Please be seated. -Hello, Your Honor.
-Hello. This is the case of<i>
Muhammad v. Walton.</i> Thank you, Jerome.
Good day, everyone. [all] Good day. Mr. Muhammad, you are
here to prove
that you are the father of the defendant's
two-year-old daughter
Brooklyn. You claim the only reason
she is denying paternity is because she wants
to be in a relationship
with the other man. -Is that correct?
-Yes, Your Honor. Miss Walton, you say
you were secretly
cheating on Mr. Muhammad and had sex
with the other man almost every day
of the month and there is no way
Mr. Muhammad
is Brooklyn's father. -Is that correct?
-Yes, Your Honor. So Mr. Muhammad,
you are convinced
you are Brooklyn's father? -Yes, Your Honor.
-Explain. First of all, I would never
let another man
raise my child. I was always raised to do
the right thing. I was raised to be
a stand-up gentleman. [Muhammad]<i>
I know to take care
of all my children.</i> <i> You can look
at Brooklyn now and see
my face features, everything.</i> I'm here today
to prove today that I am the father. -And you say
it's not his baby, Miss Walton.
-[Walton] Yes, ma'am. I say that because
during my conception date I was having
more sexual intercourse with the other guy
than Mr. Muhammad. And you were having sex
with this other guy behind his back,
is that correct? Yes, ma'am. So, what was
the nature of your relationship with Mr. Muhammad around the time
Brooklyn was conceived. Okay, the nature
of our relationship was, um, Anwar was already
having an affair
with another woman before he had moved in
with me. And, um, during that time, while he was having his affair,
I was having my affair also. [audience exclaims] -[Muhammad] No, no.
-Oh, so you'll
were together but both having affairs. -Yes.
-No. -Well I wouldn't say together--
-No, no, no. -I was, uh--
-No, no.
I wasn't having no affair. We was together. She told me that
this gentleman was her cousin. -I ain't think nothing of it.
-[audience gasps] -She told you the other guy
was her cousin?
-[Muhammad] Was her cousin. -Her cousin.
-That's not true, Your Honor. -He's always known this guy,
who he was.
-I know, I know. That's the other man
she wanted to be with. So you are--
You're saying you were
in a relationship. -In a relationship.
-And you're saying
you were not in a relationship when Brooklyn was conceived. No, we was not
in a relationship.
We was just living together. -Wow, wow.
-And you have an older child
together, am I correct? Yes, four-years-old. So how did you
manage to sneak around
with the other guy behind Mr. Muhammad's back? Well, what happens is,
we were sneaking off
to the hotel and having our,
you know, relations there. -And where were you
supposed to be?
-[Muhammad] Work. Where'd you tell
Mr. Muhammad you were? -Work.
-I told him I was at work. She ain't at work.
She out. She ain't at work. But I did work,
'cause during my pregnancy,
I was working two jobs while Mr. Muhammad wasn't
helping me with anything. She's cheating, Your Honor.
While she says she at work,
she's cheating. Were you still intimate
with Mr. Muhammad
during that time as well? Yes, I was. -[Judge Lake] All right.
-[Muhammad] Wow, wow. -So, you were
sleeping with them both?
-Yes, ma'am. Take me to the moment
you find out
you were pregnant. The moment
I thought I was pregnant I texted, um, the guy
and I tell him
I missed my period. Mr. Muhammad, during that time,
who was living with me got my phone,
looked at the text message, -and confronted--
-That's wrong.
That's wrong, Your Honor. What happened was, I came home, she's asleep,
I looked at her phone, I start seeing a full-fledged
text message about... About having sex,
all that stuff. Y'all having
a full relationship
behind my back. -So you had no idea.
-I had no idea
about this man. Like I said, she told me
in the beginning
that was her cousin. I ain't thinking nothing. I'm thinking
it's a family member. So, can you tell me
how you found about
the man at all. -Just start from the beginning.
-You stop
having sex with me. Your Honor, I know
when you stop
having sex with me, it's a problem, there. -I know that.
-[audience laughs] So, she starts to act funny.
Started to be rebellious. Started doing funny things. So, that drove--
That drove red flags to me. I grabbed her phone,
I started looking
at her text message. I see the conversation
between her and the gentleman. -Okay.
-I confronted her about it. What did
the conversation say? Basically saying
that we having sex, period. Sending pictures
back and forth to each other. They sending
body part pictures,
all that stuff. Okay, so then how did you--
You find out she's cheating. How do you
find out she's pregnant? Your Honor, he found out
through my cell phone. He's the type that like
to go through your cell phone, he even took my cell phone
for two months. -Two months?
-[Muhammad] I never took it. -Yes, ma'am,
and I'm paying the bill.
-I never took it. [indistinct
overlapping chatter] ...and he took my cell phone
and looked at the text messages which I text
the guy and told him. He confronted me
and asked me,
"Why you texting this guy?" And I told him, "Well,
it's a possibility
I could be pregnant." I thought
that was your cousin. No, that's not my cousin.
I've always told you
that wasn't my cousin. But, he, um,
took the cell phone, and he, uh, confronted me
about the text message, and he asked me
"Whose child is it?" And I told him, I said,
"It's his child,
it's not yours." You find out she's pregnant, what's your recollection
of that moment? My recollection though is
I'm thinking the baby's mine. We already have one child,
and like I said,
we was in a relationship. And I'm thinking
I'm the only one
that she's seeing. I did not, like I said,
I did not know nothing
about the gentleman. And, when you look at Brooklyn
and look at me, we look alike. <i> Similar, like,
everything's alike.</i> I feel she got more of
my features, Your Honor. [Muhammad] Everything alike.
She's smart like me. One time I seen Brooklyn
pour cereal, at one-years-old,
pour cereal and milk. What child do you know
that does that at one? That's my genes.
That's my-- Did you pour cereal and milk
when you were one? Yes, I did.
I'm very smart. Unfortunately, "smarts"...
They don't make babies. If you want more episodes
of Paternity Court Make sure to subscribe
and click on
the notification bell. [Judge Lake]
We want to know about
the window of conception. I know the date,
the date was February 21st, in my mama house,
in the bathroom. We was in the mood.
She was--
She was in the mood. She go in the bathroom,
I go to the bathroom after her. That's the date
that we have Brooklyn. -Do you remember
this day, Miss Walton?
-On the sink. Your Honor, I remember
us having sex at my house, not his mother house. So, Mr. Muhammad, is it your testimony
that you conceived
your daughter, Brooklyn, in your mother's bathroom
on the sink? [Muhammad]<i>
Yes, ma'am.</i> So, when do you
think you conceived? I conceived February 4th. No, the 5th. That's the day of our oldest
daughter's first birthday. But if you conceived
that night -wouldn't that
make Mr. Muhammad--
-[Muhammad] The father. -Brooklyn's
biological father?
-But I was having sex with him and the other guy -that, that, that whole week.
-Look at Brooklyn,
just like me. Lookin' just like me,
look at her. That's my baby.
That's my baby.
That my baby. -[Muhammad] I know that.
-I don't think she's his.
I think she's the other guy's. You've got to be crazy. So, did you ever
ask your doctor about the conception date,
Miss Walton? -Yes.
-What did the doctors say? I took a pregnancy test
a few days after we had, um,
a week after we had sex. The test came out positive. I waited a whole month
to go to the doctor. And the doctor told me
that I was eight weeks then. So he went back
to February 5th. [Muhammad]
I didn't even see... So when the doctor told you
when you were pregnant, -you were eight weeks.
-[Walton] Yes. And then that took you back
to the window of time
right around February 5th... -Yes.
-...which is when
you were having sex. -With both of 'em. Yes.
-Oh, with both of 'em. I was having more sex
with the other guy
than Mr. Muhammad. She want this baby
to be his. That baby looks-- like I said,
I know the baby, I know. I know when the first time
I held Brooklyn. I ain't get to see Brooklyn
until she was six-months-old. First time I held Brooklyn, I already knew
that she's mine. I can just tell
if the kid's mine or not. It's certain characteristics
that's mine. That's the day she was born. [Muhammad]<i> I didn't even
get to see that.
I ain't seen none of that.</i> And did you tell
this other guy
"I'm pregnant." Yes, I told the other guy
I was pregnant. [Muhammad] Never
told me nothing. -But you didn't tell
Mr. Muhammad.
-[Muhammad] No. I told Mr. Muhammad
after I confirmed
with the doctor. [Muhammad] She's lying. She's didn't tell me nothing.
She's lying. She said that--
She never told me anything. When did you find out
she was pregnant? I found out through my family. [Judge Lake]
Miss Walton admits that she was
having sex with both men, you and the other man. -You weren't using protection
with the other man?
-No. -You weren't using protection
with Mr. Muhammad?
-No. You were having sex
around the window
of conception -with both men?
-Yes. -[Muhammad] Crazy.
-This is 50-50,
no matter how we slice it. -[Walton] Right.
-Did you tell the other man "I'm pregnant
and this could be your baby." -Yes, I told him.
-What was his response? His response was, um, he wanted a fraternity test
once the baby was born. [indistinct
overlapping chatter] A paternity test
not a fraternity test. -Yeah, a fraternity test.
-No, "paternity." -Paternity, I'm sorry.
-[Muhammad] Excuse me,
Your Honor, my oldest daughter,
my oldest daughter, Brooklyn looks like
my oldest daughter. If you look at them girls,
look, they're so alike. <i> That's my first daughter,
right there. She's four.</i> [Judge Lake]<i>
They are adorable.</i> Adorable, those are my babies--
That's my babies right there. Look at me and look at them. Those are
my babies right there. Yeah, they may be your babies
but I'm taking care of them. No, I take care
of them, too. -No, you do not.
-I take care of them, too.
I ask you all the time. Listen, listen, I'm trying
to understand the logic. Like, as I listen to
your testimony,
Miss Walton, honestly,
I keep saying to myself well, what reason
does she have to make up this lie? Like, you've got one baby
with the man, so you're stuck with him. Pretty much. If you had
another one with him, you all would just
be co-parenting
and figuring that out. What benefit is it
to you to say the other man
is your child's
biological father, unless you really
believe that. [indistinct
overlapping chatter] Honestly, I believe it
in my heart that he is
the biological father. If it's the other man,
he'll be more
financially helpful. He'll be more
of a father to her. -Oh...
-[Muhammad] Your Honor,
Your Honor. Your Honor,
Brooklyn got my last name. He will be the man to stand up
and take care of his child. Oh, you've decided that
this other man
is gonna take care of Brooklyn better than Mr. Muhammad. -Yes.
-Never, that, never.
That ain't gonna work. So, do you want to
be with this other man, too? Yes, Your Honor. [audience exclaims] Now it makes sense. That's what she wants.
She's trying to make
that baby belong to this man that, I don't even
know this man. -Have you started
that relationship?
-No. -[Muhammad] Ain't gonna work.
Ain't gonna work.
-No. But why? He's married,
for number one. -[audience exclaims]
-[Muhammad] Your Honor,
Your Honor. -He's married,
for number one.
-[Muhammad] Your Honor... [Muhammad] Your Honor,
see what I'm saying? Your Honor, Your Honor,
Brooklyn got my last name. [Judge Lake] I'm here
trying to figure out what's holding him back? What's holding him back? A whole wife! -[laughter]
-A whole wife
holding him back! You bargaining!
You bargaining! -She gave Brooklyn
my last name.
-[audience exclaims] She gave Brooklyn
my last name. [Judge Lake]
You gave Brooklyn-- [Walton] I gave Brooklyn
his last name to keep her
from being embarrassed -later on in life.
-It's my baby, period. -You want your daughters
to have the same last name.
-Same last name. 'Cause you definitely
couldn't give her
the other man's last name. You can't do that.
That's what you get
for messing with marriage. So then your only option
was to give her
just your last name, -so you didn't
want her to get teased.
-[Walton] Right. But you think she gave Brooklyn
your last name because she's really
just trying to be mean -but she knows
Brooklyn's your child.
-Exactly. She know that. So you really want
this other man
to be the father too, 'cause you say
that's who you wanna be with. The only problem is
that he's married. But if you end up
with this baby by him,
that might change. -Yes.
-Ho, ho! [Muhammad] Ain't gonna change.
Ain't gonna change. And you know-- It took me a minute
but I arrived. She don't know
what she talking about. Like, I said,
she does not know
what she talking about. Look at that baby.
Look at her. -That's my baby.
-She looks more like me. I do not see his features. So, Miss Walton,
I need to ask you because... [sighs] You come to Court
to tell the truth -and to get the truth.
-[Walton] Yes. Is it that you don't believe Mr. Muhammad is
Brooklyn's biological child, or is it that
you so desperately want
to be with the married man that you want this child
as another level
of attachment to him, or you want it to be the straw that breaks
the camel's back
in his marriage? No, I'm not a fan
of breaking up happy homes. [Muhammad] She broke up my--
You broke up my happy home! Your Honor, she broke up
my happy home. [overlapping chatter] I'm done. Did you just say
she broke up your happy home? -She broke up my happy home.
-I did not break up
his happy home. [Judge Lake] I'm done. -She broke up my happy home.
-I did not break up
his happy home. Well, I just feel
that he's not the father. We got to
get it together, people. We got to get it together. This is messy.
I see what exactly
is going on now. If these assertions that
Miss Walton has made is true, with the fact that
during the window
of conception she was actively sleeping
with both men
without protection, you all can talk
all you wanna talk, but really,
the paternity question,
it's just up in the air. I've heard enough.
Jerome, let me
get the envelope. -[indistinct chatter]
-[audience applauding] [Muhammad] Thank you,
let me get it. Let me get it,
let me get it. [Judge Lake] These results
were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. In the case of<i>
Muhammad v. Walton...</i> When it comes to
two-year-old Brooklyn Muhammad, it has been determined
by this Court, Mr. Muhammad, you... -Are the father.
-Yes! -[audience cheers]
-I told you, I know what I'm talking about.
I know what
I'm talking about, baby. I know what I'm talking about. I know what I'm talking about.
I know what I'm talking about. I know what I'm talking about.
You hear me? I know what I'm talking about. Right now, you have
two children together. Let's stop
making this a fight. -Do you understand?
-Yes. I feel like everything
between you two is a fight. Your Honor, if she can-- Mr. Muhammad,
you got to learn
when to be quiet. -I mean, really!
-[applause] [Muhammad] All right. You say you smart. The qualities
of very intelligent people is that they learn
that listening is actually
more important than talking. Yes, ma'am. The truth is that doesn't make
people wanna work with you. And when
you're co-parenting, you have to create
a scenario where someone
wants to work with you. Understand. The relationship
between fathers and girls, the way you treat
their mother is the way they think
it's going to be okay
for them to be treated. So, if every time their mother
tries to say something, you're talking over
and shutting her down, and you always the smartest
and you have all the answers, you will find them mirroring
that same relationship, where some man
is always shutting them down. And you not gonna like that. So it's important now
that you begin to behave and to treat their mother,
as wrong as she may have been, she admitted it, but at this point now,
what you said is true,
you're the dad. Now we have to
start all over,
we've got to press reset, and we got to start over
for the girls. I want them to grow up
healthy and happy with both of their parents -and to know
that they're loved.
-[Walton] Yes. All right. So please go talk to Dr. Jeff
and figure out
how to take the first steps to co-parenting
in a healthy way, and I wish you
all the very best. Court is adjourned. [applause]
