<i> This is</i> Couple's Court
with the Cutlers. This is the case of<i>
Gordon v. Gordon.</i> You all have been
married for four years. You have two children together. And Mr. Gordon,
you have brought
your wife here because you believe
there are issues of
infidelity and cheating. Is that correct? Yes, ma'am, Your Honor. What is at risk if it is found
that your wife is
in fact cheating? Well, if it's found out
that she failed these
lie detector tests, I don't think
we can go on,
not much longer I think we're gonna get
a divorce and call it quits. Ms. Gordon, these
accusations of cheating, what kind of strain is it
putting on your marriage? We're sleeping
in separate beds, we're not speaking
for days at a time. I mean, it's bad enough
that our children
are noticing it. JUDGE DANA: And Mr. Gordon,
all of this is going on because you believe
she's cheating. Yes, Your Honor.
I'll tell you this
one particular story about my sister's birthday. My sister celebrating
her birthday, you know, sort of a girls' night out. I stay home with the kids because I'm more of
a stay-at-home
kind of guy anyway. And they're like
out all night. It's not like a 2:00
come in or 3:00,
it's like an all-night party. When did she
finally come home? I wanna say
about 2:00 p.m. AUDIENCE: Oh! 2:00 p.m.? The next day? Like, the afternoon. JUDGE KEITH: So she's
out all night. All night
and all day, too. All night long.
Lionel Richie.<i> All Night Long.</i> (ALL LAUGHING) So what happens when
she comes home at 2:00 p.m.? I have my children there,
I don't want to just
accuse her of things when I don't honestly know
what's going on. I mean, how do you know
that she cheated on this time? What is the evidence
that she cheated? I'm just going
with my gut feeling, I just feel like
something is not right. This is another time
she's out again all night. And this time she was
kind of gone for
a whole weekend. AUDIENCE: Oh! JUDGE KEITH: What happened? On Friday, we're
having a normal day
just us and the kids. You know, we're talking. I kind of get the feeling
that she wants to go somewhere but it's like
we had just prior... Got into the incident
last week. So it's like I really wasn't
trying to let her out. Let her out. Hmm. Let her out. It's a beautiful cage,
Your Honor. JUDGE DANA: All right. She wanted to go out
but I didn't agree
for her to go out. And last week I agreed
for her to go out
and she went out And she came... Okay. Go ahead. Okay, so, later on
that night rolls around... One thing leads to
another, we argue. She decides
she wants to go to
my sister's house and she finally rolls
around home about 6:00 p.m. that Sunday evening. I was really done, but... What did you ask her? I asked her
what did she do?
Did she cheat? She was honest,
she said she did. AUDIENCE: Oh! Really? She said her intention was
not to have sex with him,
but you know... So she comes in,
you ask her
what did she do where you been,
she tells you, "I didn't intend to
have sex with somebody,
but I did." Yes, ma'am. JUDGE DANA: All right. How in the word do you
unintentionally have sex, because that's
a pretty intentional act. It is. I at that point was
in a very vulnerable spot. We had just had
a huge blowout, and before I even left
the house to go out
for that evening, he told me already
he wanted a divorce,
before I even left, because of me going out
the prior weekend. Why did you bother
to even come home if you were done
and you're having sex
with somebody else already? Because the sex,
it happened Saturday night. And then Sunday morning,
I had went back
to his sister's house. And just telling her
that I felt bad and I didn't know
how I was gonna tell him, what was I gonna do. And she just told me,
"Oh well, you know, "the best thing you could do
is just go home, tell him
what happened. "You guys are already
at the point of
getting a divorce. "It can't get
much worse than this. "And at least at that point,
can't nobody else tell him "what happened because you
already told him." Have you ever talked
to this person again? After that weekend? JUDGE DANA: Yes. Yes. Have you had sex with him
since that weekend? TANIKA: No. JUDGE DANA: This was
a one-time thing. Yes. So do you believe that
this is a one-time thing
and she's done? Absolutely not. AUDIENCE: Oh! So, she confesses to you... RICARDO: Yes. You stay with her. Yes. Why did you do that? I love her.
I love her dearly. And you know,
I don't wanna just
give up on my family, because I love my kids. AUDIENCE: Aww... JUDGE DANA: So you stay
with her for your children
and because you love her. Yes. Yes. JUDGE KEITH: Why do you
believe that cheating
is still going on? Well... Okay. This one time
for instance, she um... She went out for a cigarette and then, you know,
I come back out there
looking, and it's like
she's gone, and... So you all are home? RICARDO: Yes, we're home. You're home. She goes outside to smoke
'cause she don't want to
smoke in the house. RICARDO: Right. Right. Okay. So I call her
and she says, "Oh, I'm with my friend,
I'm with friends,
I'm in a rap battle." And I'm like, "Dude!
How do you go out
for a cigarette "and then you go
to a rap battle?"
you know, so... So she didn't tell you
she was leaving? No, I mean,
I had to call her
and figure out... Wait, wait, wait.
Really? That happened? I had a co-worker
that is really close to me. He's male, but I've been
working with him for a while. And he had called me,
he was having some issues
with his child, and he had a lot
of stuff going on, and another friend
of ours had come by and told us about
a rap battle downtown
or whatever. Did you tell him
you were leaving? No ma'am, I did not. JUDGE DANA: Okay, did you
think about telling him
when you were leaving? I did, and after the argument
that we had just had about me going out
the previous weekend, I mean, at that point
I kind of felt like asking for forgiveness
was gonna be easier than
asking for permission. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMS) Well, there is a problem
when a woman has to
ask for permission, 'cause she is grown. JUDGE KEITH:
It's communication, because... No. It is, because the sense
we're getting is... Is like she
just disappears. No, no. I agree about
communication which is, "Hey, I gotta run,
I'm gonna do so and so." As opposed to,
"Honey, may I go?" 'Cause I'm not doing,
"Honey, may I go?" Well... But look,
if it's... If it is... (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) You disappeared
last weekend, you disappeared
the weekend before that, I think there is kind of
almost... Well, look... "I need to smooth this over
before I just disappear again
this next weekend." Again, you wouldn't
have those issues if there was communication
all the way through. And I think that this
lack of communication
between the two of them has created this need
on her part, although I'm not
endorsing it at all,
to just go. He told me already
he wanted a divorce,
before I even left. Okay, so this
lack of communication... Okay... Yeah. She goes to this rap battle. As strange as it is
that she just disappears, what's wrong with her
going to a rap battle? Okay, well, the times
don't add up, you know, it takes 20 minutes there,
maybe 20 minutes back. Okay, this is the document that
you submitted to the court. So you...
On this document,
you gave us a timeline. RICARDO:<i> Yes.</i> JUDGE DANA:<i> And you said</i> <i> she went out too smoke
cigarette with friends,</i> <i> she was out there
about 30 minutes.</i> <i> But to get back and forth
from the rap battle would be
48 minutes, correct?</i> RICARDO:<i> That's being
very friendly, like...</i> JUDGE DANA:<i> That's being
generous.</i> RICARDO:<i> Generous.</i> All right. And then
parking and getting in... Actually, getting in to
the concert would have
taken another 25 minutes. RICARDO:<i> That's also generous.</i> JUDGE DANA:<i> And then,
at least three rap battles
would have taken 30 minutes.</i> So you're saying
it would have taken her at least two hours
and 13 minutes
to go and come back. Right. Did she come back
before two hours
and 13 minutes were up? An hour and a half. JUDGE DANA: So were only gone
an hour and a half. It's not that big
a time difference. But you're saying... You're saying, that if she was
only gone an hour and a half, there's no way
she could have gone
to this rap battle. Exactly. I believe she was
with the guy still, because she's out
with these "friends," you know. First off, I was with three four other people
in a small, little
four-door car. By the time we got there,
it was already almost over. So we were literally there
maybe... 15 minutes. And left. Just because I made
the decision to leave
without asking permission, does not mean that I'm running around
with half of the city. It's not permission, it's just simple conversation,
it's communication. No, it's permission. It's... He's a hall warden. It's permission.
It's definitely permission. Yes. So Mr. Gordon,
is this the only time that
Mrs. Gordon has disappeared? No, absolutely not.
She was at work, right? And, you know... I calm myself, I want to do
something special for her,
I want to... I ran a bath for her,
I baked her some cookies... You remember.
You remember how that looks. (ALL LAUGHING) I do. You come home
and it's all done, it's laid out, it's like... "Oh, this is really nice."
You remember that, right? I remember the bath,
I don't remember the cookies. (ALL LAUGHING) You remember everything else? Yeah. Good. (ALL LAUGHING) I'll take that. So you've laid it out
for her, I mean... You're trying to be
the dutiful husband,
the nice husband, just... Romantic husband. Romantic husband. I'm trying, I'm trying.
Okay, so... She says, "I'll be
getting off soon." And this was like,
maybe an hour
and a half ago. So I'm like,
"Okay. Gosh." you know. I get bored,
so I check Snapchat, and I see her on Snapchat
with her friends
drinking and having fun. And then,
I get there to work, and there's like...
immediately soon as I pull up her and a guy, like,
jumping and walking. And I'm like, "Whoa!" If nothing's going on... Because I saw him pull up. ...why are you getting up? I saw him pull up. I got up to walk out
to where he was at. But look... They got up and they kind of
walked over to
the other seat. You know, like, start talking,
it's just... It's a lot of iffy things that I'm... He is exaggerating greatly. JUDGE DANA: Okay,
Ms. Gordon. Did you go out
after work, drinking? Yes, with co-workers. JUDGE DANA: Okay. And you already admit to
there was a co-worker that... A male co-worker that
you're particularly close to,
right? Yes. JUDGE DANA: And was that
the co-worker that
jumped up and walked away? Yes. And that was the one
you were out with this night
when he saw your Snapchat. Yes. Did you do something
with the co-workers that night? No. No. I just think she's
like tired of me. She must want somebody who's
more outgoing and what-not. There's another woman here
who has something to
say about this case. Ron, would you please
escort the witness
into the courtroom? Yes, Your Honor. (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) State your full name
for the court, please. Tahkel Cook. Miss Cook, what is
your relationship to
the plaintiff, Mr. Gordon? He's my brother. What do you know about
his relationship with
his wife, Mrs. Gordon? Everything. AUDIENCE: Oh! JUDGE KEITH: You understand
that he claims
she was cheating. Yes. Do you have any
knowledge about that? Absolutely. I do feel like
she... Yes, she is. She is. AUDIENCE: Oh! Why do you say that? Well, because, first of all,
the guy that she cheated with, like, I know him. And... I go out. I was at
the after-hours spot. So I asked him like,
"Um, so have you
seen T?" He was like,
"I just talked to her
the other day." AUDIENCE: Oh! So, in my eyes, I'm like, you weren't even
supposed to be
talking to him, like. And then, there was
the time where I knew she had told me like
they had went on a outing into the park
or something with
the kids, and so... AUDIENCE: Oh! I felt like, why would you be
out with this man
doing all that again if there's not
more than that? JUDGE DANA: Ms. Gordon, did you go to the park
with this gentleman
with your children? I did. AUDIENCE: Oh! JUDGE DANA: Since
the incident of cheating? Yes. AUDIENCE: Ooh! So you're out at the park
with another man
and your kids. Moreover, she told the court
she hadn't had
any contact with him. I haven't had any
sexual contact with him,
but I mean we've... So you're gonna
parse my words? She know
the right thing to say,
that's her specialty. All right. And have you
talked to him recently
on the phone? No. No. That outing
at the park was the last time
that I had spoken to him. Before I cut off
everything with him, he was trying to get me
to leave my marriage for him. And once he realized that
that was cut off... No, I don't, I don't... I cut him off, that's when he showed up
randomly to our apartment
to talk to him. He told me actually
that when he spoke with her, he was saying as if
they had a good conversation, like it was
a brief conversation. And that's what
made me feel like, "Well, "yeah, she's still
doing something with him, "like the affair,
I don't believe
is over at all." So Mr. Gordon,
you've gotten past
the one infidelity for the sake of
your marriage
and your children. RICARDO: Yeah. But if you should find out that there has been
cheating since that point, your'e done. Cheating, yes,
and lying. In order to get to
the bottom of this, the court has engaged
the services of
forensic voice analyst Guy Wolfe. Ron, please escort Mr. Wolfe
into the courtroom. Yes, Your Honor. (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Would you please
state your credentials
for the court record? Yes, ma'am. I've been
in law enforcement for
a little over 20 years. I have been
a forensic voice analyst
for more than 10 years and I've performed
hundreds of exams. Can you please
explain how it works? Yes, ma'am, it operates
off of the spoken word. When you speak,
you have two frequencies
in your voice. And when you tell a lie
or you're deceptive,
one of them goes away. And it's recorded
a certain way
on the computer. Ms. Gordon, we're about to
find out the truth. You look a little nervous. I'm just ready to
get it over with. JUDGE KEITH: Mr. Gordon,
are you ready to
find out the truth. Yes, I'm gonna take
my glasses off for this one. (ALL LAUGHING) JUDGE DANA: All right,
let's take a look at
the question that you asked. (DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING) (WOLFE SPEAKING) No. What did the forensic
voice analysis determine? No. What did the forensic
voice analysis determine? GUY: The forensic
voice analysis determined that she was
being deceptive,
Your Honor. (ALL GASP) Wow. Mrs. Gordon? Mmm. Other than the one time
that we know about, you continued to
see that person,
didn't you? Sexually. Yes. AUDIENCE: Oh! It was... I had
a connection with him that I haven't had with him
since we got together. Since we got married.
I mean, it's... How many times
have you been
with this man? Three. AUDIENCE: Oh! So Mr. Gordon, are you gonna
go forward with the marriage, or are you
looking to separate? I wanna say no
right now, but I really wanna think about this
and weigh all of
my options. Well, let's see
what she wants. You say you want
this marriage to work. I do. But I want
the man back
that I married. This is not who I married. You're not gonna
play the blame game
in this court. TANIKA: I take my blame. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) JUDGE DANA: No, you didn't. You waited to come here... You don't get to blame him after it took him bringing you
to this courtroom to tell him what he's already
felt in his heart for months. But the question is, do you
want this marriage to work? Yes. JUDGE KEITH:
What are you gonna do
to make it work? I mean, whatever
I have to. Obviously,
be more honest
at this point, have better
communication. What I haven't heard
is the magic words, "I'm gonna stop seeing
this other person." That's what
I was listening for. I've already stopped
seeing him though. That's... I've already
stopped seeing him. I haven't spoken to him
in a while. Now, Mr. Gordon,
I understand, you're like, "She has done nothing
to earn my trust. "And that's why I'm like,
'Where are you going?
What are you doing? '"How you doing it?
What are you doing it with?'" I understand that. But a successful relationship
in marriage is built on trust. You aren't going to know
where she is 24/7. 'Cause what your doing,
you're substituting
trust for knowledge. I"f I know where she is,
if I have my thumb on her, "if she's home,
I know where she is." That's not trust,
that's prison. Now, trust is
a two-way street,
Ms. Gordon. You've got to earn the trust
in order for him
to give it to you. We have counseling
available for you, please take advantage of it. And as we say in this court, do not cheat yourself
out of a chance for a good relationship. Court is adjourned.
