Please be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This is the case of<i>
Thomas v. Nelson.</i> Thank you, Jerome.
Good day, everyone. ALL: Good day. Ms. Thomas, you claim you spent
six years in a relationship
with the defendant Mr. Taylor and gave him five
beautiful children. In return he cheated on you
and is now questioning the paternity
of your youngest child, eight month old Jakai. You are here to prove paternity
and win him back.
Is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Nelson, you say
while you were home taking care
of your children, Ms. Taylor was out at all hours
with other men. You say it's her
many infidelities that convinced you that Jakai
is not your son, is that correct? NELSON: Yes, Your Honor. All right, Ms. Thomas,
why do you believe Mr. Nelson
is denying your baby? The only thing that
I can think of is because, he recently got married. Is that true, Mr. Nelson? NELSON: No, it's not,
Your Honor. It was good in the beginning
when we first started
having children and then other day
it's like, we start, me and her start, like,
both doing our
own little thing. And we was already
about to split, but she ends up
getting pregnant.
and at that time she was already
messin' around with other guys. So, I didn't know who,
what to believe. THOMAS: It was Rocky, but I was not sleepin' with
different men, Mr. Nelson was the only one
that I was sleeping with
at that time, especially during my
conception dates. Man, that's not true. But when you first got together what was your
relationship like? Our relationship, it was good. That was my best friend. We did everything together...
(SIGHS) JUDGE LAKE: Take your time,
I know it's hard, you have... NELSON: Your Honor, we were
both young at that time. And we was both new to
the whole parent thing. After that we started
getting older and grew, and it's like, we grew,
we grew apart away
from each other and... I still, even while I'm married
I still be trying to keep
a good relationship with her, talk and stuff like that.
It don't have to be... We just know we can't
be together. It's because it was his
cheating, Your Honor. He cheated on me throughout,
almost our whole entire
relationship. JUDGE LAKE: So, Ms. Thomas,
why put up with that? THOMAS: We went through
hard times. Like, why wouldn't you
wanna make something
like that work with somebody you had
all these years with? All these kids with?
And you just wanna... Because it's too much. That's why I don't even,
like, man... He, he gave up
the relationship. I wish it was that
easy for me during those times
to just throw it away. I asked her, I said, "You gonna
leave this guy alone?"
She said, "No." She was like,
"Let me think
about it." I even threatened her,
I was like, "If you don't
leave him alone, "I'm gonna go back
to North Carolina." She was like,
"That's on you." So then I left her
and left for North Carolina,
so I was like, "I'm gonna give you
another chance," and
she was, "All right." I say to her, "You're going to
leave everything, your phone "and change your number
and everything..." So, wait a minute. You had
four children together and then you find out
Ms. Thomas is with another guy? NELSON: Yes. That's what... How did you find that out? The dude's picture
was popping up
on her phone. It didn't start like that. He decided to leave
because at that time... Why would I leave though? ...we did grow apart. NELSON: I used to find stuff
in her purse and everything. She's go,
"I'm going to work today." THOMAS: 'Cause I... She'd come back and be like
"You like this outfit?" I'm like, "Yeah, where you
going? You worked all week." If anything, I've been here
with the kids all day long.
All four of them. Oh, so, you feel like
she start getting missing? She did. She came in
5:00 in the morning,
I was like, "Where you coming from?"
"So? So? I'm grown, I can do
what I wanna do" JUDGE LAKE: But, Ms. Thomas,
you were painting a picture
about you, like, you all were in love,
it was against all odds... THOMAS: We were. We were. So, what is this... Why then do you start having
other men popping up
on your phone? It wasn't "men,"
it was that one man. Not "men". And why? Why did you get in a
relationship with this one man? As retaliation for
his cheating? THOMAS: It was, basically. So,he seen how I felt
all them years
he cheated on me. He felt it, and so... So how long had you all been
together when you discovered
she was cheating? NELSON: We was like... THOMAS: Five... NELSON: Yeah. JUDGE LAKE: Five years. Yes. JUDGE LAKE: And four children. THOMAS: Yes. JUDGE LAKE: So,
Jakai is potentially
your fifth child together? It's hard for me to put
a nail on that if she was messing with me
and the guy at
the same time. When I got back from... You Honor, that's not true. I asked her, I said,
"You gained some weight." She was like, "Oh,
I've been eating a lot." And then what... So, I was like... And, Your Honor, that same day
he said that, we walked
to the store and I took two pregnancy tests
in front of him, and they ended up negative. So I was not pregnant. I also had an app on my phone tracking my periods,
when I'm ovulating, and I have it right here. JUDGE LAKE: Jerome,
let me see
that evidence. JEROME: Here you go,
Your Honor. So you were tracking
your cycle... THOMAS: Yes, ma'am. Was this with the intention
of getting pregnant
or not getting pregnant? THOMAS: He actually wanted me
to get pregnant. She told me... So, on my tracker, on my tracker... No. On my tracker, Your Honor,
as you can see... She said so every time I mess with him, she said
that's what things... That's why every time
she has sex with him, that's why she, uh,
put it on the calendar
like that. So, in October, it looks like around
the 28th is when your
cycle begins. THOMAS: Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: And, in November, we see where your cycle ends. THOMAS: Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: We see that
you are ovulating Friday the 6th... THOMAS: Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: ...to the 11th. Yes, Your Honor. And then on the 10th and 11th
you got, "sex," "sex." 'Cause those are the two days
that we had sex while I was
ovulating, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE:
Those are the two days
you had sex with... THOMAS: Mr. Nelson. Mr. Nelson. THOMAS: Yes, Your Honor. When you were ovulating? THOMAS: Yes, Your Honor. Do you remember those dates,
Mr. Nelson? NELSON: No, I do not,
Your Honor. When I get back from
North Carolina, I had, like, went through
her phone, she was like, "Every time I had sex with him,
and this is after you left, "I started having sex
with this guy." So, I was like, "All right." So then I went further back
in her calendar, I'm like, "So what are these
days for?"
She was like... Because I said, "We was
together then when it was..." She was like, "Okay, so what?
I may of had a slip up." THOMAS: He was gone,
Your Honor. So, wait a minute. How did you
find out about the other guy
exactly, Mr. Nelson? THOMAS: I told him. NELSON: I'm not gonna lie.
She do be honest. I told him. So what did you say? You just
came to him and said
"I have something to tell you?" We... We weren't... (NELSON SPEAKING
INDISTINCTLY) I start calling my friends,
and tell them like, "Yo, your
girl don't have sex with you "for like a whole month
straight, what can you do?" They was like,
"What does that mean?" I say it's over, they was like,
"She messing with somebody
else, brother." JUDGE LAKE: And you were. I was. JUDGE LAKE: Now, Ms. Thomas,
when you told Mr. Nelson
you were pregnant... THOMAS: Yes, Your Honor. ...what was his response? He was going around telling
everybody that I was pregnant. Up until the time he met
Ms. Campbell, that's when he started
denying my son. Mind you, he was
cheating on me with her. I didn't know about her
until I found out she was calling him
through Facebook. And he was trying to lie then
because we were still
messing around. Even when he was with her. NELSON: I got to tell...
I wish I had the old phone. I have text messages that show
that we still messing around,
still to this day. (AUDIENCE GASPS) JUDGE LAKE: Oh. You mighty quiet now,
Mr. Nelson. (AUDIENCE CHEERING) No. Me and her,
I'm not gonna lie to you, and I'm gonna tell
my wife right in front,
I apologize. But she already knew about...
My wife already knew about it. She had caught me.
It was a video and everything,
she caught me. I thought I deleted the video
out the phone, she went back
and found the thing. THOMAS: He only...
He's apologizing now
'cause he got caught. All right, since we
brought her into it, I want to hear from her.
Please stand, ma'am. CAMPBELL: Yes, ma'am. Ms. Campbell, thank you
for joining us. CAMPBELL: Yes, ma'am. Please tell the court, when you found out that
your husband was now
sleeping with his ex. CAMPBELL: It's a video I found. The video was dated April 3rd,
which would've been the,
I guess the first day or so that she had showed up
in Greensboro. All I know is I saw
her demeanor
when she came around, and she was kind of,
like, "Hi." And I'm like, "Okay, this was
a person that's supposedly
supposed to be so hurt, "why was she grinning?" And then I saw his demeanor,
and he looked guilty. So, I put two and two together,
you know, "Something's not right.
Why is she extra happy,
and he's looking crazy." Because we were
sleeping around. So then... Yeah. Because they had
slept together. Mr. Nelson, I wanna know,
did you ever tell Ms. Thomas that you were gonna
leave your wife and you wanna come back home
with her and the children? NELSON: Me and my wife had got
into some problems and
I was about to, I was like, "What would be different
this time if I did come back?" My mama told me, "That's your
covenant. You can't break your
covenant for somebody else, "'cause that's between me,
her and God." I broke my covenant
with my baby mama, and I regret it.
I've been repenting for it
and stuff like that, and now, me and my wife,
we back on good terms now. How long ago was this? CAMPBELL: April 3rd is
the date of the video... JUDGE LAKE: So, Mr. Nelson, your wife discovered a video
of you having sex with your ex, now mistress. Yes. No, I just...
I made a slip up. He had plenty of slip ups. She's comfortable from going
from wife to side-chick... No, I'm nobody's side-chick because your husband is
the one who tells me
he wants to leave. But that makes you
a side-chick.
That makes you a side-chick. No, it does not. JUDGE LAKE: Wait a minute. Listen, listen,
listen, listen. No, it does not. JUDGE LAKE: Listen. He told me he married you
out of spite. NELSON: No, I didn't. Let's get some order. Let's get some order.
Both of you are confused. He's sleeping with
both of y'all. AUDIENCE: Yeah. Okay, so look. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDS) Let's, let's clear the air. Neither one of you are on
a step higher than the other. 'Cause you may now be his wife, but that's the mother of
all his children and maybe
another one. Mmm-hmm. JUDGE LAKE: You all both
look miserable. I can see the look
on your face, Mr. Nelson. You decided in your mind that
it's possible for you to have
both of these women. And they let you. AUDIENCE: Yeah. You not gonna sit up here
and fool me. 'Cause let me tell you
something... I don't know what
they fighting over. JUDGE LAKE: So, now... THOMAS: That's it. ...this is the question
I haven't really gotten down
to the bottom of. You doubt Jakai's paternity
because you say you believe Ms. Thomas was sleeping around
with somebody else. (BOTH CHATTERING
INDISTINCTLY) JUDGE LAKE: Hold on. Ms. Thomas, you say you planned
this baby with Mr. Nelson. THOMAS: We did. So, you basically plotted out
your ovulation cycle and you made sure you had sex
with Mr. Nelson during
that window of time? Yes, Your Honor. Did you have sex with
anybody else during
that window of time? THOMAS: No, Your Honor. Now, you say, Mr. Nelson,
you found information that
would indicate that she did have sex with someone. Yeah, that's what... Who,
who... Okay, we together
for five years, Your Honor. Why would you try to
plan a baby? We just have 'em.
That's why... THOMAS: Your Honor, he wanted
to plan a baby because with our youngest child
he said, "I don't think you can have
any more kids, "because you have
birth control. "So you wanna plan on
have another baby? Let's go." I have the app,
and that's what we did. So, what are you
hoping for now? What do you want
out of this? I want him to leave me alone. Honest, if he's gonna make
his marriage work, let your marriage work. I try to move forward
with my life. He texts me. He calls me and tells me
how much he misses me
and wants to be with me. It's not the other way around,
and I have messages. NELSON: Your Honor... THOMAS: And if he wants... Did you bring the messages
to court with you? Yes, Your Honor. AUDIENCE: Ooh! These messages are dated
from three weeks ago. "So, what is your plan
for real?" "You the plan," he says. "So are you really gonna
leave her this time?" you ask. You respond,
Mr. Nelson, "I want my family back." Then you respond, Ms. Thomas, "I hear you but you said
this last time, "and I really need to know
if you're serious this time." This is the kind of
conversation a married
man's having? NELSON: No. (AUDIENCE BOOING) JUDGE LAKE: I can tell
your wife did not know
you were having those kind of conversations. (SOBBING) I just wanted to see if
the baby mine, so I could
feel everything... You just want to avoid
this conversation. But you can't... I just want, if he's trying
to make it work... At the end of the day
she hasn't done anything... Leave me alone. ...to me personally,
in all honesty. Everything between the two of
us is strictly emotion, right? Leave me alone. Actually, because you feel
some kind of way, and I feel
some kind of way. Honestly, I don't feel
no type of way. But, but if you're gonna... Yes, you do. JUDGE LAKE:
Stop, stop, stop, stop. There's no sense in
standing here when the woman's just
trying to acknowledge
that both of you are all in an emotional battle
over a man who's taking advantage of
both of you, and then you sit up and say
you don't feel some kind
of way? You do feel some kind of way.
You got four kids... I don't. JUDGE LAKE: No,
you really do,
because... Because... No, no, no. Because I see too much women
in your position. And you say, "If he just
leave me alone,
I'll be all right." THOMAS: I will. JUDGE LAKE: No, no, no. He don't just slip on
a banana peel and land
between your legs. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDS) JUDGE LAKE: No. Uh-uh. We shoot it straight
in here, baby. And you know what, as women,
sometimes we just have to be
honest enough to say, "You know what? That hurt me." That... This is what I wanted,
I wanted my family. He wanted the same thing. I didn't know he was married
until, what, a week later before I had my son. He didn't tell me. He denied it when he came
to the hospital. This is what I wanted. Six years, five kids,
sacrifices... Everything we've been through,
she got it easy. And at the end of the day,
he's standing next to her and she's Mrs. Nelson. And that makes you angry. I could've been
Mrs. Nelson twice. JUDGE LAKE: But the point is,
that's enough to hurt
any woman. But, I could've been...
I could have been
Mrs. Nelson too. JUDGE LAKE: But you're not. I turned that down. JUDGE LAKE: Right. 'Cause I'm glad
I didn't marry him. Because I would be going
through the same thing
right now. I would be married to him
getting cheated on too. You still, you still in it. She just got a piece of paper. You need to be honest,
you're all in this. So, you can't point a finger
at Mrs. Nelson and say, "Oh, I'm glad I'm not you." THOMAS: I am. Because you are her
on the other side
of the mirror. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDS) JUDGE LAKE:
So, now we got it out
all in the open. And I'm glad, Ms. Thomas,
you finally just expressed
how you feel. Because you have a right
to feel that way. The only way we gonna
move forward is get
these results, and I have 'em. Jerome. Here you go, Your Honor. Thank you. These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics, and they read as follows. JUDGE LAKE: In the case of<i>
Thomas v. Nelson,</i> when it comes to eight month
old Jakai Thomas, it has been determined
by this court... Mr. Nelson, you are the father. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDS) (THOMAS LAUGHS) It's number five. I met him and he already had,
you know, four kids with her. So, it's... What's one more? JUDGE LAKE: I'll tell you what
one more is. One more means,
this isn't over. This child deserves to know
his father. His father is gonna have
to come visit him. His father is still sleeping
with his mother. CAMPBELL: Mmm-hmm. JUDGE LAKE: Regularly. It's not regular.
She's staying in Atlanta.
I stay in North Carolina. You know what? I don't know what
kind of women you're used to
dealing with, honey, but you met your match with me.
You can't feed me no line. (CROWD CHEERS) JUDGE LAKE: It ain't that far. We have got to figure this out because this is gonna
happen again. And, Ms. Campbell,
I'm not saying this
to ruin your day. I just want to enlighten you. Mmm-hmm. This is not gonna change. This woman is not gonna stop
sleeping with this man. I know. JUDGE LAKE: And, Ms. Thomas,
I have to tell you, you got to make the decision. "Am I just gonna be his comfort
and his convenience, "or am I gonna be
his commitment?" You got to decide
you deserve more. And, Mr. Nelson, it's time
for you to shape up.
Five kids with this woman. You're their dad. You think they wanna grow up
and know you put their mother
through this? If you can't do right by
either one of them,
then get out their life. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) JUDGE LAKE: We have counseling
and resources for you all, and I want you all
to get healed. Do the work. I wish you all the very best.
Take care of those beautiful
children. Court is adjourned.
