Please be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This is the case of<i>
Fields v. Nichelson.</i> Thank you, Jerome.
Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. Mr. Fields, you state
that you're here for the sake of
your one-year-old son. Yes, Your Honor. You claim the defendant
has lied to you, cheated on you and
even told you herself that you are
not the child's father. Yes. Yes, Your Honor. Ms. Nichelson,
you deny being unfaithful, and say Mr. Fields
is the one who has cheated and you can prove it. Yes, Your Honor. Furthermore, you say you're furious you have to
prove paternity to him. Yes, Your Honor. Now, Mr. Fields, what exactly
has Ms. Nichelson done to make you
doubt paternity? Well, Your Honor,
Sharice is a liar. The reason why I'm saying
this is because Sharice gets off of work
at 5:00 in the morning and she doesn't
come home until 9:00. Not to mention that I found numerous amount
of panties in her vehicle. SHARICE: Excuse me... Along... Along with an overnight bag. Your Honor... If you have an overnight bag,
and we live together, why do you have
an overnight bag, Sharice? Excuse me.
Your Honor, Tyrel's the one
who's a liar. He's the one
who's the cheater. He sends me videos, um, pictures...
I've seen text messages, Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, all of that... There's proof
that he's cheating. I also have a video... Okay, Your Honor, and I've
told her everything. I've told her
even before I've
done such a thing. Excuse me.
This relationship
is at rock bottom. You're a liar,
you're a cheater. I have proof
that you're
doing so, so, I mean... What proof
do you have? I have a video
showing that he's having sexual conduct
with this lady. Your Honor... (AUDIENCE GASPING) May I show you? Uh, you submitted this
video to the court? SHARICE: Yes. I had to black out
some things,
of course, but... Your Honor, I'm going
to tell you how much of a dishonest
person she is. SHARICE: Excuse me. He's in a public bathroom... JUDGE LAKE: All right,
first I'd like to
see her evidence. You've submitted
a video to the court. Yes. Let's take a look
at that evidence. AUDIENCE: Wow! SHARICE: But I'm the one
who's cheating. TYREL: Your Honor... SHARICE: But I'm the one
who's cheating. That's a video
you got from where? He sent it to my phone
about two weeks ago. JUDGE LAKE: He sent it
to your phone? About two weeks ago,
Your Honor. Why would you send
that video
to her phone? Your Honor,
I did it
out of anger and I told her that I was
gonna cheat because
she said she was gonna cheat. Your Honor,
just this morning, before we got here,
hours ago, she told me that
she slept with another man and she took my son
to go see him last week. And that's actually his dad. Excuse me, Your Honor. I did not see... I did not say that.
I did not say that
this morning. What I said to him was, "You keep telling me that,
'He's not your son,
he's not your son', <i> "so, yeah, I'm gonna let
you believe that
he's not your son."</i> Your Honor, she told me
that she was going to fail
the lie detector test and she slept
with another man. SHARICE: I never
told you that. I never told you
that, Tyrel. So, listen,
this relationship obviously isn't
going very well. No. Obviously not. Neither one of you
trusts the other, but I need you
to take me back during the
window of conception so I can understand what
exactly is going on and why is there
an issue surrounding
this child's paternity? Mr. Fields,
why are you doubtful? The reason why I'm
saying this is because I have a calendar
to show the conception of his time,
and the conception that
I caught her cheating. You believe the
conception dates are off? Yes. Now, to be clear,
you all were in a committed
relationship during this time? Correct. So you didn't think she was
having sex with anyone else but she was? Yes. And you know that? Yes. How do you know that? Her own cousin even told me
she was having sex
with another dude and that dude
called her phone. Excuse me,
was my cousin there to actually see
that we were having sex? Your Honor, her cousin
knew the guy's name, the car he drove
and everything. He doesn't drive a car,
he catches the bus,
so that's already a lie. So the guy he's
talking about,
you know who that guy is? Yeah, he's my co-worker. Were you in a
sexual relationship with him? No, I was not. Your Honor... Your Honor, one day
I went up to her job, the dude that I believe is
that child's father, he did a sexual
gesture to her in front of my face and she
pretended like
she didn't even see it. That's the same dude that
called her phone the same night I went to go
pick her up
from her house. Your Honor, how am I supposed
to see a gesture if it's behind me? He said
he seen it... If my eyes are
forward-looking
at you how can I see what's going on
behind my back? So you never
saw this gesture? I never saw. JUDGE LAKE: What kind of
gesture was it, Mr. Fields? He did a thrusting
sex gesture. JUDGE LAKE: So he was
implying that he was having sex
with her? Yes, and also, when I spoke
to him on the phone, he said blatantly that she was
on his top. And he was saying
that she wouldn't
leave him alone. Excuse me... Every time I came
into work, this
gentleman spoke to me. We're co-workers,
why aren't we able
to speak to one another? You are just insecure
of yourself. Your Honor... Obviously, that's what
the video just showed. I'm not the one who's
cheating. It's you. Your Honor, if you're
in a committed relationship, why is this dude calling
your phone at 11:00 at night? It was not 11:00 at night. So, if you are in a
committed relationship, why do you have
videos of women twerking on you? (AUDIENCE CLAPPING) I just do it. I just
do it, Your Honor. And you know
what she says? She says, "Go ahead and do it.
I want to see you do it. "Send me the video
after you're done." Excuse me, why would
I want my boyfriend
to cheat on me? What sense...
What female wants that? Does it make sense? It doesn't. Your Honor, she says... Who wants to be
cheated on? She says that out her mouth, along with her sister,
saying that she's a cheater and that...
That boy is not mine. (AUDIENCE GROANING) SHARICE: Your Honor... So, now, her family
member told you? That's correct.
Two family members. Her cousin and her sister
said that that baby's
not mine. (AUDIENCE GROANING) Your Honor, what
I want to know is, how are you listening
to other people when they're not even
the ones who were laying... Were with me while
I was having sex? (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) You... You've... I've been with
you since I was 16. Four years ago, Tyrel. Four years! This man
took my virginity. I've just been with him
all my life, really. He's all I know. (CRYING) And for him to
deny my kid, that hurts. It hurts so much. (CRYING) It really does. It hurts so much and
it's just crazy. SHARICE: (CRYING) I feel like, he believes that it's his son, but something's telling him
to not believe it, because his insecurities are
telling him not to believe it. Why... Well, Sharice, why do I not believe it? Because of yourself. You're insecure. Why am I insecure? You told me that you were
the same way
with your ex-girlfriend. Why am I insecure? You're insecure because
you think
that I'm cheating when you're the one
who's doing it
in reality. So you believe
you do nothing
to make me believe that? I don't do anything. Okay. What proof do you have? Explain to me... I've clearly got proof of you. Look at him,
he looks
just like you. Explain the hickeys
on your neck and the hickeys on your chest. I never had
a hickey on my neck.
Never. You don't even
suck on my neck. But, yet,
I got a hickey? I don't like it,
number one. Your Honor... Excuse me. Your Honor,
look at the furry head. Her coworker... <i> Same hairline.</i> <i> One of her coworkers</i> told me she was
giving a man
oral sex in a back hallway
at her job. SHARICE: Your Honor... That's a lot of people
talking about her. Exactly. You're getting
a lot of information that I
haven't even heard of. But you were seen walking
in the back hallway with him,
on camera. When was this? What camera?
Where is it at?
Where's the footage? Since I'm cheating,
where is the footage
to show the judge? Do you have any evidence
of this, Mr. Fields? Yes, I do,
but it's currently not here. Therefore that's
not evidence. And therefore... I cannot hear it. If you're going to
come to court, you've
got to be prepared. (AUDIENCE AGREEING) You're making a lot of assertions. Did you bring
any evidence? Yes, I did, Your Honor. What do you have, sir? I have a calendar. Jerome, would you
please hand me Mr. Fields' evidence. This is a calendar
you've prepared? Yes. And this calendar
is to outline <i> what, exactly?</i> TYREL: <i> The conception
of my son.</i> JUDGE LAKE: <i> So you claim
the estimated conception date</i> <i> is around September 24th,
which is outlined in green.</i> <i> That's correct.</i> <i> And then you have this
altercation with the coworker</i> <i> on September 27th?</i> <i> Correct.</i> Right after he did
this gesture, which implied he was
sleeping with your girlfriend. Correct. And then, <i> on October 24th,</i> <i> the doctor confirmed
that Ms. Nichelson was
four weeks pregnant.</i> TYREL: <i> Yes.</i> Now, as you count back
four weeks, <i> it's right during
the week where</i> <i> you believe she was
having sex with the coworker.</i> Yes, not to mention,
we weren't having sex at all
around that time. (AUDIENCE GASPING) Your Honor, first off,
those dates are wrong. We went to school
together out in Pittsburgh, okay, I found out that
I was... We arrived there
the 22nd of October, I was told that
I was pregnant the 25th of October,
okay? Two weeks after that,
that's when I had my
first doctor's appointment. And they told me
that I was five weeks. So if you
count by... Count back five weeks, that's not...
That doesn't even add up. <i> Two weeks after
October 25th is what?</i> <i> The second week
of November, am I correct?</i> <i> Count back five weeks,
it's still October.</i> JUDGE LAKE: <i> Yes.</i> SHARICE: <i> Where are you
getting these dates from?
That's what I want to know.</i> TYREL: Either way
we weren't having sex. Tyrel, we never
used protection! Either way, we weren't
having sex at that time. We never used protection.
I don't understand. And, so, were you intimate
with Ms. Nichelson
in October? No. (SCOFFS) Oh, my God! Your Honor, I didn't
even want to have
sex with her. Your Honor, sorry. We had sexual relations
every day.
Every day. Without protection.
Without protection. So for you to sit up here
and deny my baby, that makes no sense because
you know that you never used a condom
and I was never
on birth control. Your Honor,
she had to beg me. She said, if I don't
give it to her,
she'll get it elsewhere. What sense
does
that make? What sense does
that make? I'm not pressed for it.
You are, clearly. Clearly that's what the
video showed. Clearly. So at the point you find out
you're pregnant, you tell Mr. Fields? I was there. When she found out? Yes. At that time, did
you have a doubt? At that time I was excited. But then I started thinking
about, overall, what just went on,
what happened
previous to that, and I started having doubts. Not to mention
I've been there
since the whole nine months. <i> I take care of my son,
I do everything
for him.</i> SHARICE: <i> If he's doubting
my kid,</i> what sense...
You're providing
for him. Why are you providing
for a child you
don't think is yours? <i> I told you that
I'm going to provide
for my son until</i> <i> I'm proven otherwise.</i> SHARICE: <i> All right.</i> (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) JUDGE LAKE: Commendable. Your Honor, not to mention
I wasn't even
invited to the baby shower. You weren't? You were not...
You were not able...
I asked you to come. My mom did not
want you coming because none of my family
likes you. And you allowed that? And you know it. You know it.
We've been together
for four years. They've disliked you since
the second year of us
being together. And you allowed that? And you know it. Allow what?
It ain't my fault they don't like you,
it's because of yourself! Okay. It's because of yourself. So, Mr. Fields, when you didn't get
an invitation
to the baby shower, and you already were doubtful, that made you feel... That just added
icing on the cake for me. It added fuel
to the fire? Yeah. Your Honor, he even told me
that he didn't want to come,
due to my mother. That's false.
Your Honor, <i> the baby shower,
at that point,
didn't matter</i> because I had already had
my own baby shower
out of my own pocket. I buy everything
for him. He has all the toys.
Every release, he has. I buy everything for him,
his clothes. Before she was... When I first found out
she was pregnant,
I went right out, got a whole bunch of clothes
for him, everything. I was there for
the whole nine months,
I was paying the rent. I was there providing
for you and him. That's correct.
But, yet,
you brought me here because you're
denying the baby. So why provide for a child
that you
don't think is yours? You told me multiple times... You named him! You've told me... You're denying him,
but you named him! You told... He has your middle name
and last name. Would I name a child after him
if he's not his? You've told me multiple times
that he's not mine. What do you expect for
me to believe? I tell you this because you want to believe
that he's not yours, I'm going to also make you
believe he's not
yours until you... JUDGE LAKE: All right, so,
this is the part
right here because... Yeah. As the man says
he has doubts, as you get angrier
and angrier,
you begin to tell him, "Well, if you don't think the
baby's yours, "then I'll just tell you
the baby's not yours." And you do understand,
Ms. Nichelson,
that's just making a bad
situation worse. Mmm-hmm. Because... (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) What you've giving him is, you know,
something to
hang his hat on, I mean, literally. And that's unfortunate. Not just for you two,
because you're going
tit-for-tat and back and forth
and can't get along, <i> but for the child!</i> <i> How many times have you
said to him,</i> <i> "This isn't your child,"
then?</i> SHARICE: <i> It only had to be
about twice.</i> That's a lie, Your Honor. Is there proof? How many times
has she said that? I can't even
count on my fingers. Is there proof? Your Honor, if... If a girl tells you that
he's not your son, and she wants to go
take him to go see
another man, then what is that
going to make you believe? She took your son
to see another man? That's what she told me
hours before we got here. Your Honor,
that's nowhere near true. Nowhere near true. JUDGE LAKE: So you didn't
say that to him? No. What did you say? I told him
that it wasn't his. I didn't take him
to see no other person. But did you
tell him you did? Yeah, I told him. Okay. We were arguing. And did you tell him that
another man was his father? Yes. Okay. But it's quite clear
that he is. And she told me that she
failed a lie detector test and she slept with
other people as well. Number one,
the lie detector test, I clearly passed. I clearly passed.
You wanted it,
I took it. JUDGE LAKE: Wow. I just don't
want this anymore. So once you get
proven otherwise, just
see yourself out my house. AUDIENCE: Oh! Your Honor, it's not going to
change the fact that
she's controlling. I'm controlling? I had to... I've had to take her to court
to get custody for my son. I'm controlling? Because she's kept him
away from me. We both have
half custody! We went together! Because I had to
take her down there. Not to mention she has
an open court for you,
for custody violation because you refused
to give me my son. You're saying
he's your son, but when we get here
it's something else. TYREL: <i> But I also told you
he's my son
until I'm proven otherwise.</i> SHARICE: <i> Okay.</i> All right, I think it's time
for the results. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics, and they read as follows... In the case of<i>
Fields v. Nichelson,</i> when it comes to
one-year-old Khazier Fields... Mr. Fields, you are his father. How do you feel now,
Mr. Fields? I feel awesome.
I feel great. It's not going to
change anything. I still want to
continue to be there. I'm still going to be
the best father to him
that I can be. You always knew this! JUDGE LAKE:
Well, this could have gone
a completely different way. But, luckily, and I am thankful, as immature as
both of you are, I am so thankful you were smart enough to
find your way to
this courtroom, to <i> Paternity Court,</i> so
you can just get the answers. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Watching you two argue, if I didn't know
you were dating, I mean, sometimes,
it literally sounds
like brother and sister. I mean, it's like,
this is kids
having kids. There's two young people
trying to figure their own way out
into adulthood and now responsible
for raising
a young man. You guys got a lot
of work to do. But the immaturity
is clouding
your judgment and your ability
to co-parent and to focus on
what's important. I need you to work on that
and I'm serious. Because, ultimately,
there's an
innocent child out here that needs
you two to grow up. Am I clear? Yes, ma'am. Yes, Your Honor. I wish you the best of luck.
Court is adjourned. As far as what Judge Lake
had to say to me, I think it's
nothing but the truth. I think that that's going
to help me for the future and everything she said
was right. Now that I have the results
from Ms. Lauren Lake, I feel relieved because now
I don't have to hear him pressuring me,
calling me a cheater, liar, and everything else
and him denying my baby. But as far as
this relationship,
I don't want it. I don't want it anymore.
