Please be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This is the case of <i>
Horne v. Mannion.</i> Thank you, Ron.
Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. Mr. Horne, you had a wild weekend
three decades ago and now find yourself
in court to prove that you are not
the biological father of Ms. Mannion's
29-year-old son Andrew. Is that correct? HORNE: Yes, ma'am. You will meet him
for the very first time
in a moment, but say
today's DNA test will prove
you are not his dad. Yes, ma'am. Miss Mannion, you admit
to this wild weekend of sex, but claim,
you have no doubt that Mr. Horne is
your son's biological father. That is correct. JUDGE LAKE:
So, Mr. Horne, now, you claim
you received a
shocking phone call five years ago. Tell the court
what happened. Um, I was at work. I got a phone call
from a family member who never calls me
at work, asked me
if I remembered
a certain name, which was her name
and I was like, "Um... "You know how
I was back then, "I really don't have a clue
who you're talking about." (AUDIENCE LAUGHS) (MANNION SCOFFING) And so... She mentioned
a couple other names and that kind of
rung a bell. And told me that
she got a phone call from Mr. Haight
saying that I might
be his father. I got the phone number
from my family member, and I called Mr. Haight
and kinda told him,
I was, like, you know, "You do know
how your mom is. "I mean, she's like
a railroad track, "she's been laid
all across America." Your Honor,
that is a lie,
that is a lie. So, there's no way
I can be the father. JUDGE LAKE: Oh! Oh! Uh-uh. Uh-uh. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. Let's try to be respectful,
but I get your point. So, it was your opinion
that Ms. Mannion
had been promiscuous. HORNE: Uh, yeah. Okay. And so, you had
the phone conversation and you basically,
told him... That I... "There's no way
I could be the father." JUDGE LAKE:
Uh, Ms. Mannion? Yes, Your Honor? JUDGE LAKE:
He called your son. And he basically said
there's no possible way he could be
his biological father. He is the father. Because I was
in another relationship and a paternity test
did come out
that the other... The other guy
was not the father. And there was only
two people that I was with
during that time. So there were
two people you were with, and you said
you had a DNA test
on the other one, and so, you feel
like it has to be
Mr. Horne from this point. (HORNE MUMBLES INDISTINCTLY) MANNION: Yes. Okay, I want to understand
how this, all this started. HORNE:
We were at a party, on a weekend,
at an apartment complex
of a buddy of mine's. She showed up, I didn't really
have a clue who she was, we started chatting, she kept coming
on to me. That is a lie. I found out she was
a friend of mine's
girlfriend or dating... They were dating
or whatever,
he was in California. So she kept coming
on to me the more we drank. Ugh. (MANNION GRUMBLES) HORNE:
I drank quite a bit. Passed out, I woke up
to the best
alarm clock ever... MANNION: Oh, no! No! No! No! No!
No! No! No! Whoo! MANNION: I do not do
that kind of stuff. HORNE:
Yes, you did. I'm sorry, no. I did not. (AUDIENCE LAUGHS) I do not put myself
out like that, ever. He was drunk, he came to me. HORNE:
Yeah, I was drunk! I passed out and you
took advantage of me. No! No! (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) Oh, come on, woman! He woke me up. Let's talk
about that. He was talking about
taking me to the car and talking to me,
and reached out
and kissed me. I'm like, "Excuse me,
I have a boyfriend." (POUNDS DESK) Okay, so... MANNION: No. No. We don't know
who woke who up. MANNION: Right. And 'cause that's the evening
you say you conceived
your son. I only slept
with, uh,
Mr. Horne twice. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. One that night
and one the next day. And then, from there,
you basically
moved on. You guys did not
start a relationship. You didn't keep in touch.
It was none of that? Not even close. Did you ever hear
she was pregnant? I found out
that she was pregnant after she had
the child. Um, I ran into the dude that she was dating
at the time. He said
he took a DNA test but he'd never seen
the results, so, therefore, he could
not be the father. Now, I call it like I see it,
she's a hoe. Okay, okay... So there's no way
I could be the dad. Okay, okay, okay... We've got to come up
with a new word. Just work
with me here. All right. Ms. Mannion, once you realized
that you were pregnant, did you immediately
think it was
Mr. Horne's child? MANNION:
No, I did not. JUDGE LAKE:
You thought it was
someone else's? Yes. Yep. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. And that's the man
that you had tested? Well, I did not pay for it.
Uh, his family did. Did you bring copies
of the DNA testing results? No, I did not. Anything to court
as proof? I did not get
the results. All I know is,
he told me. I even called her family
after this 'cause the said dude
that she thought
was the father gave me
the phone number, 'cause I was like,
"You know, if I got a kid, "I want to be
part of the kid's life." When I called,
the grandmother
answered the phone. And I said who I was. And the grandmother's
like, "Are you sure
that you're the father?" JUDGE LAKE: So,
you knew at that point there was a question
as to the paternity. Yes ma'am, I was...
I'll admit I was, uh... I used to drink a lot
and used to drug a lot. I was in no case to,
you know, way to
take care of a kid. And a kid that probably
wasn't even mine anyway, so I just let it go. Okay, so you thought
someone else was the father, you had him
take a DNA test, but you never saw
the results! Did you ever see
Mr. Horne after that,
Ms. Mannion? No, I had no way
to get a hold of him.
All I know is, my mother told me
that he contacted them and even left his name,
his phone number for when my child
gets older, to contact him. Ms. Mannion,
you are stating
to the court, that you do,
in fact, agree with Mr. Horne's testimony that at some point,
he called a family
member to enquire. Yes, he did. JUDGE LAKE:
At that point
you say he even left his name
and number. MANNION:
That is correct. And did you ever
reach out to him after he left the name
and number? No, my mother lost
the number. They got his name
and number and told you, but they never
showed you. Yeah, they never
showed me. JUDGE LAKE: Okay.
I want to hear
from your son. Your son Andrew is here. Ron, can you please,
uh, grab Mr. Haight? RON: Yes, ma'am. Thank you
for joining us today. No problem. We are here trying
to get some answers
for you. Who did your mother
lead you to believe was your biological father
from the beginning? Well, at firs...
I was with my grandparents for the first five
years of my life. Okay. I considered them
my mum and dad, and I kept calling her
Christina. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. HAIGHT: I ended up
going to live with her
at the age of five. JUDGE LAKE:
Okay. And she was married
at the time. Okay. And so I assumed that he could have
been the father
at that time. Okay. And at what point
did you find out
that he wasn't? Around the time that
that relationship ended. How old were you then? Uh, 12. Twelve. So, for the first
five years of your life, you considered
your grandmother
and grandfather to be your mother
and father, so you called them
Mom and Dad? Correct. Then, when you
went to live with your mother,
she was married, and so then you thought
your stepdad was your dad? Correct. And then
when they broke up, that's when you realized,
he was not your father
either. That is correct. What did your mother
tell you at that point? I asked her
who he was and she gave me
the name Kevin Horne. The very first time. JUDGE LAKE:
The first time you asked? MANNION: Mmm-hmm. HAIGHT: The first time
I asked. And she had absolutely
no doubt in her mind? She had no doubt
in her mind. JUDGE LAKE:
She didn't say it could be
somebody else too? No, she didn't. Just said,
"Kevin Horne." Yup. MANNION:
Mmm-hmm. At that point,
what did you do
with that information? I stored it in memory. JUDGE LAKE:
You stored it. So I could find a way
to find him. Until you could find
a way to find him. So when you gave him
that information, Ms. Mannion, did you truly believe
Mr. Horne was the father? Because you've admitted
in court today that there possibly
could be another man. But they told you,
the DNA test proved
it wasn't true, but you didn't see it. So did you ever think,
to maybe fill your
son in and say, "Well, there also
was another guy." Your Honor,
the other guy did sign
the birth certificate. Because he believed also
that he was the father. Let me see that, Ron. RON: Here you go,
Your Honor. So, wait a minute. MANNION: (STUTTERS)
I'm sorry, Your Honor, my son's last name
is my maiden name. Okay, so you gave your son
your maiden last name. Yes, I did. The name of the father
on the birth certificate is it the same name of the man that had
the test previously? MANNION: Yes, it is. He signed the
birth certificate before
the test was done. So, Mr. Horne,
you don't seem like
you believe in this. (AUDIENCE CHUCKLING) Um... Is anybody actually in here
believing this crap? MAN: No! So, Mr. Haight,
did your mom ever say to you, "Mr. Horne
is one possibility, "but there potentially
was someone else. "We had a test, but I...
I never saw the result." Did she tell you
that part of the story? HAIGHT: Nope. When I went to get
that birth certificate
for an ID, it was the first time
I found out that. You saw your birth certificate
for the first time, how old? Uh... 17, 18. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMS) So when you went
to get your ID
was the first time you'd ever seen
your birth certificate. Correct. JUDGE LAKE: And when
you looked at the name of the father
listed on there, you didn't know who... It wasn't
Kevin Horne. JUDGE LAKE:
It wasn't Kevin Horne. Did you ask
your mother? HAIGHT: I did. She said there was
a DNA test done and that he was
not the father. It wasn't until recently
that I actually
started asking, "Where is this evidence?" (INDISTINCT MURMURING) Bingo. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) That's what I'm talking about. First he thought
your father was his father. Then he thought
your husband was
his father. (STAMMERING) Then you told him
he was his father. Then in court you said
there's another guy. HORNE: That... Somebody else. JUDGE LAKE: I'm listening
to this story. And at 29 years
of age, I think we need to take
a little bit more seriously the fact that he still
really doesn't know who his biological father is. (AUDIENCE MUMBLING) I agree. JUDGE LAKE: And... As you stand here today, and you so easily
write that other guy off 'cause he got tested
and he wasn't the father, I can't write him off! WOMAN: Mmm-mmm. 'Cause you don't
have any proof! Yeah, you're right. So then, that leaves
him in a position where he can't fully... Accept that truth. Even if it is true,
he can't fully accept it 'cause he can't see
the paperwork. I understand. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. Mr. Haight,
what are you hoping
for today? I'm hoping
that I actually
have found my father. JUDGE LAKE:
So since you were
12 years old, you've been carrying
the name Kevin Horne
in the back of your mind. Correct. JUDGE LAKE:
And today, this very moment
is the first time you've ever laid
eyes on him. That is correct. Other than that.
Yeah. Other than that picture
on the Internet when I found
the information. My grandmother lost
all the information
that he gave her. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIM) So I, uh... did investigative work
myself to find him. JUDGE LAKE:
Good for you. And we've been talking
for the last five years... You have? Yeah, we have. Good. Um, the kid... I hate to keep
calling him a kid 'cause he's almost 30. (HAIGHT CHUCKLES) He's had
a rough childhood.
You know, and... The thing that makes me
the maddest most about it
is the fact that she knew how to find me,
she could've found me. I didn't know
how to find him. And if... If he is my son, I've lost
29 years of his life. Other than
the last few years... Oh, please! ...that we've been able
to talk on the phone. So... I'm sorry that that... That you made
poor choices
that left you... Yeah, one of them
was having sex with you! But that's beside
the point. (AUDIENCE GASPS) Oh, please! If that is my kid, you took 29 years
of his life
of not having a dad... MANNION: Yeah. So, so, so... And being confused for so many years... Why did you disappear?
Why did you go away? I've lived in
Orlando, Florida,
for the last 29 years! No, no, no. I didn't go anywhere. Why did you dis...
Yeah, you did. You had the information,
and you disappeared. Why didn't you call
and contact him? Because your mom
even... MANNION: Why? No! Oh, come on! JUDGE LAKE:
All right, so, so... My family ain't like that. So, Ms. Mannion,
I get why you're upset. I mean, this has all
really gone over your head. I mean, literally.
It just... You are not grasping
what really has happened. And what he's trying
to say is, when there was a question
regarding the paternity, he made the phone call. Your family
then informed him that there was another
possible father, and it probably was because
at that time you even said, you believed it was
the other guy's child. So when he got
the information
that it wasn't his, he left it alone, but I said,
"I'll leave my number, "if anything else changes." He thought he never
got a call because
nothing else changed! (AUDIENCE MUMBLING) But what happened was
is his number got lost. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) See, I see
what happened. Yeah, I didn't even
see the number. We know, you didn't
see anything. (AUDIENCE CHUCKLES) You have... No really, Ms. Mannion,
you have not seen it. Really? JUDGE LAKE: I get it. You have not seen it. No! That's why I'm here
to try to make
you understand that even though
you do want to believe... And look, Mr. Horne
has been slightly harsh
today in his language, but I do understand
what he's saying. What's wrong,
Ms. Mannion? (AUDIENCE MUTTERING) (SNIFFLING) Truth hurt? JUDGE LAKE:
You need to calm down,
Miss Mannion, because I have
the results for you. Mr. Haight? HAIGHT: Yes. Is there anything
you'd like to say, sir? 'Cause at the end of the day,
this is about you. What would you like
to say? Well... If you are the father, I would like to continue
growing our relationship. HORNE: Definitely. And if not... I would still like
to just... We can go as a, uh...
Like... Older brother-type thing,
I guess. (CHUCKLES) (AUDIENCE CHUCKLING) JUDGE LAKE:
That's sweet. A much younger
older brother. HAIGHT: Yeah. (ALL CHUCKLE) I want to give you
the results.
Ron? RON: Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE:
Thank You. These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics
and they read as follows. In the case of<i>
Horne v. Mannion...</i> When it comes
to 29-year-old
Andrew Haight, it has been determined
by this court Mr. Horne, you... Are his father. (APPLAUDING AND CHEERING) MANNION:
I told you! I told you! HORNE: We've got this,
all right? HAIGHT: Yeah. JUDGE LAKE:
How do you feel? HAIGHT:
I'm very happy. JUDGE LAKE:
I'm happy for you. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) You're a 29-year-old
young man. And you know what? I see young men
come in this courtroom that have never, ever
known their father at all. That's one issue
to deal with, and that is difficult. It's a complete
different thing to every five
to seven years
somebody tell you somebody new is your dad. (ALL CHUCKLE) Yeah. That is confusing
and heartbreaking! HAIGHT: Yeah, it is. I know, I can see it
in your face! But I am so thankful
that you all had the courage to come here today
no matter what happened, what we got wrong... You know,
whose feelings got hurt... The point is,
is we got to the truth. And now you can
walk out of here
and know that that name you've been entertaining
since you were 12 years old, Kevin Horne,
that really is your
biological father. HAIGHT:
Yes, I can. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) JUDGE LAKE:
I'm so happy. I'm glad you've already
been getting to know
one another, but now you can get
to know one another even on the next level
with clarity. And that absolute knowing... And my grandkids. JUDGE LAKE:
Amen to that! We got grandkids? HAIGHT: Yes, we do. JUDGE LAKE:
Oh, that's awesome! (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) So... You all have a lot
of good catching up to do. And I know these grandkids
are gonna be so happy that they can say
who their grandfather is. And I wish you
all the very best of luck. Court is adjourned. HORNE: Thank you.
