You may be seated. Hello, Your Honor. This is the case of<i>
Nazarine v. Rami.</i> Thank you. You're welcome. Good day, ladies
and gentlemen. Ms. Nazarine, uh,
you are here today to sue
your ex-boyfriend, Mr. Rami, for being an
absentee father
and a deadbeat dad. You say he has caused you
and your two children much pain and suffering
by never stepping up
as their father. Mr. Rami, uh, you claim
Ms. Nazarine has done
immeasurable damage to your life and career by her
very difficult personality. Ms. Nazarine, when did
your relationship with
Mr. Rami begin to sour? Okay, our relationship
began to sour when I became
pregnant and... Things had soured
long before that. Um, she's not the most
easy person to deal with. There were definitely
signs that were before
she got pregnant. When you say she's
not the easiest person
to get along with, what do you mean
specifically? Complete irrationality. (AUDIENCE TITTERING) Um, the decision
to be overtly angry,
volatile and violent for things that
I consider to be
less than important. (SCOFFS) Like rent! Um... Very verbally and
physically abusive. Is that true,
Ms. Nazarine? NAZARINE: No, no. It's absolutely not true. He and I have had
one incident where he stole, uh, $500 from me
and had me and
my baby in a car that had a steering
column that failed. Okay, so for the time
that we were together, we were artists,
and I was young, he was young and
he was my best friend. We tried to reconcile,
he never... To this day
he's not kept a job. This man has spent
17 and 15,
almost 16 years ignoring his children
while trying to pursue
a rap career. Okay, that's
the bottom line. (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) That's the bottom line. <i> Not trying to
pursue his GED,</i> <i>not trying to get
a high school diploma,
not trying to go to college...</i> I put myself 90 hours... 90 units through college
raising three children
on my own. I've always done here.
I've always worked. Okay? This man does
nothing. Nothing! Mr. Rami, is any
part of this, that she's saying, true? Uh, the fact that
we might have some
children together and that we spent a
short period of time... (SCOFFS) ...enjoying each
other's company. Outside of that,
can't really cosign
anything else. What level of effort have you put forth
to take care of
the children? RAMI: Well, first of all,
she decided to move to
the other side of the country without talking
to me about it. Have you provided
steady support? Well, depends on
what steady is. No, I haven't sent a check
every two weeks.
No, I haven't. But when I've had a job,
I have sent help. JUDGE LAKE: How... You have... RAMI: Whenever
she's hit me up and asked for money,
if I was able to... Every once, yes... Every once in a while
he's sent $100. Yes, oh, absolutely. Over the past 17, 16... He paid child support
when he was with, um,
his ex-second wife. Okay. So being a father
goes beyond just
financial support. You know that.
How about the
emotional support? What about that? Well if she
wouldn't have taken my children to Georgia
from Los Angeles,
where we had them, I would have been there. Okay, so what happened
to me being seven
months pregnant with a one-year-old
and you were gone
for three years? (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) Truth to be told. There was an incident.
I was asked to bring
the car to her because she had
Messiah with her. "Can you bring the car
to Tarzana from
Los Angeles?" I told her, "No problem.
I would love to
do that for you." So, um... (CHUCKLES) Actually, what's funny...
I'll tell you this story
because it's more of a reason. I have a list... JUDGE LAKE: Tell me
some tell some... I have a list of... Tell me something
that's got some facts. NAZARINE: Child support! Just to give you an example
of what I've had to deal with. Um, my brother's oldest child
and only son just died. He just turned 21
and died on his... Um, in his birthday month. NAZARINE: And I also called
you when you told me that. During... I let you know I had
a $700 electric bill, and your son needed
to go to summer school... During that time... ...so that he could
graduate on time. During that time... So I don't care about
your brother's son. You don't care
about your own son, why would I care about
your brother's son? (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) Keep your 100.
Keep your 100. So during this time
she sends a list
of text messages saying that it's nice to know
that we care about the dead
more than the living... Yeah, let the dead
bury the dead.
I said it and I mean it. Now these are
the text messages that you submitted
to the court? RAMI: Yes. Can you read
them to me? All right... And I mean every
last one of them. (RAMI READING) (INAUDIBLE) "I ain't damn playin'..." I'm not. (CONTINUES READING) NAZARINE: And I mean it.
And that's the truth. Ms. Nazarine,
those words
were pretty harsh. And I meant every
one of them. Weren't they in reference
to them burying
a young person? Did you say
21 years old? No, they were not... The first grandchild. Yes. What they were
in response to... I had talked to him
a week before that on the... I talked to him, and
he told me that he was
going to help me keep my son, um,
in summer school,
which he has not. Which my son
has not been able
to take summer school. And help me
pay some bills. Well, see what
I'm hearing from you,
Ms. Nazarine... And look, take this from me,
'cause I mean it earnestly. If you want this man
to be involved
in his kids' life, you've got to sometimes,
at least sometimes, present yourself as a person
that somebody would
want to be around. Okay, well... I mean... You're a
beautiful lady and... No, no, no,
I'm keeping it real with you. He doesn't... There is no way you can
send a text message
about somebody burying a... That was not the
message was about. Someone's child... You accused them of caring... The message
was about my son. ...more about a dead child
than a living child. They do. They care about all
of those children... That was unnecessary. ...because they're
light-skinned. That was an
unnecessary comparison. Okay... Hey, listen, listen. That was an
unnecessary comparison. And let me tell you
something really real. You're stooping too low,
'cause you're not
a dumb lady... Oh, I know I'm not. You are hurt. What I'm saying
to you is you are now stooping
to the lowest of low 'cause what you
really are is hurt. And I'm trying
to tell you right now, the court is trying
to tell you right now, that it's okay to just say,
"That hurt me." If they needed
to bury this child,
well, fine. Then you deal with him
on the level of your children
on a different day. And that's what I did. But you got to be
a big enough woman to let the family
do that. NAZARINE: Okay, and I did. Mr. Rami. RAMI: Yes, ma'am? When you stand here,
there's a little smirk, and the body language
is a little sarcastic. I'm having trouble
trying to digest why you're so cavalier as we speak about
little people that
you have made. Oh, I've never, uh, tried to
act like I was anything other
than what I am, which is... JUDGE LAKE:
What are you? A loser. A loser. JUDGE LAKE:
No, I'm being honest. He says he's been...
I want him to tell me. I'm a writer. Uh... So am I. And... I still do it here
and I still work. She made her decision
to be with me
with that information. (SCOFFS) Really? JUDGE LAKE: Okay. Now I've never acted
like I was gonna go
get a job that was gonna provide
me with a raise and
with upward mobility so I can be somebody
that's making
$100,000 a year. My personal opinion
is the fact that we
can make this happen. A whole lot of people
live very well modestly and are able
to raise children. Now, you can't do that
when you're dealing with somebody that's
completely irrational. (SCOFFS) Irrational! Now, look,
I can't do it. The reason that it all
really fell apart,
if you wanna know... I was taking the car
out to Tarzana... Um, I mean, even
if you look at this... JUDGE LAKE: I wish this car
would go somewhere. (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) What happened? All right. I would
like to finish but I'm getting interrupted
over and over again. Yeah. Tell me. Um, I take the
car out there. When I dropped it off... NAZARINE: Why did you
get the car? JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Nazarine, if I don't find out
what's wrong with this car (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) and what's wrong
with you two, I cannot help get this
thing better, okay? Yes, ma'am. Where did the car go? RAMI: It's not
about the car. It's not
about the car. Tell me what happened? So when I take
the car there, she wants to have
a discussion with me. She wants to yell
and argue with me. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. RAMI: I'm not going
through that anymore. So I tell her
that I'm leaving. At this point
I'm living with
my parents. Not quite sure how
she heard my statement
about, "I'm leaving," but she decided to
punch me in the face. NAZARINE: Lie. That's a lie. Okay. And after she punched me
in the face, the exact quote, I'll never forget it
which was, "Hit me." He's a liar. (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) JUDGE LAKE:
So the bottom line is... Is this turned to physical
from your perspective. You're denying
all of this. What I'm saying is, um... He... He keeps on starting at
bringing the Bug back. The Bug was, uh,
freshly painted... Oh, gosh, is this
this car again? RAMI: I'm not talking
about the car. Because... Part of the fact is
when I was out there, she beat me up
and held me hostage. He never... I don't care
about cars anymore,
I care about kids. Mr. Rami, you know
you got two kids
out here in this world. But you know you need to be
helping to support them and you should have
been helping... And I do. And as I've said
over and over again... NAZARINE: You do? ...she took my children
to Georgia. He's a liar. Let me have another... If somebody let me talk,
they might learn something. What I also get
from you, though, is part of what you
said today is true. Ms. Nazarine
is difficult. And I have every right
to be with a deadbeat who abandoned me
with one baby
seven months in the womb. Did I ask you
to let me finish? Yes, ma'am. Thank you. She's difficult. But I'm a mother
and I'm gonna
tell you right now, I don't want to see the day
that the father of my child tries to come up
short for my baby. (AUDIENCE CLAPPING) It's not going
to happen. If it's anything
that's going to
infuriate a mother is for somebody
to give a mediocre effort
when it comes to their kids. You got to respect that. So her frustration
and her hurt is that you can stand there
looking as handsome and
as smart as you can be and say, "I never
promised her anything,
I'm a writer." (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) A fool.
That's what you are.
A straight fool! When... No... And excuse my English,
'cause I was an English
major, too, but I got to break it down
with a double negative. Don't nobody want
to hear nothing,
that's a triple negative, about writing when
we're talking about money to help support the kids. RAMI: And that's
perfectly fine, Judge, But at the same time,
she took my children away. JUDGE LAKE: So, Mr. Rami... That's a lie.
I've been successful at, um, taking care
of my children
without your help. You need to be a father
to your children and if you're not
going to be, and you want to
sit here and deny and play all these games
with your children, that's why
they're not here. That's what you
need to know. Your children don't
appreciate you standing
there playing games, when you know for a fact
both them is your children, let's not be ridiculous,
number one. Number two, I've told
you to keep it clean
and don't lie. You've done nothing but lie. Ms. Nazarine, I do
have to ask you, 'cause you
brought them up and they're old
enough now to know. Do they feel that their
father neglects them or do they feel like
they would want to have
more of a relationship if you two
could possibly (CLICKING TONGUE)
just try to put your dislike
for each other aside and let them
have a moment? This is what
I've heard from
my children. My son... He just... In my opinion, doesn't feel
like this man loves or cares
for him or his sister. And then my
daughter said she's embarrassed
that her father
refuses to work. She's embarrassed that
he's a wannabe rapper
almost 40. Him and I having
a friendship?
Never gonna happen. Because he's a liar. He's a manipulator. And he thought that
he was gonna come to my city
where I was born
and defame me. And all you're
doing is... Listen. Listen, you two don't
have to be friends. I'm gonna tell you right now,
it's probably best for you
two to have never ever... I'm telling you,
very little to do with one
another on a personal level. I do not see reconciliation
in this picture. No! However, I do
see two people who I know are intelligent
enough to understand this. You have got to love
the children more than
you hate each other. I don't hate him. You have to... I refuse to hate him. And you don't
even hate him! I refuse to hate.
He's a hater. Well you have to love
the children more
than you dislike him. I don't even
really dislike... Well, I'll give you another
since you... Look, look, look,
Ms. Nazarine, what I
love with women like you is you got an answer
to everything I say and yet your situation
ain't figured out. If you love the kids
the way you say you do, stop talking
and give them room so maybe this man
will just spend some
time with them and they can have
a relationship. And he's never
been denied that so... You are intelligent
and you have children. You don't have to keep
barking and barking. Everybody knows
you take care... Raise your hand
in this room if you don't think
she took care of her kids
by herself. Turn around. Turn around.
Who's raising their hand? Nobody! 'Cause everybody
in this room knows he didn't do anything. But the problem is... Is if he's ever
gonna do something, you have got to pipe down
enough to receive him. Okay. Can I say this
in my own defense? JUDGE LAKE: Yes. Let me say something
in my own defense. We know you did it all. In my own defense, this is the first time
in 17 years that I've ever been
face to face with
this issue. So you can say
that I'm ranting
and this and that, but I'm giving out
a 17-year story
in one sitting. He plays to our son
and tries to neglect
our daughter and treats her
crazy. Okay? You were never...
You never denied... I've heard enough
and I'm ready... I've heard enough
and I'm ready
to make my ruling. I really... I appreciate
what you are saying, and like I said,
I hear and feel the hurt. And a part of me
feels like, um, I could just let you
go on all day 'cause I want you
to get the rant out. Because when it's out
I want you to be able
to leave it on the table so that he's heard
everything you
want him to know, and then I want you to
look at him and say, "When are you coming
to see your kids?" I texted him yesterday. This is what I'm saying. And then I want
you, Mr. Rami, to
answer definitively when can you visit
with your kids. As soon as possible. Okay. Which will probably
happen tomorrow. And it's gonna happen
if I allow it. If she allows me. This is what I've
had to deal with
this whole time. Oh, absolutely those
are my children.
I take care of them. Oh, did you... I brought those
children to you
every other weekend. You need to
stop your lying. I brought them to you
every other weekend, JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Nazarine. and brought food
because you couldn't
even feed them. If you know this man,
if you ever really knew him, you would know nothing
you say bothers him. I am looking at this man... It bothers him. That's why
he's got ulcers. Nothing you're saying
is bothering him. I'm gonna wrap this up because I can see
right now this isn't
about the kids. This isn't... This isn't
about the kids. Really? This isn't
about the kids. Good. Sounds good. Because this is about
condemning him to the point where
the whole world... No, it's not. It's about... ...feels like
he's a piece of crap. (AUDIENCE CHEERING) I wanna suggest this.
Let's get some order. This is not going
to end today and this is much deeper
than this court can solve
in this one session. I want you to consider... Just like you may
consider letting him
see the kids tomorrow... I would like you to... It can be before the 28th,
before we leave. we You can definitely
see them when my family arranges. I am done listening
to the rant, Ms. Nazarine. I'm telling the truth.
I'm not gonna rant. I'm done. I would like you all
to consider, along
with your kids if they will do it, family counseling,
and this court will
provide the resource because my
concern is... I don't live here. Is that out of love
and protection
for your kids, you are doing the exact
opposite of what you
should be doing. You're angry
and you're trying
to protect them. But you are really pushing
away the person that
they stated to you they do want a
relationship with. You may not like him, he might not be paying money, (NAZARINE SHOUTING
INDISTINCTLY) ...he may not be
doing the right thing but, Ms. Nazarine, there's
more to being a father
than just the money. If he just wants to see them
and they want to see him... When he came to Georgia, he came to my home.
He was in my home. He's had every address
that I've ever lived at. But can he see
them tomorrow? If... Can he see
them tomorrow? He can see them tomorrow as long as I don't
have to orchestrate it. As long as he takes
the real sincere effort, because I've been
the one... Mr. Rami... ...always making
arrangements, Mr. Rami, always making sure... Will you... Will you make that effort
to see them tomorrow? Yes. I don't care if... You're a writer, but
don't write too much
on the text. Look, it's all good.
Yes, tomorrow.
That's what I want. Just say
"Hey, what time?"
That's it. Don't start
an argument. I don't. "Hey what time?" And then if you could
just give him a time. Nothing else. And then you just say,
"I'll be there." And then be there. I have my half. Can you do that? Yes. Can you do that? Yeah. Thank you. Court is adjourned.
