You may be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This is a case of<i>
Mora v. Platt.</i> Thank you, Jerome,
good day everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. JUDGE LAKE: Miss Mora,
you opened your case
to prove that the defendant Mr. Platt, is
your three year old daughter,
Anaya's biological father, in hopes that he will
acknowledge her and finally sign her
birth certificate. Is that correct? Correct, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Platt, you say
you refuse to be legally
responsible for a child you seriously doubt is yours,
is that correct? Yes Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Ms. Mora, explain why having Mr. Platt on your
daughter's birth certificate is so important to you. Okay, Your Honor. Um, it's important to me,
you know what I'm saying, my daughter deserves
to have her father on her birth certificate,
you know what I'm saying? I've come from
a broken family. Um, my dad
was never in my life. He's not on my
birth certificate either. And my daughter
deserves the best, you know what I'm saying?
This is why I'm here today. 'Cause I'm gonna make sure
that his name is gonna be on
the birth certificate. Because you have no doubt
he's the biological father. MORA: No doubt in my mind,
Your Honor. But you do have
doubt, Mr. Platt? PLATT: Yes Your Honor. Explain. Before we even met... Like she was, um, living with
somebody else at the time. So when you met her and
you'll start talking, she was living
with somebody else. Yes, ma'am. JUDGE LAKE: Okay, well,
come on. Let's state the facts. So how did your
relationship begin? We met on... A little website... You know what I'm saying,
I was with my ex, I explained to Mr. Platt that I was with him,
I lived with him. He was like, "Okay, cool, "We're gonna talk, whatever,"
he agreed to it,
you know what I'm saying. And we ended up meeting up. We went for a walk
in the park. <i> You know what I'm saying,
and, um...</i> From there, it had like... We ended up
going like every... Maybe every weekend or
every other weekend. And it led from there. And then you all started
a relationship? Yeah, after my ex... JUDGE LAKE: You broke up
with the other guy. After about a month, yes. So at that point you
moved out of the house
with the other guy. MORA: No, I was still
living with him. Yes I was still living
with him. And were you intimate with
the other guy and Mr. Platt at the same time? Not at all. Not at all. 'Cause we get a lot of people that come
into this courtroom, and say that they
were broken up. So they couldn't
get pregnant... That's why I have a doubt,
you know what I mean... And I understand that. She would always
go back and forth... You kept going back and forth
between the two men. Mr. Platt and then the ex. Right, right, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Back and forth. Some point you realize
you pregnant? Are you living in the house
with the other man, when you realize
you were pregnant? Still, maybe for
about like two weeks. And once the
two weeks was up, I ended up moving in
with my mom. So you find out you pregnant? When you find out you
pregnant, do you tell... Who do you tell? I told him first obviously
because I was living with him. What? MORA: I took... But were you having
sex with him? No not at all. She was still in love
with the dude obviously, but she'd just kind of like
go back and forth. So when she told you
she was pregnant what was your response? Well I was shocked and
stunned at the same time... JUDGE LAKE:
How did she tell you? Well she just called me
and was just like "Well, I wanted to let you
know I'm pregnant." After like early November. It was late November
Your Honor. I mean he was cool with it. For maybe at least like... The first three months,
he was cool with it. And he would come to
my mom's house. And this is why I say, right after I found out I
ended up moving in with my mom because he was there. Mr. Platt was there? MORA: Yes. Mr. Platt, you were
present during the pregnancy? And the birth? Not at the birth. No I was not. I was like there for the
beginning of like
three months. So now, why weren't you
there at the birth, Mr. Platt? It's because he was there. He was at the, uh... JUDGE LAKE: Who was? He was present
at the hospital. He was I mean... JUDGE LAKE: Your ex came
to the hospital,
when you had the baby? I talked to Mr. Platt the day
before I had my daughter. He was thinking that
it wasn't his baby. The other guy didn't show up
until seven o'clock
that night. He stayed the three days in
the hospital with me. And he also knew, that he was not the father and
he said right then and there. "I don't care if I'm
not her father," "I'm still gonna be
here for her." And still to this day he is. She's three years old. PLATT: "Still to
the day he is." You'll don't understand
what she's saying "Still to this day he is." But she said that he's not
supposed to have
no ties to her. I don't. I don't... PLATT: Don't keep lying
to me then. MORA: No he wasn't
willing to step up. And take that place. You know what I'm saying,
so another man did. I stepped up for the past year
and a half and she still
letting the dude see her. Like it doesn't...
Do you see her? It doesn't make any sense. MORA: No. And I've been doing
great at everything... You say for the past
year and a half.
Well, she's three. What happened to the first... 'Cause the first year and
a half, I told you, like, I fell back, I fell back
on that because... Like I'm not gonna deal
with the drama. What was the drama? With me and... Me and dude
that she was with before. So it was like... Why would you have friction
with the other guy? Why are you all even
at the same place
at the same time? Because, like,
she would invite
me over at the time and then I would
still go over there. Wait a minute now!
This is sounding ridiculous. Why are we acting like
this guy is like, he's like... He's like a ghost just lurking
around all the time. I mean, no really.
I mean, he's coming
around for a reason. You all are entertaining him. Mmm-hmm. PLATT: That why, you know,
that's why I'm
sick and tired... Like I didn't know she was
doing that to this day. She didn't want to say Dad to
him. And say stuff like that,
and say that stuff to me. Like that hurts
my feelings, you know. Who does she call Daddy? MONA: Like she calls
Mr. Platt Dad. Because the other guy
was gonna have him
and his family... Were throwing her a party. And I didn't know anything
about this. I found out... The other man and his family
threw your daughter
a birthday party. MONA: They threw her
a birthday party. Without you? Without me even
knowing anything. PLATT: Supposedly, and she
was with her the whole day. No. MONA: Your Honor,
I was at work. Jerome, this don't
even sound right. PLATT: She was with him
the whole day. MONA: I was at work. So how was I supposed to know? PLATT: You know what I mean. This don't sound right. And then it happened again. MONA: No, it don't sound right
because I'm telling him. I was at work so how
was I supposed to know. No. Who does she think
this other guy is? What does she call him? She calls me the dad.
And then sometimes it's him. She calls him by his name,
Your Honor. Like she goes wishy washy.
Oh, no. Oh, no, now she said
that the other day. No. She... The other day she did. On Monday. She said that. The other day she did,
Your Honor. The other day she called
the other guy Dad? MONA: And that's why
I was freaking out. At this point
she's probably confused. Naw, yeah. I mean, let's be honest,
she's just confused. MONA: Right. PLATT: Yeah. How much time do you
spend with her, Mr. Platt? Well, I... I work Monday
through Friday. JUDGE LAKE: Don't stutter now. No, I'm not stuttering. You been talking... How much time
do you spend with her? Well, they been staying with
me off, uh, basically off
and on for a year and a half. And I spend all the time.
I got her, you know...
Like she wasn't working... JUDGE LAKE They've been
living with you off and on
for the year and a half. Well, basically almost
a year and a half. But I been stepping up.
And I was getting her gifts
and diapers and all that. You know, I've been doing
everything and my rent and everything else
on top of that. Lights and everything... At the same time
you would do you part. You would take care of her.
Yes, I give it to you,
you stepped up. But at the same time
every time you would get mad
you would deny her. Because she would
get mad at me cause
I couldn't discipline her. And like she still does it
to this day, like, "Oh, well,
don't be doing this..." Because I feel like,
you know what
I'm saying, until... She saying it's my, my, my. Until he lets me prove to him
that he is the father. I feel like he shouldn't
discipline her. So you're saying
if you deny her you don't
get to discipline her. MONA: Yeah. What is the problem
with him being involved
in her life as her father
if you believe he is? What is that? Good question,
Your Honor,
that's a good question. This is unacceptable. And I have pictures,
you know, sometimes
in the beginning I had... She looked like...
I have like she
would look like. JUDGE LAKE:
What are those pictures? PLATT: Oh. Oh, here are all of them. Let me see all the pictures. What is this? That's when she was, um... In the beginning,
I was doing a comparison,
like she has my nose. Step up to the monitor
and describe what
you are looking at. PLATT: She has my cheeks,
but as far as in the eyes,
like, she has her eyes. And the next picture
she's starting to change
a little bit. Like she has
my ears still, but... Her eyes looks like
the other guy's eyes. Right here they look slanted.
They look slanted. And his eyes...
His eyes are like that.
(LAUGHS) His eyes are like that. (GIGGLES) Then right there
is like her eye... Her eyes are changing again
so now it look like
my eyes again. And then... (AUDIENCE LAUGHS) And then her chin
has her chin now. (MONA LAUGHS) I'm like... JUDGE LAKE: You just confused. Yeah, I'm confused. Honestly, as my Granny say,
"Bless your heart." Yeah, no, I feel the same. Uh, bless your heart.
Bless your heart. You just blowing up pictures,
just trying to make something,
um... Ms. Mora,
what is going on here? I mean, let's be honest. The man is doubtful... Mmm-hmm. JUDGE LAKE: Because you've
got this relationship that's
just ongoing with this ex. And you know... And look,
I'm a tell you something, that's that boomerang effect. Because you met her while
she was in a relationship
with somebody else. Yes, I told her. I said a lot
of it, I know it is,
you know, my fault. You know, I... She had
this social media site... I just hit reply and then
I started going along with it. Just thinking it wasn't
gonna be like that because I wasn't even doing
no settling down at that time,
or wasn't trying to. And then... Right, you were
somebody else's girlfriend. Now you think
somebody's with her. They wasn't even boyfriend
and girlfriend, really. They was just
living together. But basically
he would... Your Honor, since day one
since I found out that
I was pregnant and even after I had her. Not once have I ever told him,
"You're not the father." I've always told him,
"You're the father
and I'm telling you, "and I know for
a fact that you are." And he didn't. JUDGE LAKE: But listen. Why is this guy still around? Why is this guy picking up
this baby, throwing
birthday parties for this child
with their family? Whose family is invested
in somebody else's
child like this that has moved on with
another man and had a baby? That's what
I've been telling her. JUDGE LAKE: It just doesn't
make any sense. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDS) JUDGE LAKE: And I am all
for loving children. I'm big on a village. But this village
is a little weird. (AUDIENCE LAUGHS) JUDGE LAKE: He's confused.
I can see it in his eyes. I mean, even this little smile
he does as he's kinda
laughing... But, Your Honor,
but I know the other dude
is not the father because we've had
so many miscarriages. And our last miscarriage
was right before Anaya and I lost that baby
when I was five months. I was already
in the second trimester. So you were sleeping
with this other guy? MONA: No. Well, before that. JUDGE LAKE:
So, let me understand,
in your court papers what you stated and what
you're stating now is when you were with
the other guy and you were
attempting to get pregnant you could never...
You would have a miscarriage? MONA: Right, Your Honor. And there were
multiple miscarriages? MONA: Yes. JUDGE LAKE:
So how may did you have? Um, seven. AUDIENCE: Oh. Seven? Oh, my goodness. So this particular evidence
is definitely interesting
and intriguing. I wanna learn more about it. So I've called upon an expert
I'd like to hear from.
A Dr. Tosha Rogers. Jerome, can you please
escort her into
the court room. She's a medical expert
and OB/GYN from
Atlanta Premier. I'd like to ask her
a couple questions. JEROME: To the witness stand. DR. ROGERS: Okay. JEROME: Right next
to the judge, watch your step. DR. ROGERS: Okay. Hello, Doctor. How are you? Very well. Thank you so much
for joining us today. No, problem. Um, we are here, um,
discussing a paternity issue relating to, um,
beautiful Anaya,
3-years-old. And as part of the testimony, our plaintiff, Ms. Mora
talked about, in a previous
relationship having suffered seven miscarriages with,
uh, her particular partner. Can a man's sperm...
Or is a man's sperm... Or how does it play
a role in miscarriage? Okay. Um, yes, it can, 100%. Um, especially if we have
early miscarriages. Early miscarriages
are usually due to
chromosomal abnormalities. If it's what we call
a fatal mix then
a miscarriage will ensue. So yes, it can. But it's been seven
miscarriages, likely, um, there would be
a problem where where dad would have to get
what we call karyotyping to take a look
at his genetic breakdown to see what is happening,
um, with him. So is it anything to do with
the timing of the miscarriage? When did you miscarry? For the first six,
I miscarried, um,
at three months. And this is why, um,
on the last one,
one the seventh one I thought, okay,
I lasted up until five months, I'm gonna be able
to carry this one. And after like
a couple of months or maybe like a couple
of weeks after five months I miscarried, I just... I... I had to go to
the emergency room.
I was in so much pain. They had to do a D and C
and they told me that
my daughter passed away. (AUDIENCE SIGHS) I'm sorry to hear that,
I'm so sorry. So, Doctor,
what I'm trying to get
is a clear understanding or the difference
of miscarrying in the first trimester,
very early on and the fast that
she carried this baby
to almost to five months. How does this exclude
this other gentleman
as a possibility, or does it? I cannot. I cannot
exclude him as possibility. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. We cannot say
it was impossible unless we would know
that there was a type
of genetic disorder. Unless Dad had been evaluated or what we do
"karyotype" evaluation. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. So there's no 100% certainty
to say that he can't be
the father of the baby. JUDGE LAKE: Okay. So after hearing
this testimony, Mr. Platt,
what do you think? Like, I don't know the proof
of how many miscarriages, you know, like, I'm not saying
I don't believe her but I'm saying there's still
always gonna be a possibility
or, you know, of anything. And this is why
we're here today. And I'm gonna show him
that I was telling him
the truth the whole time. All right, well, let's go
to the results. Jerome. Here, Your Honor. Thank you. You're welcome. These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics and
they read as follows. In the case of<i> Mora v. Platt</i> When it comes to
3-year-old Anaya Mora it has been determined
by this court Mr. Platt, you are the father. I'm sorry. JUDGE LAKE: You can stand
together if you'd like. I told you. I'm sorry. We've gone through
so many arguments
(SOBBING) because that he didn't
think that she was his. And I would tell him
every time, "She's yours." And he just denied it. JUDGE LAKE: Three years? Three years. JUDGE LAKE: Three years. This beautiful little girl
has not gotten the benefit of having the full love,
attention, protection dedication, support,
presence, of her father. Now that name can go
on that birth certificate. AUDIENCE: Mmm. It's right here. JUDGE LAKE: How do you feel
in this moment, Mr. Platt? She's a beautiful little girl. I feel really... More... More calm
and more at ease. You all as her parents, because that's what
we've decided today. You need to set
a course for her life. A direction where you
work together, co-captain. Do you understand? We'll need no
third mate in the picture
giving directions too. (STAMMERS) I'm serious.
Do you understand? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: So you've
gotta clear that part
of your life up, Ms. Mora. Mr. Platt, I want you
to continue to step up and embrace your daughter
the way you should. Do you understand? Yes, ma'am. JUDGE LAKE: I wish you
the very best of luck. Court is adjourned.
