Please be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello, Ron. This is the case of <i>
Robertson v. McBain Sr.</i> Thank you.
Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Robertson? Yes, Your Honor? Your world
was turned upside down
at the age of eight when you received
the shocking news that the man you believed
to be your biological father
was not. Yes, Your Honor. You were informed that
the defendant Mr. McBain Sr.
is your father. Yes, Your Honor. You dragged him to court
to prove that today. Yes, Your Honor. And Mr. McBain, you say
during your military career, you were married
to the plaintiff's mother, however, you are certain
that you are not her father because you claim
her mother was unfaithful
and you have proof. Yes, Your Honor, I do. Ms. Robertson,
now what happened when
you tuned eight years old, please tell the court. When I was eight years old,
my mother had sat me down and she had found
Mr. McBain in the phone book and she said, "This is your
biological father, "right here." She pointed him out
in the phone book? Yes, Your Honor. And from that point, I didn't really think
anything of it, I was eight years old, it was kinda like
it was nothing. So now my question is
why if he's denying it, why is his name
on my birth certificate, <i> why did he sign
his rights away,</i> and Your Honor,
I have proof right here. Ron, can you
please hand me that evidence? RON: Yes, Your Honor. And this, I can see,
is still affecting you,
even as an adult woman. This memory of being told this
at eight years old and having so many
unanswered questions. ROBERTSON: Yes, Your Honor. So this is
your birth certificate. MCBAIN: <i> Yes, my name</i> <i>
may be on there, Your Honor,</i> <i> however, it's on there
because the state
put it on there.</i> <i> I had nothing to do
with putting my name
on her birth certificate.</i> JUDGE LAKE:
So you're listed as father? Yes, but that was against
my objections. But during that time,
you were married
to her mother? Yes, ma'am, I was. JUDGE LAKE: <i> So a child bor
within a marriage</i> <i> is presumed to be
the husband's child?</i> So your name was
automatically placed on the
birth certificate as father? But even in that moment
at the hospital... I wasn't there. JUDGE LAKE: You weren't there, but you would not have
voluntarily placed your name on the birth certificate
if you had a choice? No, Your Honor, I wouldn't. Because you had doubts
even then? Even then I had doubts. That's one of the reasons
I let Mr. Harris go ahead
and adopt her. Because she did deserve
to have a father. She's not... It's not her
fault who her mother is. So you were married
to her mother? MCBAIN: Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: <i> And you served</i> <i>
in the military?</i> MCBAIN: <i> Yes, I was in...</i> JUDGE LAKE:<i>
Thank you for your service.</i> But during that time
you say she was unfaithful? Yes, Your Honor, she was.
Not only was
she unfaithful, she asked me for a threesome at one point in the marriage,
as well. JUDGE LAKE: So, Ms. Robertson,
I want to move to you
a little bit, because after eight years old,
how were you coping? I let it go until
right before
my 13th birthday. <i> And that's when I
had told my mother</i> that all I wanted
for my 13th birthday
was to meet Mr. McBain. JUDGE LAKE: What did she say? ROBERTSON: She got it for me. MCBAIN:
I don't remember that at all. JUDGE LAKE: Well, wait a
minute, if you don't remember
it, let me have her tell it. Ms. Robertson,
what do you remember? ROBERTSON: It only lasted
about 40 minutes, and that was like more than
anything in the world
for me at that time. And then it was over. After that, I believe I talked to him a couple of times after that, then all of a sudden,
his phone number
got disconnected, it was taken out
of the phone book and he was just gone,
like he fell off
the face of the Earth. I'm not her dad. Your mother is
absolutely shaking over here, I want to stand her up,
ma'am, please. Ms. Graham,
thank you for being here. Do you have any doubts that Mr. McBain
is your daughter's
biological father? Your Honor, Mr. McBain,
you and I were married, we were living
in the same place. MCBAIN:
Yes, and I worked a lot. GRAHAM: And you were there. MCBAIN: I was in the
United States Coast Guard,
Your Honor. And the first unit
that I was in, we were one-in-four duty, which meant I was off
for one day and on for four. And you're suggesting
that you worked too much
to be her father? No, I'm saying
I'm not her father because while in
the Coast Guard just before she informed me
that she was pregnant, I was told by the Coast Guard
I was sterile. And you got three kids
after that, Mr. McBain. How were you sterile? MCBAIN: Yes, I had
three kids after that. However, it was due to stress.
I was under a great deal... Oh, yeah,
you were under stress,
with other women. I never once cheated
on Ms. Graham.
I'm not like her. You believe she was cheating
on you around the time
Ms. Robertson was conceived? MCBAIN: Yes. Explain. MCBAIN: <i> One example,
when I was working
seven days a week,</i> for about
three months straight,
and went back home. As I'm walking across
the living room, I look over and there's a pair of boots
and a coat on the floor... Your Honor, those were
his boots and his coat! MCBAIN: They were size 10,
Your Honor, I wear size 12. The coat was a medium,
I wear a 2x coat. Anyway, I walked over
to her room, I beat on the door
and I said, "I don't know
who you are in there, "but you've got 30 seconds
to get out of my house, "or you're gonna be
really sorry." No. So you completely refute
this suggestion that you were in your room
with another man? MCBAIN: Not only was she
in the room with another man, but she was having sex... JUDGE LAKE: So your feel like
you caught her... GRAHAM: Your Honor, Mr. McBain
has been a sperm donor to me. That's all he was. Our whole marriage was a joke. You were a cheat, that's why. She cheated on me
almost from day one. So it's obvious you all
had some marital issues. During the time,
Ms. Robertson was conceived,
do you remember anything? Yes, that's about the time
that we had the threesome. Your Honor, there was no threesomes
in Kodiak. And if there was
any threesomes at all, it was because
Mr. McBain had asked for them. And why would I do that? I did that
to try to appease you and to keep your mouth closed. Now, Ms. Graham, I did hear you admit
that you were cheating, but you said you were cheating
after Ms. Robertson was
already conceived and born. Now earlier you said
you never slept with anybody. GRAHAM: No. Before Ms. Robertson
was conceived, no, I had not slept
with anybody but Mr. McBain. That is an outright lie,
Your Honor. After I found out I was
pregnant with Ms. Robertson, then we had split up. I believe that the guy
we had the threesome with is actually the father
of Ms. Robertson. JUDGE LAKE: Oh. GRAHAM: Excuse me,
and who is that? It was an individual
I was stationed with. Yeah, you were stationed
with a lot. MCBAIN:
I know, and so were you. JUDGE LAKE: But wait a minute. He's talking about... Whoo! So, Mr. McBain, you truly
believe this other man could potentially be
Ms. Robertson's father? Yes, I do, Your Honor. Why? Well, between the Coast Guard
telling me I was sterile and the fact that the man's
Hawaiian, Samoan. Your Honor, this girl
is white as white could be! So, wait a minute,
you're saying
the other guy is Samoan? MCBAIN: Yes. And so that's how you believe
that Ms. Robertson
looks Samoan? MCBAIN: Some of her
facial features, yes. (LAUGHTER) GRAHAM: Your Honor,
this is the confusion
I put up with <i> during the whole marriage
with this man.</i> The confusion she put up with
is she couldn't figure out
who it was in her bed. JUDGE LAKE: Whoo! So, Ms. Graham, I have to
ask you respectfully, do you remember
this threesome? Not that he's
talking about, no. Do you remember
any threesome? There was one or two, yes,
at his request. Okay. You're the one that brought
your friends to me. And why would I do that? Because you
couldn't fulfill it. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. So... Is that right? Your Honor, I met at least
ten gentlemen who claimed
that they had been in her bed. JUDGE LAKE: Ten? Yes. Ten. Really? Yes, Your Honor. How do you know this? They were talking about it? Yes, I got them to admit. The first thing I did
was I found out who they were. I got them to admit
to what they had done. Because, you know,
guys like to talk. JUDGE LAKE: So
you befriended them, then once they said it,
you said, "A-ha." Exactly. Your Honor, we were
well separated after this time. JUDGE LAKE: So you remember
a time when you were having... Not ten men, no. JUDGE LAKE: Okay, but you
remember when you were, let's say it nicely... Promiscuous
with one other man, yes. Well, that wasn't really
the word I was going to use,
but since you said it... Yes, you were promiscuous.
One other man at a time. Ms. Robertson,
I can only imagine how difficult this testimony
is for you to hear and as I look at you
with tears in your eyes and you have to listen to this
going back and forth
between your mother and the man she says
is your biological father, it's just not right. Anything you've heard
thus far, does it make you think
any differently? Do you... No, because I look like him,
I'm built like him. Well, the part I'm having
trouble with, Mr. McBain, is even if your account
is true, even if she was
sleeping around, if she was your wife
and you were also
sleeping with her, couldn't you potentially
be Ms. Robertson's
biological father? I don't feel she looks
as much like me
as she thinks she does. Also, due to the fact of what
the Coast Guard told me, and due to the fact
that Ms. Graham
is a cheater... JUDGE LAKE: What do you think
Ms. Graham's motivation was to sit Ms. Robertson down
at eight years old and say, "I need
to tell you something." I have no idea, whatsoever,
what she was trying
to pull there. Because nobody would walk
their daughter, their child,
into this brick wall. Nobody would do that. (AUDIENCE CLAPS) GRAHAM: Thank you. MCBAIN: I have three other
kids that I've made, and then one other
that I took on and my fiancee
has two children
that I'm father... GRAHAM: No wonder
he's denying it,
that's too many. This is your fiancee? Yes, ma'am. Please stand, ma'am,
I'd like to hear from you. State you name for the court. My name is Sarah Lawrence. Sarah Lawrence, okay,
you are Mr. McBain's fiancee? Yes I am. JUDGE LAKE: Had he ever told
you that he had another child
by his wife, potentially, even if
he didn't believe it,
potentially? Well, actually I found out
about Ms. Robertson, she had contacted him
through Facebook
and also called and I had no idea
who she was, and I kind of freaked out
on him a little bit. But then he briefed me
on what her motive was, and that was to find out
if that was her father. If you were not her father,
then why did you show up
at my house and tell her,
"I am your daddy"? When did you do that? And then turn around
and sign your rights away
the next day for her? See, he wouldn't do that. I know him. You did not know him then. You did not know him. The reason I was at your house
was because the State ordinate was taking money
out of my unemployment for child support. GRAHAM: Because she's
your daughter! So I went to your house
and I sit in your living room
two different times and that's all it took, and your then-husband
decided he was going to adopt, and asked me
if I'd sign over my rights. I said yes, because it's only fair to her
that she's got a father. He was willing to do it, and I didn't feel
that she was my daughter. So, Ms. Lawrence,
you hear this story about your fiance giving up
his parental rights, 18 months old,
this baby is 18 months old. LAWRENCE: <i> Well, he tells me
the story of how
he's telling you now.</i> He's an honest man,
he takes care
of his responsibility. He's just not the way
that she's painting
the picture for everybody. Your Honor,
I'm an honest woman, too. Ms. Robertson,
all of this aside... It's confusing. It is. It is. And what I see happening
before my very eyes is what I know
happened then. That they both do all of this
and then you just fade
to the back. Your Honor, no matter what... JUDGE LAKE: Your mother
running her mouth now,
I'm trying to talk to you. I'm happy that I have
a father, Mr. Harris, that has taken care of me,
I'm very blessed for that,
and um... Which is what my goal was
in having him adopt her. ROBERTSON: And then
I had my mother... Every child deserves
to have a father. But the truth is,
your relinquished
your parental rights, and it wasn't until
three years later... MCBAIN: It wasn't that long,
Your Honor. She was a baby at the time. JUDGE LAKE: And I'm scratching
my head at how the court
will let... You relinquished your rights. Because she didn't think
that she was his. And because you guys
were separated.
You guys were divorcing. GRAHAM: You didn't know. LAWRENCE: No I don't.
I wasn't there. Exactly. So you're not even
in this picture. JUDGE LAKE: So
Ms. Robertson... She is in my picture. ...back to you, since I seem to be
the only person
that addresses you, how in the world
have you been getting on
and managing all of this? And what do you hope
to get from this answer? I want to know
more about my background, like he said,
he has three other kids, I would like to become
in contact with them, as well, and... And if it turns out,
that she is... JUDGE LAKE: Let her speak. I just... Mainly my heritage
and to get to know him. You know, I possibly
have siblings out there. JUDGE LAKE: So even after all
you've heard him say, I can see in your eyes
it still means
the world to you, that if he's your
biological father, for you to have a chance
to know him. Yes, Your Honor. If she is my child,
then I'm going to have to do some re-evaluation
of my thinking. JUDGE LAKE: You sure are. If she is my child... If she's my child... 33 years late. Will you just let me
speak for a moment? If she's my child,
by all means,
I will step up, and help her in any way. If she's not my child, I'll still help her
find out who her father is! (AUDIENCE CLAPS) Thank you,
and I have those answers
for you all. Ron? These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics and
they read as follows. In the case of<i>
Robertson v. McBain Sr.,</i> when it comes to
33-year-old Maylene Robertson, it has been determined
by this court... JUDGE LAKE: Mr. McBain Sr., you are not her father. Ms. Robertson,
how do you feel?
Are you all right? Yeah. So Ms. Graham,
you've been very sure. You have to live with
the fact that you lied
to your daughter. Your Honor,
I have to live with the fact
that I lied to myself. JUDGE LAKE: No, no,
no, no, no. You're not going to go
all psychological and get me off my point. Because this is the problem. I'm talking about
your daughter,
you're talking about yourself! (AUDIENCE CLAPS) That's been the problem. I have been saying it
over and over again. And no one listens. Everyone's still yelling,
"Me, me, no, me, me,
no, she, she, no, he!" And Ms. Robertson has just
faded into the background, when she really is the person
that has endured
the most pain. You did your dirt! He did his dirt! But the pile of crap
landed on her! That's not right! MCBAIN:
No, Your Honor, it's not. It's not right! No, it's not. There has to be a point
in time, Ms. Graham, where you just lay it
on the line. This girl deserves
some answers. Until that time,
we have counseling for you and I want you to remember
you matter in this. I wish you
the very, very best of luck. Thank you. Court is adjourned.
