Please be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This is the case of<i>
Ahmad v. Day.</i> Thank you, Jerome.
Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. Mr. Ahmad, you say you were
overjoyed to be a father after the birth
of your first child, 22-month-old child, Nevaeh... However, you claim that you were crushed when
the defendant later told you, another man could be her dad. You are here today to prove
you are Nevaeh's father. Is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. Ms. Day, you say that
you were honest with
Mr. Ahmad and told him, from the beginning,
that you did not believe he was Nevaeh's dad. You plan to prove another man
is Nevaeh's father today.
Is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. So, Mr. Ahmad,
there's a lot at stake for you here in court
today, is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: Explain. This is to be my first child, so, I was overjoyed. She was high risk, so... She couldn't work. So what I did,
I tried to do as best,
as a man, that I could do. And you all were in
what kind of relationship? Committed? Or were you
just casual friends, or what? Boyfriend and girlfriend. JUDGE LAKE:
Boyfriend and girlfriend.
Okay. And so you found out
she was pregnant and you were excited
because this was
your very first child. Yes, and also that
I've had a situation before where, you know,
I lost a child because of an
ectopic pregnancy. So... This was like, my
second chance, you know,
to have a child. JUDGE LAKE:
And it meant a lot to you. At my age, you know... I waited 40 years
to have a child. Now I come
to find out that there could a possibility
that it's not mine. JUDGE LAKE: So... Ms. Day, what is your
response to that? I told him the truth
from the beginning, that she might not be his. And he said he wanted
to be her father and he would be there for us. Talk to me
about the relationship, from your point of view. It was more of a
friendship for me. I love Mr. Ahmad,
but I wasn't
in love with him. It was just...
He was there for me. And I needed somebody
to be there for me. And how I found out
she was pregnant, she came one morning and knocked on my
window and said, "Well, I need to talk to you." And she says,
"Well I'm pregnant,
and this is your child." No, I didn't say
she was yours. I said she might be yours,
and she might not. So you're in a relationship,
you think you got
a girlfriend? AHMAD: Right. You're saying now, Ms. Day, "I really wasn't in love
with Mr. Ahmad, but
he was a good friend, "we were having
a sexual relationship, "he looked after me,
and I needed somebody "to look after me
at that point." Yes, Your Honor. And then what happens with the
relationship at that point? You all move in
together after that? We never lived together. She was at my residence... Every day! DAY: That's not true. We didn't even get
along that much. I was not at his
house every day. (AUDIENCE LAUGHS) We argued so much,
I'd never live with him. Like, he would...
When I spent the night some nights he would kick me
out at 2:00 in the morning. Why are you so upset now? Because you felt, you feel... I just feel like... He trying to make me
seem like a bad person. No, ma'am. I told him this
might not be his baby. My intentions are to find out the truth
for this baby. 'Cause we did have a
relationship, regardless, if you wanna call it that. Well, you called it that. You called it a boyfriend
and girlfriend relationship. She's calling it a friendship. From where I'm sitting,
you all are beyond on different pages, you all
are in different books. (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) JUDGE LAKE: And I don't
mean it to be funny, because a lack
of communication... I mean, it is always
running as an undercurrent in paternity situations. And I have to ask you... Are you saying for certain,
that she never told you that you might be
this child's father? Is it because maybe
you were so excited, or you had experienced
the tragic loss of the
previous pregnancy, something more than it was? No, ma'am. You're saying you
did not hear her say there was another
possible father? I've never known another
man she's been... I went to work. DAY: That's not true. When I told him,
he was intoxicated and he kicked me out
the same night
that I told him. AHMAD: I disagree with that. Because I now feel like you're trying to make me
feel some kind of way, because if I was
such a good friend, a friend doesn't
do that to a friend. You kicked me out
every other night. How can I live with
somebody like that? I did the best I can. And what was the kicking
out over, was it over
other relationships? Other men? DAY: No, it was
over the baby. <i> We would argue about it
and he would put me out.</i> AHMAD:<i> No, ma'am. No, ma'am.</i> That right there
is a false statement. When Nevaeh was born,
were you present, Mr. Ahmad? AHMAD:<i> I was present the
entire time she was pregnant.</i> <i> I cut the umbilical cord.</i> <i> I signed the
birth certificate.</i> <i> After the baby was born,</i> we left the hospital together. As a matter of fact,
her mother picked me up to... Go be with her when
the baby is delivered. Her own mother drove me
to the hospital. So, Ms. Day, was he present
as the father of this child at the hospital? He was present.
Yes, he was. But he was present
because he wanted to be. I asked him not to sign my
baby's birth certificate <i> until we get a DNA.</i> <i> And he did it anyway.</i> So, you're saying that you
asked him not to sign
the birth certificate? Yes, until we knew
that she was his. AHMAD: Why would
you let somebody sign a birth certificate... DAY: I didn't let you. You did it on your own. How did he do it
on his own? Didn't the hospital get
the information from you? No, they asked him, was he the father,
and he told them, "Yes." And they asked him,
did he want to sign
the birth certificate, and he told them, "Yes." And what did you say
at the time? I wasn't there
when he did it, when he signed. JUDGE LAKE:
Well, wait a minute, because we actually
contacted the hospital, because we wanted to find out
what the protocol was. We actually
contacted the hospital because we wanted
to find out what
the protocol was, for the execution
of birth certificates. And, per the hospital
where Nevaeh was born, the procedure is,
is when they admit
a mother of a child into the maternity ward, she is asked to
fill out a form for
the birth certificate, including the father's name
and information. If the information
provided by the mother
does not match, the father cannot sign
the birth certificate. JUDGE LAKE: So... Were you ever given
the information card? Yes, I was given
the information card. What information
did you put on the card? I put my name and her name. But, you did not
put his name? DAY: No, I did not. At all? DAY: No, I did not. But I gave my baby his name because he was there. The other person
was not there. So you gave the
child his last name? Yes. JUDGE LAKE:
And so, Mr. Ahmad, do you remember
the nurse saying, "Are you the father
of the child?"
And you said, "Yes." We were at the
administration desk. and she asked me, was I
the father, and I said,
"Yes. I am the father." Ms. Day is totally
aware of this. We were in
a relationship. I had a cesarean
and I was... Drugged up,
like, I was... Was unaware that he signed
my baby's birth certificate. Basically all this is, like,
it's disheartening
for somebody to, like, demean you.
It hurts. For some of the words
that she's saying. I wasn't in
a relationship
with him, but I never messed
with another man while I was sexually involved
with Mr. Ahmad. This was something that
happened before I was
sexually involved with him. Are you saying
the other man... You truly believe this
other man is Nevaeh's
biological father? DAY:<i> Yes.</i> JUDGE LAKE:<i>
Why do you believe that?</i> Because she looks
like his kids. She looks like him. She don't look like
Mr. Ahmad at all, anymore. JUDGE LAKE:<i> And so...</i> <i> Do you admit that you</i> led Mr. Ahmad to believe
that that he was her
biological father? No, I told him the truth
from the beginning. If you told the truth, and you knew I wasn't... It's not my fault
he was intoxicated. Why would you put me
on child support? Because you signed
the birth certificate, and you told me you was
gonna be there for her. Well, we did
a little investigation of your social media. And we found... Some very interesting posts. We did a little investigation
of your social media. And we found... Some very interesting posts. Now this is Mr. Ahmad,
am I correct? DAY: Yes. It says, "Happy Father's day,
to my child's father." <i> "Even though
she's not here yet,</i> <i> "he's already amazing.</i> <i> "He takes damn
good care of us.</i> <i> "I'm proud to call him mine."</i> That's because he was there. He was there.
He wanted to be
her father. JUDGE LAKE: That was
before she was born. DAY: Yes. Okay. So let's go
to the next post. <i> It says...</i> <i> "Happy birthday
to my baby-daddy.</i> <i> "I love you, baby."</i> Then... "She looked just like
her daddy, right here." <i> Is that Mr. Ahmad
in the picture?</i> Yes, I said she looked
like him at first but she doesn't anymore. As she get older, she look
more like the other man. You're affirming his belief. You're saying definitively,
"This is my child's father." I don't see on
any of those posts you bringing up
the fact that... There may be someone else. AHMAD: The child
knows my family. He has aunties, uncles. DAY: You haven't
seen my child in months. AHMAD: That is another lie. Like, she don't even... That is another lie. DAY: No, it's not. <i> You don't even
take care of her anymore.</i> <i> You don't do anything.
You don't even come get her.</i> <i> You don't see her or nothing,
I do it all by myself.</i> <i> I told him,
"Just don't come back!"</i> <i> He wanted to just,
back and forth.</i> I don't need
a back-and-forth
daddy in her life. But now, Ms. Day,
you're crying out that he doesn't
spend time with her, but you're also saying
he's not her father. DAY: But that's who
she know as her father. That's who
she know as her dad. JUDGE LAKE:
Where is the other man? Do you know where he is? Yes. Does he want to be
part of her life? DAY: Yes. He does? He takes care of her. You lived with him. JUDGE LAKE: Oh! Right. I think I want to talk to
this other gentleman. He is joining us
from his hometown. Mr. Flowers,
thank you for joining us. Has Ms. Day explained
to you that Mr. Ahmad is on the
birth certificate, and he was also told that he was Nevaeh's
biological father? <i> Yes, ma'am.</i> So what was your relationship
like with Ms. Day? <i> Everything been cool,
all the way up to this...</i> <i> Baby situation occurred.</i> <i> And when it occurred,</i> <i> she told me there's
a 50-50 chance,</i> <i> I left the situation
right there and went on
about my way.</i> JUDGE LAKE:<i> But she says
you take care of Nevaeh now.</i> FLOWERS:<i> She keeps
her with me at work
and everything.</i> JUDGE LAKE:<i> She does?</i> <i> Yes, ma'am.</i> And so when
you're with her, do you feel
like, "This is my
little girl," or... FLOWERS:<i> I just
don't know, Judge.</i> <i> Like he said,
he here to find out,
I'm here to find out.</i> JUDGE LAKE: So, Ms. Day... It sounds like you've
got them both on a string. If you truly believe
Mr. Ahmad is not
her biological father, why worry him at all? I don't call him. I don't... I barely ever
ask him for anything. Mr. Flowers is my best friend, <i> and he's always
been there for me</i> <i> before I even had a kid.</i> Wow. This is. This is... Does this testimony
surprise you, Mr. Ahmad? I don't know this man. I'm out of this situation
now, and my main deal is, what is the paternity
of my baby? I say she's my baby. And you've developed
a bond with the baby. I love the baby. You say your family
has developed a bond
with the baby? AHMAD: Yes, ma'am. JUDGE LAKE: She's developing
bonds with not just you, but Mr. Flowers as well. And so, Ms. Day, at first,
Mr. Ahmad stepped up and you thought you had
found a safe place for you and the baby. Yes. JUDGE LAKE: And so you
told him he was the father. DAY: Yes. But then you turned
to Mr. Flowers and allowed him to be
even more present
in Nevaeh's life. Yes. Because he was providing, and he was
taking up the slack. I never really forced
that on him. He did all that
on his own. So bottom line is this... Are you saying
that Mr. Flowers is Nevaeh's biological father, because you believe
he truly is, or because you don't
want Mr. Ahmad to be? Well, I believe she's
Mr. Flowers' because he said, he felt in his
heart that she is his. (AUDIENCE GROANS) JUDGE LAKE: What are you
feeling like, Mr. Ahmad, this situation is trying
to rob you of this <i> beautiful, precious
moment in time?</i> AHMAD:<i> Yes.</i> I feel like I'm being robbed. I know... I got
into a car wreck, and I know
financially,
right now, I am unable to do
the best that I can. (VOICE BREAKING)
But that can change. I want to. This is not about
money, it's about... Is this my daughter? That's all I wanna know,
I didn't come here to... Defame her, or talk bad about her. This is real, and it hurts. I signed that
birth certificate because I believe 100%, and I was led
to believe that
that was my child. I'm ready for the results. Jerome? (APPLAUSE) These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics and
they read as follows. JUDGE LAKE:
In the case of<i>
Ahmad v. Day,</i> pertaining to whether
Mr. Ahmad or Mr. Flowers is the biological father of
22-month-old Nevaeh Ahmad... It has been determined
by this Court... The biological father is... Mr. Flowers. (APPLAUSE) JUDGE LAKE:<i> Mr. Flowers,
you are the father.</i> <i> Yeah, that's mine,
that's my baby.</i> JUDGE LAKE:<i> But listen,
you are the biological father,</i> but I need you all
to understand in this room that Mr. Ahmad is
still the legal father. FLOWERS:<i> Yeah.</i> JUDGE LAKE:
She has his name and he's on her
birth certificate. You all are gonna have to
return to your home state and try to get this
taken care of. Mr. Ahmad,
are you all right? I'm very sorry. I know this was not
the news you expected
nor wanted. I'm hurt and... I'm hurt. JUDGE LAKE: So, Ms. Day... Don't sweep it under the rug. Own up to what you've done.
Make your apologies. Try to get your daughter... I do own up to
what I've done. That's why I told
both of them the truth. JUDGE LAKE:<i> Let's do
the right thing with it.</i> I wish you all
the very best of luck.
Court is adjourned. JEROME: Can you take
a seat over here, please...
