Please be seated.
Good morning, Your Honor.
Good morning, Ron.
This is the case of William v. Scales.
Thank you, sir. Good day, everyone.
AUDIENCE: Good day.
Miss Williams, five years ago, the defendant who you believe
was your father revealed a shocking family secret,
that your mother cheated and you are not his daughter.
You and your sister are in court
to prove him wrong. Is that correct?
That's correct, Your Honor.
JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Scales, you're a retired
semi-pro football player in Klein.
It was during one of your away games
that Alisa's mother cheated on you with one of your teammates,
and he is her father.
Yes, Your Honor.
So, Mr. Scales,
why do you believe Alisa's mother cheated?
1983, we had an away game at Pensacola
and I took Miss Williams with me
and we checked into a hotel and I went to bed early
'cause I work that day and it was a Friday.
So, about 2:00 in the mornin', I wake up
and Miss Williams is no longer in the room.
How long was she gone?
I can't say exactly how long, but I know it was at least an hour or two.
JUDGE LAKE: Okay.
Right.
So, you believed at that moment that something was goin' on?
Uh, for sure.
And Alisa and Tonga, have you ever heard any of this?
Not prior to it coming up five years ago.
I was 27 at the time, when I spoke with my mom
she had talked to him about the fact that he was
questioning paternity of me.
When I hung up with her, I had a conversation with him
and he told me that there were some events
that he didn't really feel the need to discuss with me at the time.
Um, that it was a discussion that she wasn't supposed to share with me,
and, um, I spoke with my mom about it later
and she gave me more details of, you know,
what actually had occurred.
And you say this was just five years ago?
This was five years ago.
And up until that point you had heard nothing?
Right. And 27 is not a good age
for this to be brought up
if he wants me to have balance in my life.
That's a very critical time
I feel in anybody's life at that age, in your late 20s.
You're just trying to find yourself,
you're trying to figure some things out
and for that to be something thrown in the mix...
And my point is, if this was something
that was so important to you,
so weighed in on your heart,
this is something that you should have said,
you know, right when she was born
or right when you found... My mom said,
"Hey, we're pregnant again."
The reason I didn't say anything
is because I wanted to give this child a gift.
The gift that I wanted to give her was
not having to come to Earth
and question who her father was.
Well, that wasn't fair for me to have to question that at 27 years old.
I'm your parent, I'm not your friend,
I'm not your associate...
ALISA: Exactly...
I'm a parent and I have responsibilities and duties.
I wanted to tell you at 27
because it's important for medical reasons,
for moral reasons, that I'd let you know
there's a question with your paternity.
And for medical reasons it's important...
From the beginning.
...from the beginning.
ALISA: I shouldn't have been
put in this situation.
BERNARD: Yeah, your mo should have told you.
ALISA: You're the one who brought it up.
JUDGE LAKE: So, listen, when Alisa's mom said,
"Okay, I'm pregnant", you had doubts from her birth?
Even before her birth.
Why is it all of a sudden you decided that you needed to share this?
This child had nothin' to do
with her mother leaving that room that night.
So I didn't want her to suffer for the effects
and the ramifications and repercussions
of her mother's action.
ALISA: Why would you sign my birth certificate if you felt like you were
not my biological father?
I've never signed your birth certificate, Alisa.
JUDGE LAKE: Is that the evidence you have?
Yes, Your Honor, the birth certificate is here.
I'd like to see that.
Please hand me that evidence, Ron.
RON: Your Honor.
JUDGE LAKE: She's presented to the court
her birth certificate, you're listed as father.
I could be listed as father, but I never signed it.
JUDGE LAKE: You did not sign it?
You didn't execute it?
I did not sign. No.
At that point, did you have a question of her paternity,
meaning, "I could be this child's father, but I might not be"?
That's correct.
ALISA: Everything in me feels like
I'm his daughter.
I feel that I look like him.
I have...
How was it presented...
BERNARD: Mission accomplished.
...to you specifically?
(AUDIENCE GASPING)
TONGA: Really?
Mission accomplished.
JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Scales...
TONGA: Oh, really?
Wow, Mr. Scales.
BERNARD: Yes.
Let me show you all somethin' and tell you all somethin'.
I do what I want to do.
TONGA: Exactly.
ALISA: Right, of course.
TONGA: That's the problem.
Listen, as harsh as Mr. Scales is in this moment
and I do believe his delivery is harsh,
I'm wondering when would be the optimal time to say this.
Right.
If you don't feel the need to bring it up at the beginning
where you really felt strongly everything was in question
and you wanted to give me a father
and not have me question paternity,
then don't have me question paternity.
(AUDIENCE CLAPPING)
Be my father until the very end.
You know, people say I'm a little gruff sometimes, too.
So, maybe that's why I can understand what he's saying.
What his point is, "I made it my mission
"that even though I doubted this one child,
"I will not make her feel any differently
"than any of my other children."
In his mind he's thinking,
"I did what I set out to do. Be clear."
I completely and whole heartedly
empathize and understand what both of you are saying.
I mean, I cannot fathom
being 27 years old and the 20s are hard on a girl.
Just a tough time for young women.
And that's the time that he chose to bring it up.
JUDGE LAKE: I know, baby. I know that that was really tough on you.
Mmm-hmm. I was very, very hurt
by the question, period.
If he felt like someone else was my father,
that person could have been in the picture
from the beginning.
JUDGE LAKE: But this is exactly...
Now who knows
where this person is?
...why this courtroom exists.
Because we have to speak for children
that are in your position.
ALISA: Right.
We try to find out
the truth early on...
Exactly.
...so that it's not a situation like this
where you remember, you know.
Like you're saying, if you were two years old and this came out
you really wouldn't remember all this now, you would just know
the man that raised you and you had a biological father,
or you might have a relationship
if in fact he's not your father.
I understand your position.
My point is, I sit at this bench
is to try to also help you to understand his,
because that's how you see the full picture.
When we've been hurt,
and I know you're hurting, I can see it in your eyes.
When we've been hurt, it's hard sometimes
to understand what the other person's intention was.
JUDGE LAKE: So, Mr. Scales, I want to understand
whether you were clear with their mother?
I have doubts as it relates to Alisa.
BERNARD: I wasn't clear
because I didn't want to cause
any commotion or dissension.
I wanted everything to go
as if it was normal.
TONGA: Growing up, I was born at this time.
There was never...
It was never normal.
JUDGE LAKE: Mmm.
There was always some tension about something.
I want to hear from your mother.
Ron, could you please escort their mom into the courtroom?
RON: Yes.
I wanna talk to her.
(INDISTINCT MURMURING)
BELINDA: Bernard, you are a liar...
RON: Ma'am...
...and you know you are a liar.
Hi, ma'am. Miss Williams, I just wanna ask you
right off the top.
BELINDA: Mmm.
Do you believe Mr. Scales has any reason to doubt
that Alisa is his biological daughter?
It's no reason at all, Your Honor.
If he was gonna doubt a child, he should doubt Tonga.
(AUDIENCE GASPING)
BELINDA: When I had, up there...
(GRUNTS)
...with the person in question,
when I met the person in question...
I rest my case, Your Honor.
...I didn't even have any kids from him.
You're admitting that this night,
this night in question, you did leave the room?
I did leave.
And you did have an affair?
I didn't have relations with him.
What happened?
I did go in his room
and we exchanged numbers.
I did have an affair with the person in question. I did.
So that night you didn't have...
But it was...
Not that night. It was after the affair.
So that's why I said, if he was gonna,
if you was gonna question a child, question that one.
(AUDIENCE GASPING)
Not the young one.
JUDGE LAKE: Do you remember Tonga already have been...
Was she born yet?
BERNARD: Oh, yeah, she was born.
So, you believe she...
When you all went to Pensacola together
Tonga was born.
Already born. Yes.
She might have been one-and-a-half or two...
BELINDA: No. No.
...when that happened.
They are 18 months apart.
(TONGA MURMURING)
Tonga, what are you trying to ask your mother?
So, is that why you didn't sign my birth certificate
or is that why you...
He never signed the birth certificate.
I did put him on Alisa's birth certificate. I...
But is he listed on
Tonga's birth certificate?
BELINDA: No, he's not. No, he's not.
JUDGE LAKE: So...
TONGA: Which would bring
So, wait, does anyone have that birth certificate...
the question of the affair...
Does anyone have that birth certificate?
Ron, let me see that.
RON: Yes, ma'am.
JUDGE LAKE: He is not, Mr. Scales is not
listed as father on her birth certificate .
BERNARD: Why not?
Now, she was born first.
BELINDA: That's correct.
Why didn't you list him on Tonga's birth certificate?
I really can't give you an answer why I didn't
put his name on...
Was there a fear
that this teammate you were having the affair with
was potentially the father
so you just didn't list him?
BELINDA: No. No.
The story doesn't hold water.
I know, I know...
Neither does yours.
...the paternity test is gonna show, that he
is the father for both of them.
I need to explain something to you.
When I grew up,
that my stepfather was my dad,
and hearing people
say to me, "That's not your daddy.
"Your daddy lives in Victoria."
And when I had gone to Port Lavaca
to spend, oh, two weeks with my cousin for the summer
and my aunt took me up to this man
and said, "This is your daddy."
That devastated me.
But also in the back of my mind
I'm wondering,
"Who is my daddy?
"Is this my daddy or is this my daddy?"
I wouldn't dare send my kids through that.
I wouldn't dare have my kids hurting like that.
So, you're saying you refuse to repeat that cycle?
(AUDIENCE CLAPPING)
I refuse to.
And I appreciate the fact that you
do not want this cycle to repeat in your girls.
BELINDA: I don't.
I'm tired of it and I just want it to end.
JUDGE LAKE: Mmm.
I want this to, this to be the funeral
for this situation.
Mmm.
It's buried today.
So, I need to ask respectfully...
You've admitted to one affair
and that was with one of his teammates.
BELINDA: Right.
JUDGE LAKE: Were there any other affairs,
uh, sexual relationships that would cause
one or both of these young girls
to have to doubt their paternity?
No.
BERNARD: Hmm.
JUDGE LAKE: Mr. Scales, do you have any other evidence?
I have five children
and all of my four other children beside Alisa,
have brown eyes like mine and they look more like me.
The guy in question has hazel eyes...
Alisa has hazel eyes.
But they're brown.
BELINDA: They're light brown,
they're not hazel.
So you feel like she doesn't resemble
you or your other children?
BERNARD: Correct.
But when you look at yourself in the mirror, Alisa,
you do see yourself. You see your mom and your dad.
In my heart, I feel that he's my dad.
I feel that I look like him,
I feel that I have mannerisms like him.
JUDGE LAKE: So, we are about to go to the results.
Before I do, does anyone have any other evidence they'd like to present?
I have this evidence. Some research that I had done.
Okay, and what is this concerning, ma'am?
BELINDA: And this is about how they perspire.
Like he does.
(AUDIENCE CHUCKLING)
JUDGE LAKE: Okay. Oh!
You know, the sweat glands
and everything.
TONGA: No, no, we really do.
Like, I'm surprised we're not sweating right now.
ALISA: All of us.
All of his children, we sweat profusely.
Profusely?
ALISA: Yes.
JUDGE LAKE: So, hyper...
...she does, too.
Hyperhidrosis may be genetic.
A study indicated that many patients
have parents or siblings
who also sweat excessively.
Mmm-hmm.
TONGA: My mom barely sweats.
JUDGE LAKE: So, you're saying
you seen the way he perspires and sweats...
Like, you poured water on him.
...and both...
ALISA: Me, too.
TONGA: Both of us.
I sweat the same way. All of us.
JUDGE LAKE: And you say that further indicates that
he is their biological father.
Mmm-hmm.
And he knows it.
Now, the one thing I will say that he taught us
is basketball.
I don't know all that.
He, no, he always...
I just found that out.
...he always took us to play basketball. That was his thing.
He would take us to play basketball
and beat us every time.
ALISA: So, you've seen me sweat...
But he's seen her sweat.
...badly.
You've come to my games before,
you've seen me how I sweat differently
from everyone else.
BERNARD: Sure.
Every time we do something great, you always say
"And where do you get that from? You're smart, where do you get that from?"
Especially to her, "Where do you get..."
Right.
"Where does she get that from?"
JUDGE LAKE: So you used to say that...
BERNARD: Yeah. Well...
...to her?
BERNARD: This is the point.
The point is,
the event that occurred in 1983,
did it happen, what did you do,
who did you, who were you with that night?
Like I said, the time in question,
I don't know what happened in '83,
because I was doing my own thing in '83.
AUDIENCE: Oh!
There you go, Your Honor.
Now, '81...
Need I say more?
How long after you met him did the affair begin?
The affair probably started maybe a couple of weeks after.
It last a very short time.
All right, I've heard enough.
Ron, the envelope, please.
We've two results today. The first one is for Tonga.
These results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics
and they read as follows.
"In the case of Williams v. Scales,
"when it comes to 33-year-old Tonga Williams,
"it has been determined by this court,
"Mr. Scales,
"you...
"Are her father."
(APPLAUSE)
The next result reads as follows.
"In the case of Williams v. Scales,
"when it comes to 32-year-old Alisa Williams,
"it has been determined by this court..."
JUDGE LAKE: "Mr. Scales,
"you...
"Are her father."
(APPLAUSE)
ALISA: Mission accomplished.
Mission accomplished.
Mission accomplished.
(BELINDA LAUGHS)
JUDGE LAKE: Look, I'm very pleased when I can give people
the answers that they need.
BELINDA: Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm.
I was not a party to your relationship,
so I don't know what happened.
It sounds like there were some things
that happened between the two of you
that created some level of doubt
in your mind, Mr. Scales.
Mmm-hmm.
And that's a tough thing to have to talk about
with your child.
BERNARD: Mmm-hmm.
I don't know if you went about it the right way at the right time,
but I also honestly couldn't give you an exact date and time
when it would've been pleasing.
Mmm-hmm.
BELINDA: Mmm-hmm.
JUDGE LAKE: Ultimately, Alisa,
I think that you can see as you look
at the bits and pieces of your life and your world
that this man does truly love you.
BERNARD: Mmm-hmm.
Even if he had that question in his mind,
he still loves you
and from this point forward
you no longer have to deal with that question.
ALISA: Right.
Correct.
Now that we know that I'm his,
I'm hoping for a better relationship
and move forward for a better relationship for us all.
I like it.
(APPLAUSE)
JUDGE LAKE: I do, too.
ALISA: I do, too, Your Honor.
BERNARD: I want to thank you for this.
Aw, thank you.
ALISA: Yeah.
Thank you for that. It is my pleasure.
It's why we come every single day
and why I love my job so much
to see the smiles on all of your faces.
I wish you all the very best of luck.
Court is adjourned.
BERNARD: Thank you.
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