Please be seated. Hello, Your Honor. Hello. This is a case of
Hicks v. Smith. Thank you, Jerome.
Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day! Ms. Hicks, you say
the sins of your past have brought you
into court today
to save your relationship. You are petitioning
the court for a DNA test to prove
that the defendant
is the father of your 3-month-old
daughter, Honesty. Is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. Mr. Smith, you say you have
medical evidence to prove you are not
Honesty's father. And if that's not enough, your bombshell witness
will close your case. The plaintiff's
very own sister says you are not the father. Jerome, please
escort her in. Can I have you go
right up here
on the left side? (INDISTINCT CHATTER) Hop on
the other side. No problem. JEROME: Good. So, Ms. Hicks,
how does it
make you feel hearing Mr. Smith
deny paternity? I know I've only
slept with him. And I know who
my children belong to. Like, hearing this
from him, and him getting it
from my own
full-blooded sister. Carlisha. It just bores me. Tell the truth. It bores me. So, Ms... Your Honor,
I got something to say. She telling
false lies, okay? I know for a fact that
he was not the only one
she was sleeping with. I guess you're there
in the same bed with me when I'm sleeping
with these people,
I guess. We were having
a threesome, I guess. Okay, anyways,
Your Honor. She was double-staying me
for some time, okay? From what I know,
my sister's a cheater. She been like that
her whole life, okay? (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) JUDGE LAKE: So, Mr. Smith. DAVIAN: Yes, Your Honor. You hear the allegations
that have been
stated thus far. This is what leads you
to believe you are not
the biological father of Honesty? Yes, Your Honor. Explain. DAVIAN: I used to
work out a lot. And one time,
I strained myself too hard, and I had to go
to the hospital. And the doctor told me
that I couldn't have kids. That my testicles
had dropped
by that time. You submitted some evidence
to the court concerning that. I'd like to look at that. (JUDGE LAKE READING) This is what the doctor
diagnosed you with? Yes, Your Honor. And so... (JUDGE LAKE READING) So, you believe
you can't have children? Yes, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: And this
is what you were told
by a medical professional? Yes, Your Honor. Did you inform
Ms. Hicks about this when you all were
in a sexual relationship? No, Your Honor.
He never informed me
about any of this. When he did tell me, this came up like two months
after Honesty was born. Like, she's living proof
that you can have kids. I didn't make
this baby myself. Girl, you know
dang well that
is not my baby. I can't climb
on top of myself
to get pregnant. Please. DAVIAN: You know
dang well that
is not my baby. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) So, Mr. Smith,
you seem confident. You say she knows
good and well
that it's not your child. Yes, Your Honor. And why do you
think she knows that
if you... You say you informed her
about the fact that you
couldn't have children? Yes, Your Honor.
I told her. Once her son was born, she was cheating
a lot of the time
with multiple men. You know that
for certain? Yes, Your Honor. How do you know that?
Explain. Her sister
used to tell me
that she used to sleep with this guy
and that guy. And I didn't
believe her at first. But, until it started
coming to me, about the dudes she talked to,
all the time friendly with, I believe she did. So, Ms. Hicks,
you were the informant? You were the person
telling Mr. Smith everything
your sister was doing? Why would you do that? Y'all don't know
my sister like I do.
Okay? And besides, Davian
is a sweet person.
You know what I'm saying? I think he deserves
to know what goes on
behind his back. So, you felt sorry
for Mr. Smith because you felt like
he was a good guy being taken advantage of
by my sister. QUENTARA: Mmm-hmm. And you'd know,
good and well, he was not
the only potential father. Mmm-hmm.
There's multiple guys. (SMIRKS) What was the nature
of this relationship? Were you all committed?
Or were you all
just dating? What were you all... You see, Your Honor,
we were in a relationship. We technically
still are, but, these lies that she's
pushing in his ears,
and everybody else. Hold up, I don't push
no lies in his ears. It's causing problems,
Your Honor. It really is. She believes
her own lies, okay? (CHUCKLES) QUENTARA: They come true
in her head, I don't know. And once again, I guess
you're there with me while I'm sleeping
with these men. We're having a wang dang,
ain't it? Yup. Trial wheels,
I've been right there. We're threesome-ing now. Maybe even a foursome
since he's so sure. (QUENTARA CHUCKLES) DAVIAN: Your Honor. Yes, Mr. Smith? I went through her phone
and found text messages. And it said,
"When I can
get that kitty cat?" (AUDIENCE EXCLAIMING) Oh, you saw
a text message? Yes, Your Honor. And you submitted
your recollection of that exchange
to the court. JUDGE LAKE: The other guy said,
"I miss that kitty cat." And Ms. Hicks responded,
"You know he leaves "so you can
come over anytime." DAVIAN:
Yes, Your Honor. You saw this message, and you feel like
she was definitely
sleeping around. Yes, Your Honor. Ms. Hicks, I have to ask you,
did something similar to this
come through your phone? I don't even remember
that text message, Your Honor. I honestly
do not remember
this text message. I bet you don't
remember when... Your Honor,
I bet she don't
even remember when he went
to his grandma's house, because they got into it. She had another man
coming in the bed, sleeping in his bed. DAVIAN:
Yes, Your Honor. You hear me? Over there
for two days. JUDGE LAKE: Another man? QUENTARA: Two days. Yes, yes. DAVIAN: Yes, Your Honor. Did you, Ms. Hicks? Like I said, I guess
she was there to... QUENTARA: I was there. JUDGE LAKE: No,
that's a yes or no. Do you remember? I did not have
another man there. I know who my child
belongs to. I know who every one
of my children belongs to. Like, I'm not
gonna sit up there and give my kiddie
to this man and that man
and that man... And I mess with one man
for two reasons. So, I know who
my child belongs to
if I end up pregnant and I know who
to come to if I
end up with a STD. I'm not a nasty cheat. Never been one,
and never will be. Mr. Smith, have you
ever had occasion
to witness firsthand the fact that she was
with somebody else? DAVIAN:
Yes, Your Honor. Tell about that dude
that jumped out the window. The guy jumping
out the window
situation. What happened? DAVIAN: Well,
I came out the car. I seen somebody
jump out the window, and I'm knocking
on the door
for like 30 minutes. 30 minutes. But a guy jumped
out the window, but you gotta knock
on your own door. Exactly. Beautiful. And so, were you there
when the guy
jumped out the window? Oh, yes, ma'am.
I was in my car. I'm looking at him running
through the field. And it took her
at least 30 minutes to open up the door. CARLISHA:
The day he came
to the house, he has a habit
of "losing his keys." But, Ms. Hicks,
let's get to the man
jumping out the window or running
through the field part. Your Honor, we stay
on the second floor. We live in
an apartment building. And we stay
on the second floor. So, like his self,
when he jumped
out the window, like, I expected
to God that he'd suddenly seen jump
out the window, to be hurt
just like he was. QUENTARA: It was warm. You're denying
anybody jumped
out the window. No one jumps out
the window. JUDGE LAKE:
But, you believe... With the... But, you believe, Mr. Smith,
they jumped out the window 'cause you were
coming back, and that person
was in the house
with Ms. Hicks? Yes, Your Honor. As soon as she
opened up the door, she was acting
like she was so tired,
so sleepy. So, I said, "Why
the window open?" She said, "'Cause I was hot",
and it was cold outside,
let me remind you. It's cold outside. That is a lie. All right, take me
to the point you
realize you're pregnant. Mr. Smith, he came to me
and said I been sick,
I been throwing up, and I been feeling funny. "So I think you
need to take
a pregnancy test." So, he goes to the store
and comes back
with a pregnancy test that has two in a box. I took the first one,
it came out negative. He was like, "Go ahead
and take the other one. "So, we can
see the results
of that one." So, I take the other one
while he's right there
in the bathroom watching. And it immediately pops up
that it was positive. And so, he was like,
"I knew it! I knew it!" He was happy.
He was happy! So, all this,
this doubt in him,
I don't get it! He can't have kids,
so he don't think
the baby is his. So, Mr. Smith.
You found out
she's pregnant. Were you happy
about it? I'm faking it to her,
but I know in my mind... Faking it? JUDGE LAKE: Oh, you were
faking it to her? Yes, Your Honor. There is no way anybody
can fake anything. I mean, at the hospital,
you were there. He was like,
"Oh, she look
just like me. "She's so beautiful." Where is all this doubt
coming from all of a sudden? JUDGE LAKE: So, when you
saw the baby, Mr. Smith, did you feel like
the baby looked like you? Did you feel like
you were excited? What's going on here? Your Honor, because
I felt sorry for her, because she could
have lost her life... You chose Honesty. You chose one
of her middle names,
which is Monique. I'd never made you
name her... Mr. Smith. Do you have
any other kids? No, Your Honor. JUDGE LAKE: You don't? No, ma'am. So you believe
it's the hypogonadism that contributes,
or has affected you so that you could not
father any children? Yes, Your Honor. I want to learn more
about this medical condition, so I'd like to call
on the expertise
of Dr. Jameelah Gater. Jerome, will you please
escort the doctor
into the courtroom? JEROME: Yes. JEROME:
Watch your step,
come on up. Hi, Dr. Gater. Hi. Thank you so much
for joining us again. I need
to talk to you today about a medical condition Mr. Smith, uh, said he
was diagnosed with, several years ago,
called hypogonadism. Yes. He says he was told
that because of a strain he'd experienced
while lifting weights, that he is now
unable to father children. So I first want
to understand more about what this
condition is exactly. So, hypogonadism is
when the body doesn't
produce enough testosterone. You can either
be born with it, or you can develop it
later in life. Usually from things
like infection. Or an injury to the testicles
can also cause it. But, nature gives us
two testicles. And so, usually, it has
to be a profound injury to, not one,
but both testicles, to actually
cause hypogonadism. Mmm. So, Mr. Smith, did this doctor tell you that one of your testicles
was injured, or both? He told me both. All right, so now,
I want to understand based upon
his testimony, does hypogonadism
affect his ability to have children,
conclusively? Well, it's
usually for good. But it depends
on the individual. So, usually with hypogonadism,
you have low testosterone, but many males
still produce
some testosterone. Testosterone is
the signal for the body
to produce sperm. So, it may affect
his sperm count. And it really just depends
on how low the sperm count, and if he has enough sperm
to actually be able
to father a child. Now that you've
heard that, Mr. Smith,
what do you think? I still don't think
that baby is mine,
Your Honor. "That baby." But you up here taking her
to all your family houses,
talking about, "Y'all see my baby?
She look just like me!" You feel that a child
is not yours, you're not gonna
take this child
to all your people. You're not. Why are you taking the baby
around your family, Mr. Smith? Because I'm like... I raised her own son
as mine's. And you know, I don't
like people like that
to be deadbeat. So, you say,
you're not taking her because you believe
she's yours, you're taking her
to be kind, and you would not want
what happened to her son, to be repeated
with this baby? Yes, Your Honor. And so the stakes here
are very real, because you all are still
in a relationship. CARLISHA: Yes. And now I have to prove
the paternity of my daughter in showing that
my daughter is his,
biologically. And I can see
that hurts you. Very.
It devastates the... (SIGHING GRIMLY) Why do you say
it devastates you? Because it's coming
from my full-blooded sister. We had the same mom,
same dad. And I don't know
why this would
come from you anyway. Because I know
what you do, Carlisha. As close as we are. We're very close. You are? I sure can't tell. Your Honor, we argue
just about every day. The same way I take care
of him, the same way
I take care of her. What?
What're you saying? I basically have to
change their diapers
along with my kids too. Oh, baby, you ain't
got no change of diapers
with me. So, it seems like
there're so many relationships
that are on the line here. Not just Mr. Smith's
with Honesty, but also, Mr. Smith's
with your son that he says he raised. Also between you
and your sister. You and Mr. Smith. I mean, there are
just so many layers
to this story. CARLISHA:
Yes, Your Honor. And I see the hurt
in your eyes. I mean, you all
argue back and forth and everybody wants
to discount what you feel, but this has to be
bothering you. QUENTARA: Your Honor,
and I love my sister. I really do.
I truly love my sister. I'd go to the end
if I have to. I would die with her. CARLISHA: Love is
not trying to mess up
someone's relationships. I'm not trying
to mess up
your relationship. I don't be
in your relationship. You have no business
in mine. They say sisters
argue, fuss and fight, you all have
proven that right. Before I go to the results,
Ms. Hicks, you may have a seat. These results
are ultimately for Ms. Hicks
and Mr. Smith. Jerome, I'm ready
for the envelope. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) These results were prepared
by DNA Diagnostics and
they read as follows. In the case of
Hicks v. Smith, when it comes
to 3-month-old
Honesty Smith, it has been
determined by this court Mr. Smith, you are the father. (AUDIENCE APPLAUDING) All right. What next? CARLISHA:
Thank you so much,
Your Honor. I am so glad
that I came here today
to get these results, so I can finally
be at peace. Me and my daughter
can live with this man who I plan
to marry someday. I really love him.
I do. And I just hope sometime,
at some point of time, this die down between me
and my sister, like... This is a perfect moment
to begin again.
It really is. You know, my mother
had six sisters. My mother comes
from a family
of 10 children. And now my mother
has passed away, but the relationship
I have with my aunties, my mother's sisters? They're the closest connection
I have to my mother. And so, I want Honesty to be able to have
a wonderful relationship
with you. So, we gotta
be careful going forward,
how we treat one another. And look, we don't go
off looks in this courtroom, but I will say, Honey,
that little baby look like you
in a onesie, Mr. Hicks. (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) When I turned
over there, and looked
at that little baby, I said, "That look
like Mr. Hicks "with a leopard
onesie on." (AUDIENCE LAUGHING) So, you got
a beautiful little girl
who looks just like you. And I want you
to take care of her
and love her mother. And figure out how
to get this family on the
right track. All right? Yes, Your Honor. I wish you the best of luck.
Court is adjourned.
