You may be seated.
Hello, Your Honor.
Good morning, Ron.
This is the case o Baylor v. Earls.
Thank you.
Good day, everyone.
AUDIENCE: Good day.
Miss Baylor, you petitioned the court for a DNA test.
You want to prove to your ex-fiance, Mr. Earls
that he fathered your three-year-old son, Marcus Junior.
Is that correct?
Yes, Your Honor.
You say Mr. Earls called off your wedding
just three months prior to getting married because of his paternity doubts?
Yes, Your Honor.
JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Earls,
you and Miss Baylor have been together
since you were 17 years old,
and you believe she's been unfaithful
the entire relationship.
EARLS: Yes, Your Honor.
Today, you're counter-suing Miss Baylor for a lie detector test
because you want the entire truth.
Yes, Your Honor.
All right. Miss Baylor, what have Mr. Earls' accusations and denial
done to your relationship?
Your Honor, his accusations have ruined our relationship.
It has tore us apart.
We have been together since I was 17, and he moved in with us,
and then we had two beautiful daughters,
and then after our third child,
we decided that we wanted to get married.
And he called off the wedding three months before we got married.
JUDGE LAKE: Really?
And we planned everything.
I had everything picked out, Your Honor.
I had a dress. He bought me a ring. Everything...
Our wedding day was supposed to be 12, 13, 14.
Like, that was so significant.
And it really hurt me for him to do that, Your Honor.
Can I submit this to you?
What is that?
This is my wedding planner.
I had everything...
JUDGE LAKE: May I see that, Ron?
BAILIFF: Yes, ma'am.
So you really planned an entire wedding?
Yes.
You had three children with this man...
BAYLOR: Yes, Your Honor.
...and I can see that really hurts you.
It hurts, like, so bad
for him to not think that my son is his.
Like, I don't know where these rumors came from,
I don't know who started them,
I don't know anything. I love Mr. Earls.
I wanna spend the rest of my life with him.
He's a beautiful little boy. So, Mr. Earls...
Yes, Your Honor.
You certain this child is not yours?
I'm certain. I'm 100% sure that that is not my baby.
So, this had to be really serious
for you to call off the wedding just three months before.
It was very serious.
What happened?
I went away on August 16,
and Sondra came and visited me,
two weeks after I was gone.
Uh, and she gave me some news that she was pregnant.
Okay, I was excited...
Come to find out a week later, she visited me again,
and she tells me, "I stepped out on you
"a month prior to the time you had left."
A month before I got pregnant with my son,
I did step out on the relationship. I did.
This was nowhere near the conception date.
This was a whole month before I conceived.
And when I told Mr. Earls that I was pregnant,
you know, he was happy, you know? We were both happy,
because we had two miscarriages before that.
Unexplained, you know?
And it devastated us, we wanted a baby. We planned to have my son.
And when he went away,
he just feels that, you know, the dates don't add up.
I suppose.
We didn't plan anything.
Okay, do you know what month you cheated in, Miss Baylor?
July.
Sure was.
Because I got pregnant in August.
I got pregnant August 14.
Let me go to my conception calculator here so I can understand this.
When was Marcus Jr. born?
He was born April 22, 2013.
JUDGE LAKE: Okay, now if we calculate the date of his birth,
your conception date would've been...
(JUDGE LAKE READING)
Yeah, but he's supposed to be premature.
That's about a ten-day window.
That's when you said you cheated.
I cheated in July, yes, Your Honor,
but that is not when I conceived.
My son was due May 7,
but I had a C-section due to...
I had two other kids,
my blood pressure goes up when I go into labor,
and I had to have a C-section.
That's why he was born April 22.
Miss Baylor, you're saying the baby was born early.
And so, your conception date
would actually have been later than what is projected here.
Yes.
Mr. Earls, do you think the baby was born early?
No, that baby wasn't born early.
She carried that baby full-term.
That is not true, Your Honor.
You don't know no baby
premature at six pound, nine ounces.
I know, that's a big baby.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
I do agree. A six pound, nine ounce baby?
I mean that is a... That's a full-term weight.
EARLS: Yeah!
Exactly, because I was due May 7,
I had a C-section which was scheduled at 38 weeks.
Our daughters weigh five pound, seven ounces,
five pound, eight ounces, and they was full-term.
All babies are not gonna be born the same weight.
All my babies is.
No, they're not. No, they are not, because...
We're not going to get into that, because we're here to prove that my son
is your son.
EARLS: He is not my son.
BAYLOR: That is your son.
EARLS: Look, she carried him full-term.
She cheated on me in July, the time adds up.
She brought me all the way down.
I just want her to tell me the truth.
I wanna understand why you are cheating in the relationship.
I just felt like he was still lying to me.
EARLS: She couldn't close her legs.
So you... Who was this person you cheated with?
His sister's cousin.
So, this was a one-night thing?
A fling? What happened?
It was a fling, maybe. But not that long.
Just a couple of times and, like, that was it.
A couple too many.
But I used protection when I stepped out, unlike him.
He has two other kids outside of our relationship...
...that he stepped out on me on plenty of times.
I do. I do.
She cheated on me with the cable man.
No, I did not cheat on him with the cable man.
He was a friend.
Wait, when did the cable man get in it?
As soon as I went away, the cable man came in.
He was a friend. He took me to get my kids something to eat one day,
and we went to go play pool and have a few beers at the bar,
and I "cheated," supposedly.
My brother also even told me about some things.
What did your brother tell you?
Oh, my brother told me he caught her doing
mysterious things on her phone,
talking to others, talking about she wanna
meet up with them, and things.
We have your brother joining us today from your hometown.
That's good!
JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Earls...
Can you hear me?
Yes, ma'am.
Your brother has testified that you've caught Miss Baylor
in some very, uh, questionable circumstances. Is that true?
Yes, ma'am. About three weeks before, prior,
before my brother went away,
I caught Miss Baylor texting another dude
talking about how she wanna have sex with him.
The dude's picture kept popping up on the phone.
Miss Baylor?
Yes, I do flirt a lot.
I do. I flirt a lot.
Oh, God. Yeah, yeah.
More than a lot.
EARLS: Yeah, more than a lot.
BAYLOR: That is a lie.
But you were on the phone texting a guy.
BAYLOR: Yes, I was,
but Marcus has done me so much worse.
Mr. Earls, do you know anything else?
Uh, about two weeks after my bro went away,
we was having a get-together at the house,
and she was drinking, having a good time.
Next thing I know she burnt off,
and didn't come back till the next day.
She came home the next day?
PAUL: Yes, ma'am.
Who did you see her leave with, Mr. Earls?
A dude!
I left with my cousin,
and that's probably who he's seen me leave with, my cousin.
EARLS: That ain't her cousin.
Judge, she's a compulsive liar.
All right, Mr. Earls, thank you so much for your testimony today.
Yes, ma'am.
So, Mr. Earls, you say she just lies.
Yes, Your Honor.
JUDGE LAKE: And that's why you asked the court
to administer a lie-detector test.
Yes, Your Honor.
Oh, I just had a light bulb,
'cause I'm thinking to myself,
he is so mad at her for cheating,
and it is wrong,
but you were cheating, and you got two children outside the relationship,
but what you're most angry at, you're saying,
"You told me the truth, that you cheated,"
but you feel like she's making up this whole story
about the baby being early,
'cause she doesn't wanna admit that it's a possibility
that this other guy is the father.
She's in denial, Your Honor.
JUDGE LAKE: That's what's making you most angry?
Yes, ma'am.
So, when you found out she cheated
did you immediately have doubt?
Yes, I already knew like, it already...
It clicked to me. I was insecure.
JUDGE LAKE: What clicked?
That she cheated and that's his baby.
May I submit my evidence?
Absolutely. What did you bring for the court?
It's just the picture to show everybody in this court room
that this is not my...
Let me see that.
That is not my son.
You're presenting to the court...
...a side by side photo.
On the left-hand side is Marcus Jr.
EARLS: Correct.
JUDGE LAKE: And on the right-hand side...
Is a picture of you.
EARLS: Yes, Your Honor.
You don't believe you don't look anything alike.
EARLS: Nothing alike.
Okay, I have a question,
how did the baby get the name Marcus Jr.
then, if you never thought?
I felt bad. I always wanted a son.
I wanted a son with her.
I felt bad. I mean she crying in a hospital laid up
with her guts out on her belly.
So, I was like, yeah, you could give him my name.
BAYLOR: Your Honor...
JUDGE LAKE: So, wait a minute.
You seem like a strong-minded young man.
EARLS: Yes, I am.
How did you get to the hospital and decide,
"Okay, I'm gonna give this baby my last name as my Jr.
"and I don't believe he's mine."
That's, man, I can... Look, I don't know.
I just know I made a mistake.
Did you sign the birth certificate?
EARLS: I signed it.
You signed the birth certificate?
When you signed that birth certificate,
you acknowledged paternity, you understand that right?
Well, hopefully, this DNA can help me out.
You know black women like to put people on child support,
I ain't got time for that.
BAYLOR: You're not gonna pay...
Hold on!
Hold on, 'cause I'm a black woman.
No. No. Well, certain ones.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Your Honor.
JUDGE LAKE: Hold on!
Sorry, Your Honor.
JUDGE LAKE: Hold on!
Sorry, Your Honor.
Now we, look...
We get to the truth in this court room.
Okay.
JUDGE LAKE: Hold on!
Let's get something straight.
EARLS: Yeah, I'm back up...
It's women of all races and colors
that are receiving child support for children.
But let me be clear
the child support is for the child.
EARLS: Yeah.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDS)
BAYLOR: Exactly.
And then let me be even clearer, you did this.
Once you sign that birth certificate,
you were responsible for child support.
So, don't come into my court room
talking about what a black woman gonna do
'cause this black woman gonna let you know.
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDS)
Now, I'm really ready for the results.
EARLS: Sorry.
Ron, hand me the lie detector results first.
Your Honor.
You were asked during the last ten years,
other than the one time you admitted to cheating,
have you had sexual intercourse
with another man?
You answered, "Yes."
The lie detector determined that was the truth.
That's because we split up.
Yeah.
Within that, we split up.
A lot of times, we split up.
Ms. Baylor, we asked you,
did you have sexual intercourse
with the man you admitted
to cheating on Marcus with more than one time.
You answered, "Yes."
Wow.
The lie detector determined that was the truth.
Wow.
I just mentioned that here, I've nothing to hide. I mentioned that.
Mr. Earls, you seem surprised.
She did testify in court today
that it was kind of a fling. It was more than one time.
Yeah, well, that ain't what I've been hearing
for the last three years.
JUDGE LAKE: So, you're saying
even though it was determined
that she was telling the truth,
the answer she gave to the questions are different
from what's she's been telling you?
Yes, Your Honor.
And that's why you called off the wedding.
That's exactly why I called off the wedding.
To be a man that's always wanted a son,
to be excited about it,
to go in the hospital, to give this child your name,
to sign the birth certificate
to be legally responsible for the child,
why is it, you haven't
been able to... It seems like you've done everything else.
I wanna give him the opportunity to know his father.
He knows his father for the...
I grew up without a father, okay?
I've been here for him, okay?
But I wanna give him that opportunity.
If you're not the child's biological father,
is this relationship over? Where do you go from here?
It's over, she, she, look, that lie detector test...
She passed it cause I mean,
I already knew she was lying to me all this whole time, anyway.
She passed it though.
You said the relationship is over
if Marcus Jr. is not your biological child.
EARLS: Correct.
But you had two children outside the relationship, and she stayed with you.
EARLS: She did, Your Honor.
Ms. Baylor, what are you thinking right now?
What are you feeling?
I feel that it is so unfair because...
I've been with him for so long.
I'm the one who's been there,
but he can have babies by other women,
and then always run off to them
but you wanna leave me?
But my son is his. They look so much alike.
You can tell, like, I wanna be with Mr. Earls
for the rest of my life. I love him.
He's the only man I know since...
17 years old. I was young.
Like, he is all I know.
JUDGE LAKE: If Marcus Jr. is not Mr. Earls' biological child,
where do you go from here?
I mean, I would love to be with him
but I can't make somebody stay if they don't wanna stay.
Even though, I did step out, yes,
but I was there for him.
All right. Well, I have the results.
Let's get to the truth.
In the case of Baylor v. Earls Sr.
When it comes to three-year-old
Marcus Earls Jr.,
it has been determined by this court...
Mr. Earls, you...
...are the father.
I told you.
I told you.
I have my doubts, I have my insecurity.
But I do love that little man.
JUDGE LAKE: And I'm sure he loves you too.
You're the only man he knows as his father?
EARLS: The only one.
Then does it hurt you in this moment that you did
carry that doubt for three, four years of...
Yeah, that's what's killing me right now.
I'm sorry, and I'm sorry to you too.
I'm sorry, too.
JUDGE LAKE: This is...
...a time for you to stand up and be the man,
the best man you can be.
You're right, Your Honor.
When you give a child your name,
there's a responsibility in that,
because when he looks to the example
of who he can be in this world,
his first point of reference
is gonna be the man that has his name.
So that means, it's time for you
to create that life so your son
can have a life he can emulate.
That's how you break the cycle.
That's how you make sure he doesn't end up
in the places where you've been.
If you all are gonna build a family,
or try to figure this thing out,
you got to set a proper foundation.
All this sleeping around outside the relationship...
No, no, no.
It's time to pull that all together.
Talk through it,
because I can tell you do both love one another very much.
I do love him.
I do love her.
JUDGE LAKE: And love is worth fighting for.
EARLS: Yes, it is.
Go fight it out in a good way this time, together.
Court is adjourned.
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