Please be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This is the case of<i>
Alexander vs. Stewart.</i> Thank you, Jerome.
Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. Mr. Alexander, you are suing
your ex-girlfriend for $40 for the cost of
the administration fee to legally remove your name from her four-month-old
daughter, Jarriah's,
birth certificate because there
is absolutely no way you are her biological father. Yes, Your Honor. Ms. Stewart, you claim
that Mr. Alexander is Jarriah's biological
father and say you're devastated
that he would want
to remove his name from her birth certificate? Yes, Your Honor. In fact, you state that his
negligent behavior has caused you and your two children
to become homeless and you've asked
the court to award you $1,500 for
child-care expenses. Yes, Your Honor. So, Mr. Alexander,
tell the court, why should your
name be removed? Um, Your Honor,
I have several reasons why my name should be removed
from the birth certificate. For one, one night, we were,
um, in the bed chilling, I seen text messages
and several phone calls
from this guy named Dexter. She wouldn't answer the phone
when I was in the room. I guess she was waiting till,
maybe, I left or whatever so, that's kind of
a suspicion for me. So you saw text messages
coming in on her phone? Right. But you never questioned
her about it? I asked her about it
and she told me, like, don't worry about it, like,
basically, like, it's none
of my business. So, that's the reason
why I have a doubt. Also, a couple of times, when we were... We were
supposed to go bowling, to, like, a pre-game
bowling or whatever, um, we got drunk or whatever
before we left and
actually went bowling and she told me that,
basically, I was too
drunk, like, to bowl. Basically, took me home
with the kid, and, like, stay here and
watch the kids while she
went out somewhere else and didn't come
home till about 2:00,
3:00 in the morning. So that's why
I'm in doubt, too. JUDGE LAKE: Because
this was during the
window of conception? Right. So, you feel like she
was cheating on you during the time
Jarriah was conceived? Correct. Correct. Is that true,
Ms. Stewart? No, Your Honor,
it is not and I'm not even
sure why he denies. I mean, I didn't tell him that
I was pregnant until I was
about two and a half months, but I didn't tell him because
we were rocky at that time, it wasn't a solid foundation
so I didn't want to
make it even worse <i> by bringing a baby
into this situation.</i> So, Mr. Alexander, when
Ms. Stewart told you
that she was pregnant, did you have doubt instantly? Um, I did. I did have doubt
because when she told
me she was pregnant, we were actually on
a three-month break and we got back together,
like, two months after that and then that's when she
told me she was pregnant. So, we didn't have sex
on that three-month break. So, how could you be
pregnant by me, anyway,
is what I'm saying. So you feel like
the time didn't add up? Right. So, Ms. Stewart,
were you intimate with Mr. Alexander during
that three-month break? Yes, I was. So you say you were? Yes. I don't understand
how he doesn't say that. Every time we're on a break, it's not necessarily a break
because we, you know, we still have sex, so it's
not really a break. So, were you cheating? (CHUCKLES) No,
Your Honor, I was not. Let me tell you
what happened. So, I started feeling that
he was cheating on me and I went online to, I guess, try to see if there
was a way that you could tell if your partner
is cheating on you, and so I saw this
website that says, "Seven ways to know if your
partner is cheating on you," and every single one,
he was doing everything
that it said. And then at the bottom of the
link it said that there was
a way you could put a track... Tracking device on
his phone to see (AUDIENCE GASPS) if he was, you know,
the text messages. So I put it on there
and sure enough, there was a girl that
he was talking to on
the tracking device. So you put a tracking
device on his phone? Yes, Your Honor. Do you have proof of
that? Did you bring
anything to court? Yes, I do. Yes. You did? Jerome, let me
see that, please. And so this here <i> is a log of the calls that
were sent to your phone?</i> STEWART: <i> Yes.</i> <i> Yes.</i> JUDGE LAKE: <i> Walk me
through this.</i> Okay, so the first one
at the bottom, the 7:08 p.m., that is when he was gone,
he told me that he was
at his aunt's house and obviously you can
see there that he's
talking to a girl. JUDGE LAKE: <i> So at 7:08 p.m.,
his phone got a text from
a number that's not yours...</i> STEWART: <i> Yes.</i> <i> ...that says, "I'm looking
forward to tonight."</i> STEWART: <i> Yes.</i> JUDGE LAKE: <i> "I'm telling him
I'm working late."</i> Yes. And then at 7:15... Oh. <i> 7:15 p.m.,</i> <i> "Me too, I can't wait
to see your fine booty."</i> (AUDIENCE GASPING
AND GIGGLING) Mr. Alexander. Yes. Do you recognize this text? I don't. I don't, Your Honor.
Not at all. Of course, you wouldn't.
Of course, you wouldn't. Absolutely not. So you're saying
this is not your phone? It's not me, I didn't text. Do you recognize the text, <i> "Of course, baby,
I'm on my way now"</i> <i> at 10:17? You didn't
write that either?</i> No, Your Honor, I didn't. So, you're saying this app is completely faulty and
this is not your phone? Correct. Correct. And you weren't going after
anybody else's "fine booty?" (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) That's right, Your Honor. So, Ms. Stewart,
I'm trying to understand what this all has
to do with Dexter. Because if we're
being completely honest, even if this is his phone log, and he was going after
someone else or dating
someone else or cheating, that would not have
anything to do with
the paternity of Jarriah. Okay, so after
I found all of this, I decided to be
the same way as him. I came... No. (AUDIENCE MURMURING) I came up with a plan
with my best friend, I changed her name
in my phone to Dexter and I was texting her pretending I was talking
to a dude just so that he
would think I was cheating, because he cheated. Mmm. I've seen the text messages
about, "Can I come see you?"
"How you doing?" Like, like, Yeah, it was fake. that's her man, when I'm
supposed to be her man. So that's, like I said,
that's doubts her cheating, right there, to me,
if you ask me. That's the whole reason
I believe she was cheating. The only reason I did
that is because I saw
him cheating first. So you're saying the
entire thing was just fake, it was hoax, it was
something you were doing to make him feel badly
for what you thought
he was doing? Just because I wanted
him to feel like how I...
How he made me feel when I saw
those text messages. I just wanted him to see
how it felt to, you know,
be cheated on. Mr. Alexander,
you brought a witness. I'd like to hear from her.
Ma'am, please step up. State your name
for the record. Kourtney Alexander. And you are? I'm Mr. Alexander's sister. His sister? Yes. Ma'am, what do you have
to add to this situation? What do you know about this? Well, um, Ms. Stewart
and I have been friends
for over fifteen years and we've always talked
and told each other secrets
about, you know, having back up plans as far as if you have a boyfriend,
keeping one on the side for when your boyfriend
makes you mad, you can,
you know, just go talk to other
guys or whatever. So, as far as this guy
goes, it's not a hoax. They actually hang
out all the time. No, that's false. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. Your Honor, he calls
and texted her phone several times
throughout the night, 1:00 in the morning,
12:00 in the morning, like I said, but she don't
answer the phone, like,
that's kind of a suspicion. A person who calls you at
12:00 or 1:00 in the morning, especially a male, I mean,
he only wants one thing and that's probably
a booty call, so. And what about your booty? That's what I'm thinking. Your fine booty you're
looking for, like... (AUDIENCE CHUCKLING) Also, I just want to add in
that we've actually gone out
to meet guys together. I have no idea what
she's talking about. You've gone out to meet
guys with Ms. Stewart? Yes. Recently, yes, we have. They'd just had that
little break also and she
thought he was cheating, so we went out to go
hang out with guys. Your Honor, also,
she's also told me
several times that when we've been in
the heat of an argument, that the baby's
not mine, so. I said that one
time, one time. Therefore, I have doubts. So you do admit that
you said it, Ms. Stewart? Yes. One time, yes,
I did say that. My words were, "I wish that
she wasn't yours so that
I could be done with you." Thank you so much
for your testimony, ma'am. You may be seated. Thank you. Now that Jarriah's been here,
what has Mr. Alexander done
to step up to the plate? (SIGHS) He doesn't
do anything. Um, all my doctor's
appointments, (VOICE BREAKING) he's only
came... I'm sorry. (SNIFFLES) That's all right. Um, out of all my
doctor's appointments, he's only came to the
finding out the gender
and then the last two. I was going to all
of them by myself. (SOBBING) I'm sorry. And this hurts you
so much because you thought he would be there? Yeah. And she doesn't
deserve that, look at her. She's so cute, like,
why would you deny her? It just doesn't
make sense to me. And it just...
He doesn't do anything. One time, I asked him
if he could make her
a bottle, he refused to. So I gave Jarriah to him, went to go make the bottle,
when I come back,
she's on the bed crying 'cause he won't,
he doesn't want...
He doesn't hold her. ALEXANDER: Your Honor, I'm... You don't want to hold
this beautiful baby? I'm not gonna take care of
something that I don't know
for sure, if it's not mine. JUDGE LAKE: Something? A baby. I'm sorry. A baby that I don't
know for sure. Let's get it right. Right. That's a beautiful,
innocent, little baby. Right. Whether she's
yours or not, if she needs a bottle,
you can give it to her. STEWART: (SOBBING) Right. You're right, I could. But you're saying the doubt, the sincere doubt
that you carry around is preventing you from
connecting with this child. Right. Ms. Stewart, do you understand how
the tit for tat has come
back to haunt you? Yes. I do. You get that, right? It was a dumb mistake. Do you think he
can be a good father? Yes, Your Honor.
He can be a great father. <i> We have another kid, a son,
and he treats him perfect
and he claims him and...</i> But he won't give
the baby a bottle? Right, right. JUDGE LAKE: What is going on? Your Honor, I even have
these text messages from him. May I see that, Jerome? These are? Text messages from me and him. I asked him if he
can watch our kids
and he clearly refused. JUDGE LAKE: <i> So, first you
say "I need a favor."</i> <i> "You're going to be busy
Sunday or Monday?"</i> STEWART: <i> Yes.</i> And then he says,
"I don't know, it depends." And then you say, "Okay, well,
I need you to watch the kids
while I get my hair done." <i> He says, "I'll watch Jacobi,
but Jarriah, hell, no.</i> "Find her daddy." (AUDIENCE GASPS) Yes, Your Honor,
that's how I felt. Wow. I said it before, if I'm going to take
care of Jarriah, I want to be sure that
she's mine before I get
too attached to her and then it turns out
that she's not mine. I don't want it
to go that way. Are you being spiteful,
Mr. Alexander? Just to watch her
with her brother? What... What would
that do to you? It just seems
a little spiteful. So, Ms. Stewart, you have
come to court and you have
a counter suit as well? Yes. You are asking the court
to award you money for
child care expenses? Yes. Did you bring a list
of things for the court? I have, yes. Receipts. Jerome,
let me see that, please. You've made a list
of child care expenses. $168 in diapers, $120 in wipes, $675 in formula, baby clothes. Totaling $1,563.
Am I correct? Yes, Your Honor.
You know, Your Honor, it really hurts
just to be alone. I don't, I just don't like
the whole situation. I mean, right now,
I'm homeless, I don't have anywhere
to stay because of him. Because he got us
kicked out of our old place and now he's denying
our daughter and everything's
just all messed up,
just because of him, and because
of this stupid lie. None of this would even
be going on if she
wasn't talking to Dexter. That's the whole reason
why all this is going on. She was talking to
Dexter and that's what
got me in doubt. I see so clearly that if you're gonna try
to continue to have a
relationship with a person, especially have a child
with him at some later date, that it definitely
isn't the right strategy. Right. JUDGE LAKE: Um... Right now, he really
doesn't know the truth, in part, because you planted
the seed of doubt in his mind. Yeah, I understand. Mr. Alexander, I still
don't agree with the
way you've behaved towards this innocent,
beautiful, little child
especially considering that she's the mother
of another one
of your children. So, I'm ready to get the results because I want
to see where you two
are going to go from here after we figure out what the truth
is as it relates to
Jarriah's paternity. Jerome, I'm ready. These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics
and they read as follows. In the case of<i>
Alexander vs. Stewart,</i> when it comes to
four-month-old
Jarriah Alexander, it has been determined
by this court, Mr. Alexander... JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Alexander, you are her father. All right. You feel vindicated,
Ms. Stewart? I see you are feeling
very emotional over there. I'm just happy at the end that the results came back
like I said that they would. And how do you feel,
Mr. Alexander now that you know for sure? Now that I know for sure
that that's my daughter, I will step up to the plate,
be a man and take care of her. I will definitely do that. Good. That's good. Speaking of that fact, you asked for a name change. We don't need a
name change now. Right. Because she's, in fact,
your little girl. Right. With that said, I am
dismissing your claim for
the $40, are we clear? Yeah. Judgment for the
defendant on that. As for your
counter claim, ma'am. You were claiming
you spent $1,563 on child care expenses,
you provided receipts. Yes. And a log as to
what you spent. Since, in fact, Mr. Alexander
has been determined to be
Jarriah's biological father, you are entitled
to half of that amount. Okay. All right? Under the law. Okay. And, Mr. Alexander,
you should give that
to her without issue. The amount of $781.50,
judgment for the defendant. Clear? Yes, Your Honor. Now with that said, I always encourage
our families, our parents, even people that just have
to co-parent together, that it's better
to do it voluntarily. Yeah. If you can. It's your child, you have
two children together now, but they shouldn't have
to ride this rollercoaster
of emotions, disappointment and doubt because now the DNA
has given us the proof. We have counseling for you,
we have resources for you,
take advantage of it. Talk about this,
talk through this, figure out how to parent well.
You have two beautiful
children together, all right? I wish you the best of luck.
Court is adjourned. Thank you. Thank you.
