You may be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This is the case
of <i> Nelson v.
Sterling and Haynes.</i> Thank you, Jerome.
Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. STERLING:
How are you doing,
Your Honor? Miss Nelson,
you say you grew up believing one man
was your father, yet had another man listed
on your birth certificate. NELSON: Yes, Your Honor. Then, after you turned
30 years old, a third man, the defendant, suddenly contacted you
on Facebook, claiming he was your father. Yes, Your Honor. Today you say you hope
DNA test results will finally reveal the truth. Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Sterling? Yes, ma'am. You're here with your daughter
and say it was she who helped you
find Miss Nelson. Yes, ma'am. You claim today
you will reveal why another man's name
is on Miss Nelson's
birth certificate and prove to her you are,
indeed, her father. Yes, ma'am. So, Miss Nelson, please,
tell the court how did
you first hear about Mr. Sterling's claim? Um, well, Your Honor,
I grew up, um, my whole life knowing
a different man was my... Was my dad.
It was a man that
was in prison. Um, my mother
took me to visit him weekend after weekend, week after week, and this is the man
I grew up knewing that he was my father. Um, I had went to New York <i> to visit this man
for two weeks,</i> and he told me that
this other man was on my
birth certificate because my mom didn't want
somebody like him
in my life because he was
in and out of prison. And so the explanation
given was she just wanted
to protect you, Yes. so she put another man's name
on the birth certificate because I was
in and out of prison? Yes, ma'am. Do you have a copy of your
birth certificate with you? Yes, ma'am, I do. Jerome, let me
see that, please. Father's name listed "Vincent Preston Nelson." <i> And that's not
the name of the gentleman
you visited in prison?</i> NELSON:<i>
No, Your Honor.</i> So, this had to be confusing? Yes, Your Honor. I was hurt because I never knew who he was. I just knew that
this man was my dad, and I felt like my mom
should've told me that
this man was my father, even though he was
in and out of prison. I was hurt. So, then you get
a message from a man... Another man? Yes, Your Honor. Saying he's your father? Yes, Your honor. Explain. I got a message
from a man named
Christopher Lancaster, um, saying that I'm your dad. He was sorry for not
being in my life, and he now wants
to be in my life. And he left
two numbers on there. I contacted both
those numbers, both the numbers were
disconnected because
it was four months prior that he had left me
the message. It was in my "others"
box on Facebook. That's how he messaged me,
on Facebook. He left the two numbers. I called the two numbers, neither one of
the numbers worked. May I see that
evidence, please? Yeah, sure. Jerome, please, hand... Thank you. (JUDGE LAKE READING) What were you thinking
when you get this message? Your Honor, honestly, I didn't
even know what to think, because it
was like I was... It's like it's just
coming out of nowhere? Absolutely, it was...
It was outrageous to me that I had got
this message with all
these different men. Did anything
lead you to believe other than what
you had been told? My mom always told me
that the man on my
birth certificate, Vincent Nelson, was my father. This is what my mom told me,
but this other man that was in prison told me
that that wasn't true.
He was my father. JUDGE LAKE: And, now,
yet another message... Is coming through from
Christopher Lancaster,
saying this man was my father. So, I... This is incredible. Yeah. So, Mr. Sterling, she gets a message from
a Christopher Lancaster, yet you're here in court. Yes, ma'am. Your name is
Christopher Sterling? Yes, ma'am. How did she get this message
from a Christopher Lancaster? Do you know that person? Yes, ma'am, I put that
message on, uh, Facebook, for reason being
I had problems with
other people in my life so I didn't want to
use my real full name, so I made up...
I made up a Facebook page of Christopher Lancaster. I always was looking
for my daughter. Always. To me I feel
that she's my daughter, so I always was
looking for her. I'd remember her birthdays
and everything, so I always was
looking for her. So I put that message
on there to contact her, for nobody else
to contact me. So, you were
the person behind the Christopher
Lancaster note? Yes, ma'am. So, you had a relationship
with her mother? Yes, ma'am. Knew of her? Yes, ma'am. You were in a relationship...
A sexual relationship or a committed
relationship with her mother? Uh, we was young, Your Honor. We was young,
we met in high school. Okay. We're 17, 18 years old,
we was young. You know,
when you young, you fall
in love with each other? So, we had
the relationship,
had sex. When you found out
she was pregnant, did you know
you were the father? Yes, ma'am, I was
there at the hospital. I went, uh, when... When her mother
water broke, my mother took her
to the hospital. JUDGE LAKE:
And so what happened? You're... You're there, and you lose contact with this woman
that you say is
your daughter? Okay, what happened was,
far as like a religion thing. And I didn't want to commit
towards the religion thing, 'cause I was...
I was running the street, deejaying, playing music, and I didn't want to commit to
the religion thing, so I feel her family took her away
from me and moved her
somewhere else, and I never heard
from them again. JUDGE LAKE:
So, Miss Nelson... Yes, Judge. Your entire life
you hadn't heard of Christopher Sterling
or Christopher Lancaster? No, Your Honor. The only person I knew of
was Vincent Nelson and the man who
said he was my dad. Those were the only two people
I knew of my entire life. And, Mr. Sterling, you're saying that this was a pretty deep relationship
you had with her mother. You all were Yes, ma'am. high school
sweethearts, and... Yes, ma'am,
high school sweethearts... JUDGE LAKE: You were
there for the birth. We met in high school. We had sex every day
during the summer. Every day, every day. Oh, my God. Every day. Oh, my God. My mother even caught her
in the house. My mother walked in the door,
and I heard the key come in, but I had her mother hiding
in the closet, so my mother didn't
pay no attention. My mother walked by, then I forgot and left
her clothes there, her shoes in
the living room, Oh, my God. and my mother
seen it and said, "Who you have in this house?"
I said, "Nobody." And she open up
the closet door... JUDGE LAKE: That's what
you call "busted." Pulled out. Yes, Your Honor. STERLING: Butt
butterball naked. Oh! Well, maybe you
didn't need to hear
that story, Miss Nelson? No, I didn't.
No, I didn't, Your Honor. STERLING: But anyway,
but Your Honor, and through... Through the whole situation, I got on punishment
for everything, and I'm the guy. I was on punishment for two
weeks when my parents... You should've been. When my parents...
Your Honor... JUDGE LAKE:
For the whole
summer and beyond. Your Honor, they put me on
punishment for two weeks. You know what
we had to do? We were so much in love I used to tie a note 'cause
we stayed on the 5th floor... It was the projects, so we
stayed on the 5th floor. I used to hand
a note down on a string and then give it to her. She would tie her note up,
and I pulled the note up. I was on punishment
for two weeks. Oh, my God. That's how much
we was in love. JUDGE LAKE: All right,
you're redeemed. (AUDIENCE LAUGHS) Thank you. My question is
how can this be possible because there's
the man in prison and there's
Vincent Preston Nelson, and then you say you
were at the hospital? 'Cause, ma'am,
I am Vincent Preston Nelson. (AUDIENCE GASPS) Yes, I am. (NELSON LAUGHS NERVOUSLY)
You're... Wait a minute. (NELSON LAUGHS NERVOUSLY) You are... You are Vincent Preston Nelson? Yes, ma'am,
and I have evidence to prove to you
right now today. (AUDIENCE CHEERING
AND APPLAUDING) Let me see that evidence. JUDGE LAKE: That is,
in fact, you. I was younger then. Excuse my hair, I didn't get
a haircut back then. JUDGE LAKE: This is you
on this ID card. Yes, ma'am. Well, when I grew up,
I never met my real father. When I met my father
when I was 17, he said,
"We changing your name to
Christopher Sterling, Jr.'" I said, "Of course." You took your
father's name? Yes, ma'am. So you are, in fact,
the man listed on her birth certificate
as her father? STERLING: Yes, ma'am. JUDGE LAKE: So, Miss Nelson,
you've established a relationship with
this other man? Yes, Your Honor. That's who you were led to
believe is your father
your whole life? Yes, Your Honor. Do you look like
the other man? Yes, I do, I do.
I look like the other man. Mr. Sterling, I see this
has you very emotional. What is it you feel? Are you just
so upset because she was led to believe
something different? I look like him.
I don't look like
this man right here. And you just believe in your
heart that's your daughter? (SOBBING) Yes, Your Honor. In all these years,
you've been hurting,
just missing her? Yes, Your Honor. It's almost
unbelievable. Yeah, it is, Your Honor.
This is my first time
ever meeting him. I've never met this man
in my life... Well, I've never met
him in my life, and this is my first time
meeting him and seeing him. And if he is
my dad, this is unbel... This is...
This is great if he is my father,
if he's not, then... But I've missed
so many years, man.
(SOBBING) So, Christopher Lancaster, who is
Christopher Sterling, who was Vincent
Preston Nelson... Yes, ma'am. May be your father? Yes, Your Honor. Jerome, I think we need
to talk to her mother.
Please escort her in. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) Hi, ma'am. Hello, ma'am. Hello, Your Honor. Thank you for
joining us today. Miss Haynes, you are
Miss Nelson's mother? Yes. You admit you
had a relationship
with this gentleman, Christopher Sterling? Yes. But do you know him as Christopher Sterling? I know him as Christopher
Sterling because I was there
when he met his father. He's saying he was there
at the hospital when
she was born. Correct. Correct. There was a disconnection? It was a disconnection,
yes, ma'am. And then he was no longer
a part of your life, Right. nor his daughter's? Yes. And, at some point,
you met this man in prison, and then you ended up
telling your daughter that he was her father? Never. Against my wishes
and against her fam... My other family's wishes
who she was staying with, she snuck and went
to see this man. So you never
told her that. I never told her that. But, Miss Nelson... He told her that. You felt like you were
led to believe it because he said, "I'm your father"? I'm your father,
and your mother took me out of your life
and said I can... I cannot be a part
of your life because
I'm in and out of jail. My family did
not want me to have a relationship
with him, but I chose to have
a relationship with him, because this man was telling
me he was my father. And this is the man I knew, and this is the man
that I called "Daddy." I didn't know
this man right here. Christopher Sterling,
Vincent Nelson,
whatever his name is. I didn't have a relationship
with this man. I didn't know him. That's true. Mr. Sterling, where
were you, though? STERLING: We lost
contact, Your Honor. And she was
two, three years old
the last time I seen her. We was in Coney Island
at Nathan's. I bought her French fries. That's the last time
I seen my daughter. I remember her birthday,
July 25, every year. Yes. That's my daughter
right here. She 23 years old. When she was born, I told her
she had a older sister.
Am I'm lying? JUDGE LAKE: Ma'am,
please stand up. Let me hear
your testimony. And your name is, ma'am? Amberlyn Sterling. And you're
Mr. Sterling's daughter? Yes. And so you remember
your entire life being told you have an older sister? Yes. Do you believe Miss Nelson
is your sister? I wanna believe it.
There's a slight doubt,
but I don't know. I have no idea.
I would like to know. I would like her
to be my sister. AUDIENCE: Aww... I never talked to her,
I never seen her, I don't know what she... This is my first time
I ever seen her. NELSON: Mmm-hmm.
Yes, Your Honor. And you say you
have some doubt. Why do you
have doubt? I've been told my whole life,
but I've never met her, and I feel like if that
was my sister, why... Why wasn't it
a connection? Why didn't we
have a connection? And there's more
where I came from,
I have two other siblings... So it's like, why wasn't
she brought to me? Like were us two brought
together, period. So it was like,
is she my sister?
I don't know. I have no idea. This is a lot.
I mean, this is just... It is, and I don't
even know what to say... I honestly don't even
know what to say, but I feel like he could
have done more to find me. I feel like
he did not do enough. I'm 31, Your Honor. I've been
through a lot, and I feel like if he
really wanted to find me, he could've found me. And I feel like he
really didn't want
to find me, and that's how I feel. No, I did. But I feel like
you really didn't because that's how I feel. Why? I feel like you didn't ever
wanna really find me. If I'm busy, and I'm
taking care of what... You too busy to
find your daughter? You're too busy? I'm 31 years old. Wow, really?
Okay. I think it's time
for the results. NELSON: Oh, God. Oh, God. Thank you, Jerome. May I go down there
with my daughter? You absolutely may. NELSON: Please, Mom. HAYNES: I got it. NELSON: I can't... HAYNES: Ready, all right. This is what you've
been waiting for, right? I know. These results were
prepared by DNA Diagnostics, and they read as follows. "In the case of<i>
Nelson v. Sterling-Haynes,</i> "as it pertains to whether
Mr. Vincent Nelson, "also known as
Christopher Sterling, "is the biological father
of Miss Nelson. "In the case of<i>
Nelson v. Sterling-Haynes,</i> "as it pertains to whether
Mr. Vincent Nelson, "also known as
Christopher Sterling, "is the biological father
of Miss Nelson, (NELSON SOBBING) "it has been determined
by this court, "Mr. Sterling, "you "are her father." (AUDIENCE CHEERING AND
APPLAUDING) (LAUGHING) Oh, dear Lord. You're in
the Sterling clan now. I know, I know. Thank you. This is exactly why
I get up in the morning. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) I commend you,
Miss Nelson, for having the courage to go through every path
you had to walk down, everywhere the
stories led you. Now you know who you are
and to whom you belong. Exactly. I wish you
the best of luck. Thank you so much. Thank you, Your Honor. Congratulations.
Court is adjourned. Thank you so much. I'd like to
thank Judge Lake for letting us appear
in her court today and what it meant to me. It brought closure
to my life, to let everybody know
this is my daughter. I'm just happy,
and I thank you for
appearing in her court. I finally have closure. I have a dad,
I have a beautiful sister, and I'm so thankful
for the court today.
