'd drink, forget to use a condom,
and I mean... It goes from there. So, during this
whole pregnancy,
during this whole time, is Mr. Johnson with you? MS. QUINTERO: Yes. JUDGE LAKE: All right,
so you participated... MR. JOHNSON: Yes. And you were there
for the birth? Yes. JUDGE LAKE: Did you sign
the birth certificate? Yes, Your Honor. In your mind during this time,
you said to yourself, "I'm gonna take on
this responsibility,
I believe this baby is mine." Or, "I'm just gonna hold off
and request a DNA test
when the baby is born." Well, when she admitted to me
that she and her ex
had something going on, part of me was very, very
upset, like, very, very upset. But the fact that she was
able to admit to me
I sorta pushed it aside. <i> And the fact that
it was so close</i> that me and her had
just had sex recently, was like, I just needed
to know afterwards. I didn't wanna sit here
and waste my time
judging Ms. Quintero. <i> Instead of sitting there going
to my doctor's appointments,</i> <i> being there for the child
because what if
later on I'd...</i> Later on, if I had, you know,
if I missed all of that... If two years from now... JUDGE LAKE: Right. MS. QUINTERO:
I told him since day one, you can take a DNA test,
since day one. I've told him, since I got
pregnant, I was like, "You wanna take one,
go ahead." You wait till now, why?
I don't know. I feel like it's because
he just wants to know
if it's his or hers, so he could start going
doing his own thing. (AUDIENCE MURMURS) Oh, you feel like
he's trying to use it to get off the hook
from the whole relationship. Pretty much. JUDGE LAKE: Oh. So... At some point you all decided
to get engaged, right? Yes, well, I decided
to engage her. MS. QUINTERO: Yeah! If that make any sense. JUDGE LAKE: And so... If you ask her to marry you,
it seems like you decided
to put this behind you. That you were gonna move
forward and you were gonna accept Camila
as your daughter. Yes... I mean I would think so. Up until recently... Yeah. I'm at work and I have people
coming up to me like, "Hey, you know,
you know, hey... "Your girlfriend was with
this guy at this time..." Why do people at work
know about your business? Oh, well, we... I publicly display my daughter <i> and everybody in our community
pretty much knows,</i> <i> Maria was with that other guy
a long time.</i> So they sorta look
at it as, uh... And he's... But I was with him for three
years and never got pregnant. Yeah, but it doesn't mean
it can't happen... So it's just like
the time I get with him for about two to three weeks
I get pregnant? But yet, me and you just got
together and I get pregnant,
so it's like... Really, honestly,
I have doubts, yes, I do. <i> But I feel like
it's more towards him,
to be honest with you.</i> He even like, I mean I have
here papers that show him saying he can't deny
that it's his. And he says
she doesn't look... Jerome, let me see
that evidence, please. JEROME: Yeah. When she was younger,
when she was like new-born,
she looked a lot like him. 'Cause even his friends
told him, she looked a lot
like him. Probably now... And so, what is this
you submitted, Ms. Quintero? It's onus that he says
"You know, I can't deny it.
She looks just like me." This is a post. BOTH: Yeah! <i> "Look at the mouth,
laugh out loud,
dats u all day bro."</i> MR. JOHNSON: Yes,
that's my sister. (LAUGHS) (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) And then, you write back,
"Wow, well, I can't deny it,
laugh out loud." MS. QUINTERO: <i> That's when
she was a lot younger.</i> MR. JOHNSON: <i> Oh, yes that was</i> MR. JOHNSON: a month after
she was born. And now... She's starting to look like...
If you see the other evidence,
she looks a lot like me. These are photos that you
submitted to the court... MS. QUINTERO: Yeah. And on the left side
is Camila. She's absolutely adorable. MS. QUINTERO: Thank you. And on the right side
is a picture of you, <i> when you were about her age.</i> <i> Yes, Your Honor.</i> <i> And she looks just like me.
Her nose. I mean, now maybe...</i> JUDGE LAKE: <i> Very much like
her mom, yes.</i> MS. QUINTERO: <i> Yeah.</i> So, it's like he said, "She
has silky hair like mine." I mean like, good for her,
you know what I mean,
it's just like... She's looking a lot like me. Your Honor, I just don't see any comparison with me at all. MS. QUINTERO: I mean not now. At all like anything. But she did. I mean... JUDGE LAKE:
You don't see any resemblance? Any comparison.
No, at all. She doesn't look like family. MR. JOHNSON: No. Your sister? Nothing. No, no. JUDGE LAKE: Okay.
And that makes you doubt? Which is why would he
care for us? Yes, that's exactly...
That makes me doubt, and that
and the time frame. Now, you say you signed
the birth certificate, though. MR. JOHNSON: Yes. So do you regret signing
the birth certificate before you knew whether or not
she was your biological child? No, I don't. One, because of the fact
like I stated, I would hated
to have missed that on that, being there all that time.
And two, me and Ms. Quintero
actually spoke about it before <i> the lady came in
with the birth certificate.</i> <i> So, and I told her that
I was willing to sign it.</i> So, then no, I don't
really regret that at all. JUDGE LAKE: All right. I mean I just don't understand
why he was there for me, and Camila all these times.
Like, he was there through my pregnancy like,
I had a C-section, so I had
to be at the hospital. <i> They said I'd be there
for a month. I was only
there for a week.</i> <i> He was there every single
night. He didn't leave that
hospital... Not one time.</i> My mom would bring us clothes.
So, the fact that he was there through everything,
moved out to Orlando
with me and my parents so he can help them out
and all that. But yet, you're doubting it? Why would you doubt it
and do all this for us? <i> I mean, yeah, I haven't had
a job for a year,
he's been working,</i> since before, even a little
bit before I was pregnant. But, it's just
why take care of us if you have doubts? Why don't you take a DNA test
when...the day she was born? I'm sure it'd appear to you
with all of that effort
and level of commitment, <i> that he had accepted,
Camila, and you all
were gonna be a family.</i> MS. QUINTERO: Yeah. And yet standing in
this courtroom today, Mr. Johnson, you made it clear that if Camila's not your
biological child then you plan on
calling the wedding off. Yes, Ma'am, yes. He just denies her,
usually he denies her when we are arguing,
that's what I feel like. When we are arguing about
him talking to other girls. He denies her, it's just like,
"You did wrong." So you're trying to,
are you trying to just
push it on me like, "Oh, she might...
She might not be mine." Because you just got caught
talking to another girl. MR. JOHNSON: Your Honor... Okay, so hold on,
what you're saying is, when you have
relationship issues... MS. QUINTERO: Yeah. ...and he gets caught talking
to girls or anything like that he'll throw this up
in your face. Yeah. Oh, Your Honor, it's not
like that all the time. I have brought it up
like at the times. What is it like? I've brought it up
plenty of times.
They'll just be times I'm like holding her
and I'm just like, "Eh,
you just don't look like me." There's no resemblance. "You are
too pretty to be mine." "You are too pretty to
be mine." That means
she's beautiful. Yeah. As far as the other girls go, I was sort of just...
Using a plan B. I mean I may sound
a little rude and come
off a little wrong. But it was like she kept
jumping back and forth
from me to her ex. So it was like
what am I supposed to do? I took my engagement ring off because we've been
having a lot of issues lately
of him talking to other girls. It's just like, what it was...
Not a couple of days ago that he was, I caught him
talking to another girl telling her that he doesn't
know about him and me anymore. Why would he tell
another girl that? Like, really and then
he'll tell me like, "What do I get out
of being with you?" Who... You know you don't tell
that to someone you're
supposedly in love with. Exactly. So, Mr. Johnson,
you know... As I'm listening
to this testimony, sounded like you are
pretty stand-up guy. AUDIENCE: Yeah, yeah. JUDGE LAKE: And yet, it does
seem a little bit like, you're holding this doubt
it's like a pawn in the game. What do you want
out of this relationship? I just wanna know
if Camila is mine. <i> That's what I really
wanna know.
Out of the relationship...</i> JUDGE LAKE:<i>
Because in your mind</i> this entire relationship,
marriage, situation, and life depends on whether
this child is yours. Yes, yes, Your Honor. MS. QUINTERO: I don't expect
him to be with me... Those are some
pretty heavy stakes. AUDIENCE: Mmm-hmm. You also add
and Ms. Quintero has said it explicitly that you're the one taking
care of her and the baby. Yeah. She's not working
and you are. Yes. And you provide the support,
so this is a perfect time to deal with your
arbitration, you say you've paid $275
in baby expenses. MR. JOHNSON: Yes. Do you have any proof of that? I couldn't get the receipts
for 'em or the bank statements because I was using
like a prepaid debit card. So I couldn't get
those for 'em. I can vouch for him,
he has paid for everything. I'm not saying he hasn't. JUDGE LAKE: All right,
so if I say the plaintiff contends he's
paid, $275 in baby expenses. $100 in diapers,
$75 in clothes, and food,
it's approximately $100. Do you believe that it's true? Um, I'm pretty sure
it's more than that. JUDGE LAKE: All right. Yeah. So, the $275 is agreed upon. MS. QUINTERO: Yes, Your Honor. And you're asking
if this child is not yours,
you want your money back. Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: All right. (AUDIENCE MURMURS) I think it's time
for the results. Jerome? JUDGE LAKE: These results were
prepared by DNA Diagnostics
and they read as follows. In the case of<i>
Johnson v. Quintero,</i>
when it comes to eight-month-old
Camila Johnson, Mr. Johnson... In the case of<i>
Johnson v. Quintero,</i>
when it comes to eight-month-old
Camila Johnson, Mr. Johnson... You are her father. (LAUGHING) Oh, man! Can I get a hug? BOTH: (LAUGHING) MR. JOHNSON: I'm sorry.
(CHUCKLES) AUDIENCE: (APPLAUDING) How do you feel, Ms. Quintero? It's a relief, it's like,
now we can go back to planning for our wedding. And I feel like now,
the whole him talking
to the girls should stop. And, we're gonna
move on from this. JUDGE LAKE: And now, since you've arrived
at the point, where you know
that this child is yours. There's no more
question. Right? BOTH: Yes. What we can do now
is take the past,
let it be the past. And the only plan B
should be 'plan baby'. Okay. Does that sound
like a good plan? Sounds like an amazing plan. And just remember,
when you have problems it's better to just work it
out between the two of you. I always say, "Don't seek
counsel under the covers "with someone else." (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) I'm so very happy for you. Thank you. JUDGE LAKE:
And finally, Mr. Johnson, in light of these results,
your claim is dismissed.
Court is adjourned. MS. QUINTERO: Thank you. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Judge Lake has opened my eyes,
no more plan B's for me. (BABY COOS) No more plan B's. No more. I mean, I, honestly,
I just feel like
we can move on from this. And we can finally
start a family. Just us three.
No more...other people
in our relationship. I'm sorry. It's okay. I'm so sorry. It's okay. Okay.
