You may be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This is the case of<i>
Lewis, Kornegay v. Pippen.</i> Thank you, Jerome.
Good day, everyone. ALL: Good day. Miss Lewis,
you say you're here
to demand the defendant finally take responsibility
because, though he denies it, he is indeed
the biological father
of both your children. Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Pippen, you argue
there's no way you're
the father of her kids and claim you have
undeniable proof
on your side. Yes, I do, Your Honor. Furthermore,
you and your girlfriend,
Miss Sanders, say today's DNA results
will clear your name
once and for all. Yes, Your Honor. So, Mr. Pippen,
why are you so confident you're not
the biological father
of Miss Lewis's children? Because she's a liar,
she's a cheater, and I have proof
I'm not the father. Your Honor... No, I was with this man
since I was young. I had his back
through everything. When she kicked him out,
he came cryin' to me. When he had
nowhere to go at... When you had
nowhere to go at,
you came home to me. And you would deny
both of them, and you asked me
to have them. That was your choice. Your Honor,
that right there I did ask her
to have my child, but... I was with you. Okay, I can see
that this is a very
passionate situation and I understand why,
there are children at stake. But for the sake of
this proceeding, let's talk
about your doubts as they relate to
Que'Shauun first. Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Please,
tell me how you met. I met him... His mother
was a bus driver
at my school. One day he came out
from the group home. He was riding
the bus with her. I was about 15, 16. Okay, fast forward, 2009. Me and Mr. Pippen
got closer. He was dating Miss Sanders,
but she doesn't know this. He has... She had
a little red truck. He comes to my house. I was home by myself. We had sex the very
first time in 2009. Your Honor... LEWIS: Okay,
fast forward, 2010. Again, I had moved
into another apartment, he moved in with me
because he had
nowhere to go because them two
were on the outs again. So, he moves in,
me and Mr. Pippen
had sex again. This time was
a repeated thing. This is when he asked me
to have his first child. He had went to her,
because he was taking... He was taking my hair out
'cause I had these braids
then too. He helped me
take my hair out. I was between his legs. As a matter of fact,
me and him were... because we had just had
sex the night before. And he was kissin'... Okay, so, let's pause
for translation. (AUDIENCE LAUGHS) You and him were
on and off again. Yes, Your Honor. Throughout that time
he was also supposed
to be with Miss Sanders in a committed,
serious relationship and you all were close. Yes, Your Honor. So close that
she would let him
take your braids out. Yes, Your Honor. Got it. (ALL LAUGH) JUDGE LAKE: Now... Mr. Pippen... Yes, ma'am. So, you admit you were
in a sexual relationship
with Miss Lewis. Yes, ma'am. Not using protection. Right. So, why do you have doubts
about Que'Shauun if you admit you were
in a sexual relationship
with her during the time
of conception? Because the time around
she got pregnant,
I was not there. I was in Greenville
at the time that
she got pregnant. Oh. I was stayin'... So, you're saying
it's a timing issue. Yes, ma'am. I was staying
in Tarboro at the time
with Miss Sanders. I have the proof, Your Honor,
if you want to see. JUDGE LAKE: I would like
to see the proof. Jerome, please
pass that to me. And they said
I got pregnant... Conception was on May 25th,
when I was with Mr. Pippen because you can't
blow up my phone
and pop up at my house. He kept popping up, crawling up on top
of my dadgum balcony,
knocking on my back door. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMS) JUDGE LAKE: Miss Lewis.
Miss Lewis... This evidence
you've presented
is to show that your child, Que'Shauun,
was conceived May 25th,
around that area. LEWIS: Yes, ma'am. JUDGE LAKE:
It is your contention,
Mr. Pippen, Miss Sanders, that Mr. Pippen
wasn't even around? He wasn't,
because he was living
with me in Tarboro, and so, in order
for him to go to work, I had to take him to work. LEWIS: Just 'cause
you said he... So therefore,
when we were going
back and forth, he hadn't been to Greenville because of his work schedule
and my work schedule. How far is... Only about
10 or 15 minutes,
'cause Mr. Pippen... SANDERS:
It's 30 minutes from
Tarboro to Greenville. Oh! You're acting like
it was three hours. So he's 30 minutes
away from her? SANDERS: Right. LEWIS: Yes. But he had no way
to get there. And my mother saw him
coming out the front door when she was coming
to bring me the car. And she saw him
that same day coming
down the stairs, he said, "I'll be back
in the night." And he came back that night. (AUDIENCE REACTS) Were you dating
anybody else? LEWIS: No, Your Honor. Nobody? I trusted Mr. Pippen,
he kept saying we were gonna be together,
we were gonna build a family. Because he told me,
"I want you
to have my kids, "I'm coming home to you
and only you." Because he had
gave me a ring. And he said,
"I'm coming home
to only you. "And I want us
to build this family." This is when he asked me,
"What do you want to do?" 'Cause I never thought
I could have kids. It took me
so long to have my son. So now they came back,
the doctor,
into the little room, they were like,
"Ms. Lewis,
you are pregnant." I burst into tears.
I was 21 years old, I didn't have it figured
what I'm gonna do
with my life yet. And here I am,
about to have a child. He comes to Greenville
where we're living, and he was like,
"What do you want to do?" I was like, "You ask me
to have this child. "I won't... I mean...
I'm against abortion." So I said,
"I want to lay down
and have him "and be woman enough
to take care of it." (APPLAUSE) He said, "If this
is your choice, "I've got your back.
I will be there for you." This is when he asked me
to marry him
for the first time. 'Cause there were
four different times
he asked me to marry him. She says you're
the only guy
she was with sexually. You were the person
going back and forth
between two women. Why is it you doubt
that you are her child's
biological father? Because I seen her
with her ex-boyfriend... LEWIS: Your Honor,
what he saw... JUDGE LAKE: Okay, now
we're getting somewhere. ...and then I tried
to call her phone and she didn't wanna
answer her phone. Your Honor... So I went to the house. By the time I got there,
she was back to the house. So I asked her about it. Your Honor, the night
he's claiming he saw me
with my ex-boyfriend was in December of 2011.
I wasn't even pregnant yet.
There was snow on the ground. So, now Que'Shauun
is two years old. LEWIS: Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Two! And all this nonsense
is going on. Two years old! (LEWIS SOBBING) What are you feeling,
Ms. Lewis, what... He doesn't even like you! Because he wanted you
to sit with him, so he said,
"Dada, Dada." And you went out
the front door and slammed it
like you never
heard him call you. That boy looks just like
your dumb self. Your Honor... Your Honor, I have proof
that this child
looks nothing like... Look at my baby,
he didn't ask to be here. You asked me
to have him. And now you're saying
you won't take care of him. (AUDIENCE REACTS) Please explain,
Miss Sanders,
what is that... (LEWIS YELLING) SANDERS: On the right side
is my child that I have
with Mr. Pippen. On the left side
is her child. LEWIS: (SNIFFLING)
They look just alike. JUDGE LAKE:
So Que'Shauun
is on the left. And your child that
you've had with Mr. Pippen
is on the right? SANDERS: Yeah, both of them
are the same age. And it is your contention
that there is
no resemblance... SANDERS: They're
a week apart! None. ...that your child... SANDERS: Look at her nose
and look at his nose. They got the same
little pointed nose. Their child... He got my nose, so what? Then you're talking about,
I don't do anything
for this child. I went and had
a DNA test done. And I have the proof
right here saying that
the child wasn't mine. You do? All right.
Jerome, please
hand me that evidence. Mr. Pippen, what
exactly is this
evidence of? That's the proof
of the DNA test and the results were
that I was not the father. LEWIS: Your Honor,
you know how I know
why he's not the father... Mr. Pippen on that day
kept going to the bathroom, chewing on stuff,
whispering with Miss Sanders
about different things. SLADE: Yes, Your Honor,
I was a witness. She kept saying,
"Did you do it?
Did you do it?" PIPPEN: But, Your Honor,
but I did not... (INDISTINCT ARGUING) JUDGE LAKE:
Let's get some order. (BANGING GAVEL) So you claim he took
a DNA test... Yes, Your Honor. ...and manipulated
the results to
compromise them? LEWIS: Yes, Your Honor.
Yes, Your Honor. How do you think
he did that? Anything, 'cause
it don't take much
to throw off your DNA. Especially Mr. Pippen,
'cause he don't like to take care
of his children as is. All four of them. (AUDIENCE REACTS) What do you know
about this situation? I mean, there was just
too much going on
at that point in time. What do you think he did? It has been determined
by this court, Mr. Pippen... We have yet
another child whose paternity
is in question. Why is it you doubt
that you are her child's
biological father? I tried to call her phone
and she didn't wanna
answer her phone. Look at my baby,
he didn't ask to be here. You asked me
to have him. Let me hear
from your mother. Please stand, ma'am. (PIPPEN SCOFFS) State your name
for the court. Agatha Slade. Ms. Slade, you are
Ms. Lewis's mother,
am I correct? Yes, correct. What do you know
about this situation? Your Honor, I was there
when the DNA tests
were performed. He was going
back and forth
to the bathroom. Like, he had something
in his mouth, they were sitting there
and whispering. I was like,
"This is a DNA test, "why are you sitting here
whispering to each other? "Why are you smiling,
why're you doing all this
walking around? "Back and forth,
back and forth." I mean, there was just
too much going on
at that point in time. What do you think he did? Okay, I'm just saying
that I know what to do
to throw anything off. You can do mouth wash.
You can do anything. JUDGE LAKE:
How do you know this? Because, Your Honor,
I am a certified
nurse assistant. I have been one for 18 years. So you believe
that there was some
funny business going on? SLADE: Yes, ma'am, totally. Oh, yes. Yes, ma'am. Thank you so much
for your testimony.
You may be seated. Your Honor,
how was I supposed
to throw off a DNA test when I was sitting there
the whole time with
my daughter on my lap? (INDISTINCT ARGUING) And then after that,
I only went
to the bathroom one time, that was to use it
and I came right back out and I did not have
nothing in my mouth. All right, well,
I'll tell you this. I think it's time
for the results... (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) ...of the DNA test as it relates
to Que'Shauun. And we will get to
the second DNA results
in just a moment. LEWIS: Come on, baby. (WEEPING) These results were
prepared by
DNA Diagnostics, and they read
as follows... In the case of<i>
Lewis, Kornegay v. Pippen,</i> when it comes
to two-year-old
Que'Shauun Pippen, it has been determined
by this court, Mr. Pippen, you... ...are not his father. I told you then! I told you! Okay. I mean, you're up here
doing nothing no way. So he lost you,
but he still got a father
who's got his back. So why are you making
a big point of it? Ms. Lewis, calm down. Calm down, 'cause
this is a mess... ...and yet, you two continue to have
a sexual relationship because we have yet
another child whose paternity
is in question. (AUDIENCE GASPS) And that's
one-year-old
Que'Tavion. Yes, Your Honor. What are the circumstances
surrounding this
particular paternity issue? Or let's just
cut to the chase. Who else could be
the father? LEWIS: Nobody, Your Honor. Were you sleeping with
anybody else at the time? No, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: All right,
so please give me
the circumstances surrounding this
particular pregnancy and why you are
so certain that it is
Mr. Pippen's child. Because around the time
I got pregnant, I was
only sleeping with him. (AUDIENCE LAUGHS) Mr. Pippen, tell me
why you have doubts as it relates to
the second child. Because... I have
really serious doubts because after the
second child was born, um, I seen
on Facebook
the baby name. It have his last...
The guy she was talking to,
it have his last name, and... LEWIS: He does. He does. That's because
he's been there. And in the pictures
right here, this baby do not
look like me,
it look more like him. JUDGE LAKE: Jerome,
please hand me that picture. So what you're saying
is, Mr. Pippen, the child don't look
anything like you,
in your opinion, but he looks like
her current boyfriend. PIPPEN: Yes, Your Honor. And that's Mr. Kornegay? PIPPEN: Yes, Your Honor. WOMAN: Oh, yeah. PIPPEN: And if that were
the case, she would've gave
the child my last name like she did the first... JUDGE LAKE: But wait! Mr. Kornegay, please
step up to the podium.
I want to hear from you. So the child has
your last name? The reason why he got
my last name because I been to her doctor's
appointments with her, when she hurt, she cry,
I was there with her, when he was born,
I cut the umbilical cord, I signed birth certificate
'cause he needed a father. Ever since then,
he had my last name. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) I bought the boy clothes,
shoes, Pampers. Then he got right down...
When I first fed him... I dealt with the boy.
That's why people
think we're family. I've been with her
ever since then. When I lost my son,
September the first,
she was with me. I lost my son,
he passed away. And it took me a while
to get a bond with
her two children. Now, they call me "Dad". And I accept it
'cause I lost my son. Later, we had a girl.
Our daughter
is two months old. So we do got a daughter
together now, Blair. But I lost my dad
when I was 18. That's a long time ago. Now I'm trying to
show them the right way,
the way my dad taught me. I'm his father right now. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) So when I get back,
I'm gonna sign the birth
certificate, he's all mine. He'll be taken care of. That's why I ain't
worried about nothing. JUDGE LAKE: All right.
So Mr. Pippen, were you intimate
with Ms. Lewis during
the window of conception? Without protection. Yes, Your Honor. You were. So you all
were back in a sexual
relationship again while you were still
with Miss Sanders? Yes, Your Honor. When you informed him
you were pregnant, what was his response? He asked me to
name him after him. So if you feel like he's
not yours, why're you asking
to give him your last... To give him your full name,
not just the last,
but the full name. JUDGE LAKE:
And so is this true,
you asked her to give... Then you ask me when
I was pregnant with Que'Shauun
to have a second child by you. Did you believe the child
was your biological child? At first I did. Until everything else
started happening. And then the child that came
that was really mine
was Miss Sanders'. LEWIS: Your Honor... That daughter really mine. So I guess she just
feel bad about it
because she just... Oh, the fact that you did
not have a paternity issue
with Miss Sanders and that child is in fact
your biological child, you feel like she's still
trying to just say you're her child's father
as well to get between
you and Miss Sanders? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Ooh! LEWIS: I'm good where I'm at. PIPPEN: 'Cause
I've been going... Jerome, it's time for results. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) These results were
prepared by
DNA Diagnostics, and they read
as follows... In the case of<i>
Lewis, Kornegay v. Pippen,</i> when it comes to
one-year-old
Que'Tavion Kornegay, and as to whether Mr. Pippen
or Mr. Kornegay
is his biological father, it has been determined
by this court... ...Mr. Kornegay, you... ...are not his father. Thanks. It has also been
determined by this court, Mr. Pippen... ...you are his father. Thank you. I told you, I told you! Then I'll step up
and do what I gotta do. That's what I wanted
to know the whole time. I made a mistake
for the first,
but the second... If that's the case,
I'll do what I gotta do. JUDGE LAKE: Let me say this. This energy
between all of you
is just so toxic, I'm worried for
the children. All of them,
yours, yours... (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) ...yours together. There are a lot of
innocent children involved
in this situation. Now, we have resources
for you and you all need
to take advantage of them. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) You need to... ...sit down and figure out
how to dialogue, how to co-parent,
because you two
have kids together, you two have kids together, and you two have
kids together. You all done your dirt. You all done messed up,
turned out, back around. This whole thing
was such a mess I could barely
understand it, the story was such a mess. Y'all gotta clean
this up, all right? ALL: Yes, Your Honor. Too many children. Innocent children. Remember that,
innocent children. Yes, Your Honor. All right now,
court is adjourned. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
