Please be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Good morning. This is the case of<i>
Stovall v. Hines.</i> Thank you, Jerome.
Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. Ms. Stovall, you say nothing
could mean more to you than today's
paternity results. You are desperate to
prove to Mr. Hines that he fathered your
four-month-old son,
Robert, with the hopes you can win him back
and one day get married.
Is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Hines, you claim you once
loved Ms. Stovall but believe her baby was
fathered by another man and therefore you
can't be with her. You say your proof
is overwhelming but if the DNA
results shock you, you'd consider getting back
together. Is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: So,
Ms. Stovall, why are today's results
so important to you? Today's results are very
important to me because, um, I really love
Mr. Hines and um, I just want to
prove today that, um, this is his son, so that we can be together and
hopefully get married one day. But you have
doubts, Mr. Hines. Yes, I have doubts because although I do have a lot of love for Ms. Stovall and
I've given a lot to her and sacrificed
a lot for her, um, there's just so much
things that she has done that has created
a lot of doubts and a lot of
discrepancies of if this really is
and truly my son. Let's talk about how
this got started. At one point you were happy. Yes, I met Ms. Stovall
when I was 17. She was about 21. <i> It just didn't work out
at that period of time.</i> <i> Uh, as time went
by, I got older,</i> I got more established
in myself and I seen her again
on Instagram. We exchanged DM's
and everything. As that relationship
progressed, uh, we started getting
deeper and deeper in, but as we got deeper
and deeper in,
there started to be red flags for
me that she might not be as faithful
as she says she is. What kind of red flags? The first instance we
every got into was um, we exchanged passwords. She went through my stuff,
I went through her stuff, and when I first went
through her stuff, it said, uh, she wanted
to meet a guy to
go a hotel with him. Was that... Where was
that, in her phone? HINES: It was in her
Facebook messages. Oh. We were just getting serious. And I was never
gonna do those things. In your relationship
with Mr. Hines, you
were completely faithful? Yes. JUDGE LAKE: You were. And Mr. Hines, you don't
believe that's true? I have my strong
doubts about it
being true because there are just
overwhelming piles of piles
of piles of instances and circumstances where... Where her words don't
match up with the actions. Explain. HINES: Uh, if I
was to elaborate, she has a lot of instances
where she'll run off. I won't have track of
her for hours on end, maybe even days.
Times when her phone would get cut off, where it'll
go straight to voicemail. She'll run off with friends.
I'll see these pictures. I'll see these
uh, messages. I'll see these interactions
on Facebook. And it just keeps happening.
It's not something that's
just a one-time thing. Do you have a
pattern, Ms. Stovall? Your Honor, he's
very jealous. He's very, very jealous and
um, very overprotective. Besides the messages
do you have anything
concrete, Mr. Hines? Yes. When she gets mad
or when she gets frustrated, she sends me pictures
with other guys. She sends me
text messages questioning the
paternity saying, um, "I can't believe
you're trying to take him "and you don't even
know if he's yours," which would immediately... JUDGE LAKE: Wait a minute. Ms. Stovall, you sent
him pictures of you
with other men? STOVALL: Well, they were...
They were friends of mines. But, we've never,
it was never sexual between me and those friends
I sent him pictures of, ever. I can't know
that for sure. Okay, so did anybody
bring some pictures? Did anybody bring some
evidence to this courtroom? Jerome, let me
see those, please. What are these pictures
of, Mr. Hines? This first one is a picture of
her when she got into it
with her mother over there. That's when she sent me
the messages making me
question the paternity <i> uh, with this other guy
saying that, "We're good,
we're straight."</i> JUDGE LAKE:<i> In this picture
here I'm looking at,</i> that was attached to
some type of message where paternity
was questioned? Yes, she's... Where she
sent me a following text
in text form saying that,
"I can't believe you're
trying to take him "and you don't even
know he's yours." Was she saying that
one of the guys in this
photo was the dad? That's all I can assume
when you send something
like that to me. No, no. I was upset when
I sent those pictures, but, it didn't... JUDGE LAKE: What is this
next photo of? STOVALL: I don't know. That's just an example of the type of pictures
that she'll send me when... JUDGE LAKE:<i> Did you send him
that picture, Ms. Stovall?</i> <i> No, Your Honor.</i> JUDGE LAKE:<i> Is that you
in the picture?</i> STOVALL:<i> That's me.</i> JUDGE LAKE:<i> How did he
get the picture?</i> Probably off my Facebook. So what is the
last photo? Oh. (SHOCKED LAUGHTER) Wha... What? Is that your behind,
Ms. Stovall? (LAUGHTER) That's me, Your Honor.
That guy wanted to take
a picture with me, and I did it,
it was a stupid... When somebody asks
you to take a picture,
that's your pose? (LAUGHTER) It was a stupid
decision, but... JUDGE LAKE:
Whoa, uh, you laughing. Is it funny? I mean,
because you came in here... It's not funny. ...said you want to save
your relationship... It's not funny. You feel like your whole
relationship is in jeopardy and you want to
make it work with him, but now you got uh, compromising photos. That was a stupid
decision that I made. Okay, but do you
understand then how these types
of photographs along with your behavior has created a level
of doubt for him? STOVALL: Yes. JUDGE LAKE: Do you take
that seriously? I do. JUDGE LAKE: Do you think she
takes the relationship
seriously, Mr. Hines? For me, in all honesty, with all the love
I do have for her,
I really don't feel like she takes the
relationship as seriously as she says with her words, because these photos
are just small examples of a continuous cycle, that I just keep
seeing her with
different men. I keep seeing pictures. I keep seeing
text messages. I keep seeing
bad interactions. So why do you stay? I stay because I see
a potential in her that even if she doesn't
see in herself, I see it. And, I'm not gonna act like
I have been all faithful
in this relationship. Because of those photos,
because of those... Interactions,
I have cheated. But I have never
lied about it. I've always owned
up to it, and... And she never
once tells me that she has done anything
with anybody else
but this keeps happening, and you expect... So you all just messy. HINES: Basically. You're messy. This is messy. One of the biggest
doubts has been the... How the
pregnancy happened. My mom came to me
and told me that the way that she
got pregnant just doesn't add up from
a woman's perspective. JUDGE LAKE: I am a woman.
I'd like to hear it. HINES: Uh, if I could
give the bailiff this calender... JUDGE LAKE:
Jerome, will you please hand up Mr. Hines' evidence.
What is this, sir? HINES: This right
here is just, um, the... The conception and how the
conception worked. Uh, would it be okay
if I walk up to the... Yes, you may approach. Okay, me and
Ms. Stovall, got into something
in early June. She was living with
me and my mother and my stepfather
at the time because we all had an
apartment together.
She was living there. I came back from work
and I asked my mother where is Ms. Stovall.
She said, "Oh, she went out
with a friend "and she hasn't been back
since such-and-such time." That's when it wasn't
right. It wasn't the
correct thing to do. I went out, and I went
to go to an ex's house and I slept with her. Oh, so you cheated in June.
Did you all break up? Yes, it was a big old... Fiasco. You had a falling-out. A big old falling-out.
And that's June,
and she left for this entire
time and came back sometime during this week. The week of July 19th and
after, we'd been back together
for a couple of days, she goes off to
the hospital or whatever with her mom and tells me... Calls me
and tells me that she's
pregnant, crying. And so then little
Robert was born March 29th. HINES: On the 29th. He had to be
conceived
sometime in here from my mom telling me
about how women work. (LAUGHTER) Okay, but you're
right counting back. It would seem as if the
conception date would be
sometime in June. And you're saying that's
when the falling-out happened. That's exactly when
the falling-out happened. JUDGE LAKE: And you all
were not together. We were not together 'cause
she was gone that entire time up until this week. JUDGE LAKE: Understood,
all right. You may step
back to the podium. So, Ms. Stovall... STOVALL: Yes. Did you get
missing in June? STOVALL: No. And for most of July? After he um,
this incident I did um, come back around July 3rd, and I was, um... I did find
out that I was pregnant but I got pregnant like
around his birthday. Maybe. JUDGE LAKE: When is that? STOVALL:<i> Um, June 22nd.</i> JUDGE LAKE:<i> But he said
you left the house</i> <i> and you all were
broken up.</i> Well, I left maybe for
four days, but it was
the end of June. I left for maybe um,
four or five days and came back... June 22nd is the end of June. No, it was... It was
more, it was a little bit after his
birthday I left. Mr. Hines, she is
questioning
your calendar. She says you don't have
your dates right. (LAUGHTER) She says... I stand by that calendar. Point blank. When you all
were broken up, were you intimate at
all during that time? We were always having sex,
Your Honor, excuse me. (LAUGHTER) But yes, all the time. Is that true, Mr. Hines? When she's gone, I can't have
sex with somebody that's gone. I had sex with her when
she came back on... STOVALL: (SCOFFS) <i> I was
gone for four days.</i> JUDGE LAKE: So absolutely
no intimacy, no sex,
during every... All the dates in red,
you're saying you
were not intimate with Ms. Stovall. She was gone. JUDGE LAKE: She was gone. She was gone. She was not there. That's untrue, Your Honor. That's a lot of time
for you all to be
confused about. Yup. (LAUGHTER) He's confused about that,
Your Honor. I mean, that's
six, seven weeks. STOVALL: It's not true. All right. Mr. Hines, I have
to ask you this. You believe that
during this time is when she got pregnant. HINES: Yes. Who do you think
the father is? One of her friends, uh,
on Facebook that's
always talking to her. I've never been
intimate with that friend
ever, Your Honor. It could fool... JUDGE LAKE: How do you
know which specific person
she's talking about? Um, I know because he's...
He's, he's in constant
communication. He has said things to her... Your Honor, I can't stop
what men say to me. You can... You can,
establish a boundary... And I did. Ms. Stovall, you
brought a witness.
I'd like to hear from her. Ma'am, will you please stand
and step up to the podium. State your name
for the court. Regail Stovall. Ms. Stovall, you
are Ms. Stovall's... Mother. ...mother. All right. Mom, do you think
Mr. Hines is your grandson's
biological father? Yes. I don't want
him to be, but... (LAUGHTER) I do. And you've heard the
testimony thus far concerning your daughter's behavior.
Pictures she's sent, these compromising
photos, men talking
to her on Facebook. Her admitting
that, you know... Yes. ...she's not really
handled herself appropriately, and Mr. Hines
admitting the same. Do you think it's
any possibility that
there could be another biological father? Personally, the
possibility is everywhere. JUDGE LAKE: Okay, so... It's always
a possibility. I wasn't there
when she did that,
so I can't say... So what you're
saying is that you
can't say for certain. Yes. JUDGE LAKE: All right. Did your daughter
ever mention that there were any other
guys she was intimate with during that time? No. JUDGE LAKE: She didn't. Mm-mm. Did you ever see her
with any other guys? No, not...
Like, her friends. Okay. She had friends. All right. And just because
she have friends don't mean she's sleeping
with everybody that she's with, that she
take pictures with. What about his pictures? The problem is, is
we're talking about
the paternity issue as it relates to
little Robert, and Mr. Hines can't get pregnant. I sit here often and
have to tell young girls, you can't get no
tit-for-tat with a man. No. It doesn't work. Because, yeah they can
run around all year and they may father a child
but they not gonna birth him. (CLAPPING) REGAIL: No. JUDGE LAKE: So that's a game
you're not gonna win. Don't play games
you can't win. (LAUGHTER) You know, the stakes
are really high here. This whole relationship
is on the line. You all both have
professed your love for one another
in this courtroom, and yet, I have barely heard testimony that would
support this relationship like being healthy,
happy, productive. Even when I asked you to
take me back to the time when things were
happy, it just started
off with drama. This is serious.
What does this
mean to you today? It means everything
to me, Your Honor. My son means
everything to me. My children mean
everything to me and I want us to be a family
if we can make it work. So, Mr. Hines, after hearing
all of the testimony today, do you still want
to make it work? For me, um, in spite
what has been
presented against me, um, I love Ms. Stovall because I see her, as being
someone who's been hurt and that's why she does
the things that she does. But it doesn't make
it right, and... I want to love the
child, if I'm the dad and, I have been
there as a father. You know, I sold my car to help us pay the rent
when my parents left us. I sacrificed every
possession I had when we were struggling
with the rent and I
wasn't getting no hours. And if Robert is not your
biological son, then what? Then it is what it is
and I got to move on. I'm ready for the results. Here you go. These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows. In the case of<i>
Stovall v. Hines,</i> when it comes to
four-month-old
Robert Stovall, it has been determined
by this court... JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Hines, you... ...are the father. (APPLAUSE) STOVALL: Told you. JUDGE LAKE: How's it
feel, Mr. Hines? I... (VOICE BREAKS) Just love for our son. And I had to hold back
all my emotions until I knew. I'm really happy. Oh, that's wonderful. And I'm willing to
do whatever it takes to give him a life
that I can never have. And I'm gonna
be there for him. And I've been holding
it back until I knew, because there's... There
was always so much doubt. My family was
always questioning. Everybody was always
questioning on my end. And this right here is just...
It's a relief for us. This is my legacy. Yes it is. Mom, what do you feel? Just emotional for
your grandchild? His family. His family really took
my daughter through a lot. Telling him, 'cause I
believe he do love her. And that's why I say I don't
want him with her, because he always believe
in his mother, and... Before he believe her,
and if you love somebody you don't do that to them. I understand your point. But you also have to
understand, he
may have had doubts because of the nature
of their relationship. Because they've created
this cat-and-mouse,
tit-for-tat, "I cheat, you cheat,
I send you pictures,
make you jealous". You see what I mean? And Ms. Stovall,
as you stand there, I want you to
understand people have doubted you and
that may be wrong, but you
gave them ammunition. Right? Absolutely, I understand that. Somebody want to take
a picture with you,
just smile and say cheese. (LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE) Okay? Okay? Okay. Do you understand
what I'm saying? Yes, I understand. All right. We have
counseling and
resources for you all. I want you to take
advantage of it because I want you all
to figure out how to
get on the same page. Work on how to build a
healthy relationship, okay? I wish you the
very best of luck. Take care of that
beautiful baby boy. Court is adjourned.
