Ms. Puckett, you claim the
defendant Steven Macon fathered your child while
in a relationship with his current girlfriend
Ms. Glover. Yes, Your Honor. You claim you can prove he
got you pregnant at the same time. <i> And now you both have</i> <i> 2-year-old children named</i> <i> Steven Macon Jr.?</i> PUCKETT: <i> Yes, Your Honor.</i> JUDGE LAKE: You're asking
the court for DNA test to prove that Mr. Macon is
the biological father of your 2-year-old son. And, Mr. Macon, you claim
to have concrete evidence that will prove to the court there's no possibility
that you could be Ms. Puckett's child's father. MACON: Yes, Your Honor. She has five kids by five
different baby daddies. And you could be the sixth. No, I ain't.
No, I ain't. We didn't have sex till
like three months after.
I didn't have sex with her. JUDGE LAKE: But you did
have sex with her. Me and, me and my,
me and Ms. Glover, we wasn't together
at the time. JUDGE LAKE: Did you
use protection? Yes. JUDGE LAKE: You did? But it bust. (MUMBLES) JUDGE LAKE: Okay. But
there was a malfunction. Right, right, right.
Before we even had sex three weeks after I met her,
she got my name tattooed
on her neck. You got his name tattooed on
your neck three weeks after you met him? MACON: We didn't even
have sex yet. No, no. No, I didn't. JUDGE LAKE: All right. JUDGE LAKE: So,
Ms. Puckett, take me back to this relationship. You were having sex
with Mr. Macon. You find out you're pregnant? PUCKETT: Mmm-hmm. JUDGE LAKE: Then what? And then I called him
and I tell him, you know, that I
was pregnant. I told him. He said "How?"
And I told him because I took
a pregnancy test. Did you know that he had
a girlfriend that he was off and on with? PUCKETT: No. So in your mind
what was this thing
you all had? Well, we were dating. He was treating
me real good.
He bought me stuff, he gave me money
when I needed it. He said, you know, he'd say if I need anything,
my kids need anything, he'd do for them. When I was pregnant, he was
rubbing on my belly like he was happy and he was
concerned about it. Take me to the day you
actually gave birth. Was Mr. Macon there? He came in, you know, and he was looking
at the baby. Playing with my son. And then, so he said, um, "What you," he said,
"what you naming him?" I said "I'm naming him
after my brother." I said, 'cause that's what my
grandma wanted me to do. "No, you're not. You're not
naming him that. "You not naming him that." I said that? PUCKETT: You never... I left. PUCKETT: You naming him...
You naming him Steve. So he said, "Call the nurse."
So I buzzed the nurse. The nurse was there
as a witness. 'Cause, you know, the nurse
gotta be there at all hospitals before
they let you do, sign anything, affidavit
or anything like that, and that's what I did. I called the nurse and she
said, "Are you sure this
is your child?" He said, "Yeah." I stayed there at the
hospital, literally, I don't even think it was 10
minutes. I looked at the baby. She asked me, "What you wanna
name the baby? You gonna
sign the birth certificate?" I said, "Look, I gotta go.
I got some things I gotta do," and I left. Why would a nurse... JUDGE LAKE: That doesn't
sound right. Seriously. That's exactly
what happened. So, when you looked
at the baby you felt like there's no way
this is my child. MACON: No. Do you think that situation is
what she wants for her life? I'm not sure. I can't... Okay. So that's what...
I just needed to ask you those series of questions,
because sometimes when people give testimony, it's important for me to
understand the intention behind their words. GLOVER: Mmm-hmm. And now, asking you that
series of questions has alerted me that
your intention is to completely discredit
her at all costs. I get why there's animosity
between the two of you. PUCKETT: It shouldn't be
though, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE:
Look, but I get it. This is
a difficult situation. And as I can see from hearing Mr. Macon's
testimony, he does not help it any. Because you just right
in the middle with your hands in your pocket
like you didn't have anything
to do with it, when you got everything
to do with it and everybody got your name. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Ms. Glover, how did you
find out that the child, that
Ms. Puckett's child, was named Steven Macon Jr.? Okay, let's talk about this.
I go to the WIC office. We got a local WIC office.
Everybody know everybody. Um, it's about two weeks. My son's probably about
two or three weeks old. I go in there. He's there for his
little check-up. They weigh him.
They're about ready, they're entering his
information in the computer. Next thing I know,
the lady's like, "Oh, hold up.
I made a mistake." I'm like, "You made a mistake?
What kind of mistake could
you have made?" She was like, "I entered your
baby under the wrong person." And I said, "What do you
mean?" She was like, "'Cause there was a baby born
on July 4th of this year "and his name is
Steven Macon Jr." She read it out and she's
like, "The dad's name is
Steven Macon Jr. too." <i> And then she realized
she said too much.</i> <i> And I'm like, "What?"</i> I come outside and I'm like, "Do you know that this... "(MOUTHING) girl, "named her baby after you?" And, I mean, he looked
devastated like me. I mean, literally. He dropped down like,
you got to be kidding me. When you told him
this information you truly thought he was genuinely
surprised... Exactly. Exactly. ...to hear that she'd named
her child the same. Because he still... So, Mr. Macon, was this
the first time you heard this, that this child was named
Steven Macon Jr.? MACON: Yeah. Yeah. JUDGE LAKE: First time
in your life? You lying, lying, lying
as the day is long. I can see that from here. Okay. He already knew because he
was there. He signed it. And ain't no nurse gonna let
you sign a birth certificate. I can't just sit there and
sign his birth certificate In the case of<i>
Puckett v. Macon,</i> when it comes to
2-year-old Steven Macon Jr., it has been determined
by this court, Mr. Macon Sr., you are his father. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) GLOVER: You know what? When you sent her that
text message talking about some, uh,
that it's your baby... MACON: Nah. ...that you gonna
go out and go have
sex until the sunlight? Well, sunlight time, baby. I'll holler at you. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Puckett, what do you feel?
Vindicated? Just hurt that he
wasn't there for him. (CRYING)
That, that really hurt. And I just tried
to tell him... I apologize.
I apologize. I apologize. I apologize. (AUDIENCE MOANING
DISAPPROVINGLY) JUDGE LAKE: Yeah. Your jerk factor is on 10,
Mr. Macon. I'm not gonna lie. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Uh, you have gotten
on my last nerve today. Came in here with
no evidence. Could barely put
a sentence together 'cause you're
smiling and laughing. 'Cause your nerves are shot,
'cause you're lying. Mr. Jordan, you claim
the defendant tricked you into signing her
daughter's birth certificate, and being a daddy. But two years later, you were told another man
is her biological father. You opened your case, because you want DNA proof,
you are not the father, so you can get
your name removed from the birth certificate.
Is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Heim, you admit to being unfaithful
to Mr. Jordan, but say he is Caitlyn's father. You say Mr. Jordan abandoned you and your daughter, and you intend to prove
paternity today. Is that correct? HEIM: Yes, Your Honor. So, Mr. Jordan, you say
Miss Heim tricked you? JORDAN: Yes. Explain. Um, she tricked me into thinking
that I was the, I was the father. She tricked me into
thinking that, that Caitlyn was my, was my first daughter. She tricked me into
thinking that <i>that the other guy had got a
paternity test on Caitlyn.</i> 'Cause she told me, "Oh,
he already got one," and... You know what I'm saying?
So I know, it's just you. Uh, she tricked me into
thinking that, that family
was something sacred. JUDGE LAKE: You believe she was intentionally deceitful? Yes. JUDGE LAKE: And what
was her motive? I've, you know what? I have... I think her only motive was to, that she was able to
get away with it. Honestly. Um, 'cause at the end
of the day, I think that she
had the advantage. As far as to having a, a dad, that could take care,
and provide for Caitlyn. 'Cause I was there
since day one. You know what I'm sayin'?
So... So you thought
her motive really was that you were a provider? You were there for the child, and you were going to
do right by the child. Right. JUDGE LAKE: But you believe
she was being deceitful. Yeah. JUDGE LAKE: Were you
being deceitful, Ms. Heim? No, Ma'am. I, um, he's a great father. And I only had sex
with one man, when we were together. And I had sex with him
one time, but we've been messing around
for seven years, and I never became pregnant.
I met Chris, and all of a sudden
I became pregnant. So, I know,
Chris is the father. So wait, you're saying that
you were only having sex with one other man, other than Mr. Jordan? HEIM: Just one time,
in April, and then I found
I was pregnant in June. Okay, so was that potentially
the window of conception? Yes, Your Honor. I know that
Chris is the father. But how, if you had sex
with the other guy? HEIM: He's the fa...
I just know that
he's the father. I was there
for the, for the weird
pregnancy cravings, I was there to rub the feet, I was there to get up out of
my sleep at night, to get
pickles and ice cream. That's what I was doing,
you know what I'm saying? 'Cause, at the end of day,
I never grew up
with my parents. You know what I'm saying? So I'm real big on being
a parent to my child. That like, when this little
girl was born, like, that what
changed my life. Like, that, that what
did it for me. That's what made me start goin'
in a positive direction,
you know what I'm saying? But this what I don't
understand, it was all
going well. It was, you know
what I'm saying? JUDGE LAKE: And so
how does it go wrong? JORDAN: This is where
it goes wrong. Her and a family member
get into a, like, altercation, like an argument. You know,
an altercation, an argument. And it's like, they started,
like, throwin' dirt
on each other. You know what I mean? So, she says something about
this family member, in front of this family member's boyfriend,
or whatever. So she turned, so the family
member turned around,
and was like, "Why you ain't told Chris that "he's not Caitlyn's dad?" JUDGE LAKE: What? So I'm like, at that moment, it was
just like, I was more in shock,
than... 'Cause at the end of he day,
it's just like, hmm? It's very funny, but you know, people can, you can
say whatever. But as she was sayin' it,
she pulls out the phone, and she starts showin' me,
I can pull it up,
I ain't gotta lie. It's what, what the family
member tells me. My family, they're messy,
they're messy, they're messy... Man, that blew my mind. What does she pull up? HEIM: She's jealous... JORDAN: She pulls up
pictures of... Of this other, of the other guy
and my daughter. You know what I'm saying?
Like having moments together,
or... Uh, pictures of... JUDGE LAKE: Wait a minute! Hold on! Caitlyn's two years old,
you think you have a daughter, and the perfect girl,
you've got a good life. Yes, um, I actually
have evidence. JUDGE LAKE:
Oh, let me see that. So you think you're havin'
a good life, and then they get into
an argument,
when Caitlyn's two, a family member and Miss Heim, and they start goin' off
on one another... And then, like, everything
just comes right out,
right then. And I'm like, it hit me... JUDGE LAKE: And so, the family member
showed you pictures... It hit me like an 18-wheeler. And this evidence you submitted
is one of the pictures? Yeah. <i>Yeah, and, as you can see
right here, Your Honor,
like I...</i> I mean, I don't want to say
people look alike,
but I'm like, yo... It's a lot of resemblance here. <i>I need to know what's going on.</i> <i> She's old enough to know.</i> Who does she think
her father is?
Mr. Jordan or Santavious? Chris. Have you ever told
Mr. Santavious Knight, this gentleman here, that he is her
biological father? HEIM: All I said was that I was pregnant, when I
first found I was pregnant. I did not say it was his child. So are you saying,
he assumed he was the father? No 'cause, me and him was like,
like, we could talk
about anything, so... When I found out
I was pregnant, I was like, "Look I'm pregnant."
He said, "Okay." So, I feel like he assumed that it was his, but it's not his.
It was Chris' baby. Your Honor, I object,
I'm sorry. JUDGE LAKE: You know what,
hold on. I'm about to
object too, and I'm up here on this bench. I am not getting any truth
out of you, Miss Heim. I am ready to hear from
Mr. Santavious Knight myself. Jerome, please escort him
into the courtroom. We're here discussing
the paternity of Caitlyn. KNIGHT: Yes, Ma'am. And... JUDGE LAKE: It has been brought
to this court's attention, that there are pictures
of you with Caitlyn, where you put a caption that this is, "Me
and my baby Kate." Where you were
referring to this little girl
as your daughter. Yes. Do you believe
Caitlyn is your daughter? Yes, that's my baby. When she told me she got
pregnant, like "I'm pregnant," I'm like, "What you
telling me for?" She like
"Well it's not Chris, man, "me and Chris been together
a year and a half, "and we ain't got pregnant." So you touch me
and I get pregnant. HEIM: No he's lying, I... When I came back in town
in April. I admit we had sex, and then
I found out I was pregnant
in June. So how is that possible? I just
called him to let him know
that I was pregnant. JUDGE LAKE: What did you say
she said to you again? She told me it were my baby,
she said I'm pregnant, I said
what you telling me for? She said, 'cause it's yours. Telling me, "I love it
when you get home." "I let somebody else sign the
birth certificate but I'll
fix it when you get home." You didn't care. I'm like
"Okay, say no more." She let somebody sign the birth
Certificate, but she's gonna
fix it when you get home? Yeah. HEIM: No. JORDAN: He ain't lying,
he ain't lying JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Heim,
what kinda game you running? HEIM: I ain't runnin' no game. It's a good game. Fact. He ain't lying. JUDGE LAKE: So how often do you
see Caitlyn? I see Caitlyn when
he ain't got her. Or the people
at her school ain't got her. She gonna see you can't keep
on lying instead of being
real and tellin' the truth. You know what I mean?
It's still gonna come out,
any way it go. It's gonna come out anyway,
they gonna tell. The baby mine. You gonna see here, you gonna
have to apologize,
this man's gonna be cryin'. Do you see her playin'? Go on tell the truth,
keep it real. JUDGE LAKE: In the case of
Jordan v. Heim, pertaining to
whether Mr. Jordan, or Mr. Knight, is the father of the child, Caitlyn Jordan. It has been determined
by this Court. The biological father is... Mister... Jordan. AUDIENCE: Ooh! Mr. Jordan, you are
Caitlyn's biological father. Mr. Knight, I know you really
thought Caitlyn was
your biological child, how are you feeling
in this moment? At the end of the day,
you know... Your life,
you kind of, you know... When it come out it comes out,
the truth comes out, so I ain't
too mad about it, you know... But, if I'm still allowed, that's my partner right there,
you know, that's my friend. JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Webb, you have
been waiting two years for this day. You claim
the defendant, Ms. Forrest, left you for dead <i> only to find out
once you got out of a coma,</i> that she was pregnant and that
the baby could be yours or her husband's. Yes, Your Honor. Ms. Forrest, you and
your husband are here today desperate to
put an end to this drama. You say you have no doubt your daughter's
biological father is indeed your husband. Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Webb, what are
your intentions today if the DNA determines that
you are the biological father? My intentions are to fight for full custody rights
if she is my daughter. Well, it's my daughter
and you ain't getting her. Ms. Forrest, how did you
get yourself in this triangle? My husband got in some trouble and I end up, uh,
meeting Mr. Webb through one of my friends. We hit it off
and then I ended up leaving Mr. Forrest
for Mr. Webb. So you began
a sexual relationship. Yes, yes, Your Honor. All right. And were you
using protection at the time? No, Your Honor. (AUDIENCE MURMURS) All right. Mr. Webb,
what is your take on this? It didn't happen like that. At first, yes,
we was in love, but towards the end WEBB: I was on life support. No. That's not
how it happened. (STAMMERING) WEBB: <i> As soon as
I got out of the hospital,</i> I had got a phone call
saying that she was pregnant. I heard it from my aunt first. But on my way to Illinois
with my dad... AMANDA: No. ...she had called me and told me that
it was a possibility that Alayna
was my child. She told you, "a possibility"? Yes, ma'am. So that means
she was admitting that she also
had slept with other people. Yes, ma'am. Did you think the other person
was just her husband? At the time, no, Your Honor. You thought there
were other possible... Yes, Your Honor. AMANDA: No. He was just... And why would you think that? Why would you
have reason to think that? Because she was
working at the time and some of her checks
would be coming up missing every time she would get paid. AMANDA: No. And so what did you suspect because something
was missing out if her check? She would
get off at 10:00. It would take at least
15 minutes to get home. But she would come in
at 11:00 to 11:30. It took about 45 minutes to
get from where I was working. So it was missing time
and missing money. When you realized
you were pregnant... AMANDA: My feelings... When exactly did
you realize you were pregnant? The middle of September. WEBB: That is a lie,
Your Honor. 'Cause I didn't know
at the time, I was pregnant. So, Mr. Webb, how did you
find out she was pregnant? She had called me the day that
I got out of the hospital. I was on my way to Illinois with my dad. I got a phone call,
we had a discussion. She said that
I may be the father but then again
I may not be because she was
back with Mr. Forrest. I was there with her
at the doctor's office. So, it was the middle of
September when she found out. WEBB: It was in August whenever she found out
that she was pregnant. AMANDA: No. FORREST: No, it was not. So, there's
a month discrepancy. WEBB: That's not true. You say September,
you say August. Yes, Your Honor. So, when you got the news did you immediately think
you're the father? Well, she had told me, ahead of time, that
I may not be the father FORREST: <i> But there was a
chance that I was the father.</i> So now, what makes you stand in Court today,
Ms. Forrest and say that your husband
is definitely the father? I have counted back the time from when she was born,
nine months back, and it takes it to the week that I was
only sleeping with him. Me and Mr. Webb
were already over with. All right, let me grab
my calendar. See this... My daughter was born
on May 9th of 2013. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. And then if you take it back
none months later that takes it to the week of August 26th
through August 31st. JUDGE LAKE: August 26th
through August 31st you were sleeping with your... Just my husband. WEBB: The thing about it,
Your Honor, is the day they... Before
I went on to life support we did have sex. JUDGE LAKE: Well, that was the
question I was about to ask. What day did you
go into the hospital? I went into the hospital
on August 26, 2012. So, you say on August 25th
you all were intimate. WEBB: Yes, Your Honor. Is that correct, Ms. Forrest? AMANDA: Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE:
Without protection? WEBB: Yes, Your Honor. AMANDA: Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKES: Oh... Okay. So that's
intimate with Mr. Webb. Now you're here to tell me
you know for sure that your child
is fathered by Mr. Forrest and you've got
this close proximity? She looks...
Yes, Your Honor. She looks just like my
husband, she takes after him. But you do realize this difference in time... This is all a part of the
same window of conception. You do understand that.
Right, Ms. Forrest? Yes, Your Honor. He called me about
two weekends ago. I was on my way
to Arkansas. And he told me that if
I don't let him see her he's gonna take her to court
or take me to court and he's gonna
take her away from me. There's no way that
he is getting my daughter. I have cared for her
for two years. He hasn't. So... He wanted to see her,
but he hasn't wanted
to do nothing... If this DNA test proves
that I am Alayna's father, I will fight for my
full custody rights. FORREST: This is my child and
I will fight for custody. There's no way that
he is getting my daughter. Now, this is our child
not yours. And I will fight you
for full custody. There's no way
that he's getting full custody of my child. No. I will fight. So, Mr. Forrest,
you're convinced you are Alayna's father. Well, either I am or he is! JUDGE LAKE: Oh, wait! AUDIENCE: No! Are you... No, no, no. I'm saying, are you convinced
you're her biological father? There's a
possibility. Yes. But I don't know
for 100%. You're raising her as? My own. So she thinks
you're her daddy. Correct. She calls him daddy. JUDGE LAKE: Calls you daddy. Calls me daddy. She doesn't have a choice,
Your Honor, because Ms. Forrest would not
let me be with my daughter. He doesn't want to meet
under my terms. it has been
determined by this Court that her
biological father is... Mr. Webb. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Be clear.
You did not just cheat him you cheated her. AUDIENCE: Yeah. (APPLAUDING) You cheated her. (WEBB SOBBING) You knew it
could be a possibility. And I'm afraid I'm gonna lose my husband
and my family over this. Well, this is my point.
You think about yourself! (AUDIENCE AGREEING
AND APPLAUDING) That's all he thought about
when we were together. You're thinking
about yourself. He won't see my daughter. (AUDIENCE
MURMURING DISCONTENT) I think you need to
step outside of yourself and your own selfishness... AUDIENCE: Yeah ...and allow him
to see his daughter in my chambers
for the first time. AUDIENCE: Yeah. So that
maybe for the first time her mother can stop thinking
about herself. (AUDIENCE
APPLAUDING AND CHEERING) Can we do that? Your baby's
not leaving this court. Uh, yes. Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE:
Thank you!
