This is Couples Court With The Cutlers...
This is a case of Johnson v. White.
You all originally met in 1993.
Uh, you reconnected, and now you've been married for two years.
Ms. Johnson, why have you brought your husband to court today?
Well I brought him to court today because
I suspect that he's still cheating.
JUDGE KEITH: And if you find out he is cheating?
He goin' home single.
AUDIENCE: Ooh!
It's...
JUDGE DANA: All right.
All right. So it's as simple as that?
If he's still cheating, it is gonna end. Simple as that.
JUDGE KEITH: Simple as that.
She making no plan...
Ain't no tryin' to work it out.
Ain't nobody need to give me counseling. I don't want none of that.
Period, point-blank. None of it.
Mr. White...
What are you here to prove?
I'm here to prove to her that I love my wife.
I'm here to save our marriage.
And I want her to just stop accusing me of all this cheating
and all that type of stuff. I love her.
Oh, I'm accusing you. Really?
See?
Really, I'm accusing you?
Your Honor...
You're here to prove that you are faithful?
Being faithful to her.
Hmm. Really?
Hold on, Ms. Johnson.
Hold on. Whoa...
Let her speak. It's all right.
No, no. Everybody's gonna get a chance
to tell me what they wanna tell me.
JUDGE DANA: So, I know that you all haven't always been like that.
As compassionate as she's looking and being about this,
there had to be some good passion in the past.
Tell me about that.
Well, I met him in 1993.
We both went to school together...
JUDGE DANA: And she smiled.
Do you see that? That's the first smile we got out of her.
She looked up to smile...
JOHNSON: I mean I love him!
Really!
Okay, all right.
But I love him enough to leave him if I know he been cheating.
All right.
All right. Tell me back in 1993...
We were going to school together in Job Corps,
and it was like the minute I laid eyes on him,
it was like love at first sight.
All right.
And I'm like, "Oh, my God, I'm gonna get him. That's gonna be my husband!"
(LAUGHTER)
And I used to take little pictures of him,
and he wouldn't even know I was taking pictures.
Here's one of the ones, and I still got
this picture right to this day.
JUDGE DANA: Okay, you were seriously crushing.
JOHNSON: Yes!
And so, when Facebook first became available,
the first name I typed in when I got Facebook
was my husband's name.
AUDIENCE: Aww!
Well, I found him. Sent him a message, no response.
Pop up... I wait. About four, five months later, go back. Still no response.
I said, "Man, oh, man, he ain't never gonna respond to me."
One day out of nowhere, ding!
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
The happiest... The happiest ding in the world.
Yes, and when I seen that he just had his phone, I'm all like,
"Oh, my God, what am I supposed to say? What am I supposed to say?"
You mean all that time, you didn't know what you were gonna say next?
No! (LAUGHS)
JUDGE DANA: You...
So finally, I did, and the conversation just went from there.
It was...
JUDGE DANA: It was a pitter-patter.
It was just like we had never lost contact.
It was just like it was meant to be right then and there.
All right, I gotta go to him.
So you getting hit up by this young lady on Facebook,
what are you doing? Did you know who it was?
I didn't know at the time who she was. At the time, I didn't know.
Because she goes by another name of "Busy Body", so...
(LAUGHTER)
And so you reconnected,
and the fireworks went off.
It went off, do you hear me? The chemistry was set. Boom!
Whoo!
Is that how you felt?
Yes, Your Honor. I felt the same way.
It's like we would sit on the phone
from the time he got off work about 4:30 in the evening
clear on up until it's time for him to get back up to go to work.
We would never get off the phone unless
one of our phones would die down.
Okay. Wait, wait, wait, let me show you what that looks like...
You hang up. No, you hang up.
No, you hang up.
Yeah, that's the way we'd do it!
No, we've done that.
We've done that.
Yeah, I know how that...
So, that's what we were basically doing.
Now, this sounds unbelievable.
It sounds romantic. It sounds like the things people write stories about.
Why in the world are you in my courtroom?
I'm in here today
because one night
he was asleep.
I was up watching T.V., me and my kids.
His phone goes off.
Boom, there's a text message.
I wanna know what the text message said.
Huh...
"I'm horny. You gonna come take care of me?"
Oh! That's a lie.
I've never seen it!
You saw. You seen it!
That was that night... That nights message.
But, you know, them other messages are at the top.
There was an occurring conversation before then.
I ain't seen it.
JUDGE KEITH: And what was that conversation?
"I love you," "I love you, too,"
"I miss you," "I miss you too."
So me being me, I called that skeezel.
Oh...
Yes, I called her.
And I bet she was glad to get your call.
She didn't care.
JUDGE DANA: She didn't care?
She said, "I don't care if you're married to him or not."
Yeah, so..
(STAMMERING) I never heard.. I never...
Oh, you know, quit playing dumb,
'cause I slapped you in your sleep
and woke you up with it. Quit playing.
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
Quit playing!
JUDGE KEITH: Okay, so. Listen...
So, Mr. White...
Do you remember a text message that says,
"I'm so horny. Come take care of me"?
No, Your Honor.
Are you telling this court none of this happened?
I did not see no texts.
She is making all this up?
JOHNSON: But, Your Honor...
None of this happened?
This is a figment of her imagination?
It's something! Or making it up.
All right, well, you need to start writing a book.
JOHNSON: Your Honor...
Well, let me let you know the proof that I have.
JUDGE DANA: All right.
Huh. Okay. One specific day
I calls his phone. It was on Saturday.
I said, "What ya doin?" "I'm in my home boy house."
I say, "Your home boy?" He say, "Yeah."
But I heard all these women in the background. All these different people...
I said, "Where you at your home boy's?"
I said, "Why didn't you invite me? I'm your wife!"
So me being Ms. Smarty pants as you call me.
Huh.
I had GPS tracking on his cell phone.
AUDIENCE: Ooh!
Let me show you what I found.
You have an exhibit?
Yes, I got an exhibit, Your Honor.
Please cross over to the...
Mmm-hmm.
Okay this is the GPS locator
that's on your cell phone thing.
All right.
So, I'm still trying to figure out...
So to locate, I had to press this.
So I press the location button...
And boom!
I said, "Okay. Let me see."
By this time,
I knew something wasn't right.
God ain't gonna lead you wrong.
So, I told my kids, I said, "Y'all put your shoes on. We got somewhere to go."
(AUDIENCE LAUGHS)
And so, I put my shoes on. Me and the kids put the shoes on.
We went on and left the house.
So, as we was going down the street,
I'm listening to the GPS, "You keep straight,
"U-turn. U-turn" Okay.
As I get a little closer, look at who I see.
Our truck parked at whose house?
His ex-girlfriend's house.
AUDIENCE: Oh!
And I presume his ex-girlfriend doesn't live with his home boy.
(SCOFFS) No, she don't.
If you'll go back to the podium.
Right.
Well, well.
JUDGE KEITH: Mr. White,
please clear for the Court
why your truck was at your ex-girlfriend's house
at a time when you told your wife that you were with your home boy.
The reason I was over there. I knew it was wrong.
It was, uh... Her mother had passed. They always have a big gathering...
You ain't in her family.
...for her mother.
I was near my ex-girlfriend's.
Here I'm out there just talking. The next thing I know,
I didn't know at the time she had mace in her hand.
AUDIENCE: Oh...
Oh, boy...
So, she runs up to me. Just... (MIMICS SPRAY)
She maced you?
That's right.
She took you down by mace?
Mace.
JUDGE KEITH: Right out there in the yard?
JUDGE DANA: In front of everybody?
In front of everybody!
Ms. Johnson, tell me you didn't do that.
Yes, I did, Your Honor.
(LAUGHING)
I emptied a whole can out.
You didn't even ask him why or what he was doing there?
Well, he had no business there anyway. Ex is your ex.
'Cause how would he have felt if he'd have pulled up
and I was at my ex's house?
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
But if he's there paying his respects to the family
because the family member passed away...
That woman been dead.
And when I walked in that yard, I told everybody out there,
"Excuse me. I'm not coming here for no drama for none of y'all.
"My only concern is that right there, because that's my husband.
"This is what I'm gonna take care of."
His exes are a concern for you.
Is that...
Yeah. Yes, Your Honor.
And do you believe that there's anything else going on
with his exes?
Yes, Your Honor. I still do.
Okay, and why do you believe that?
Because, first of all, Your Honor,
you know me, Ms. Busybody.
I was on Facebook, lurking like I always do.
Guess what I come across?
You're doing this...
Yeah. Guess what I come across once again?
Okay, tell me...
A picture with my husband
and his ex, and all her home girls.
AUDIENCE: Oh!
All right. Ron, would you please get that picture for us?
Oh, my God, that picture's so old, I don't know...
It ain't that old.
All right. It's, uh...
All right, so this appears to be, Mr. White, a picture of you
with a number of females in the picture.
WHITE: Yes, Your Honor.
And who...
Are any of these people
in the picture your ex-girlfriend?
No, Your Honor.
Okay.
Was this posted on her page?
It was posted on her best friend's page,
and she was tagged to it, too.
JUDGE DANA: Oh!
JUDGE KEITH: Okay.
So, how do you know this isn't an old picture?
I mean, he says it was his ex-girlfriend's...
Your Honor,
that hat that he has on?
I bought that hat since we been married.
The whole outfit he has on
I bought since we been married
So, you tell me how is it an old picture?
Okay, so, why, at any point after you were married,
after she's bought you this hat, and whatever else you have on,
you're in a picture with your ex-girlfriend?
Your Honor, not one of them girls on there is not one of my exes.
Them just... You know, you have friends?
We just at their house, and just took a picture.
Okay, you don't see the pattern here
about why your wife is concerned
about your behaviors?
Do you see it?
Yes, I see it, Your Honor.
Okay, 'cause it's pretty doggone clear to me...
(AUDIENCE CHUCKLES)
...why she would be highly suspicious of your behavior.
Even when you're not doing wrong, the things that you've done
make a woman go, "Hmm."
That's past! I mean...
Okay, tell me why you believe he's cheating now.
He'll tell me he going one place,
and that one place that you can say you going to
that don't take but maybe ten minutes,
it turns into two hours.
So, my trust, once you break the line of trust,
it ain't gonna never be the same.
And you believe that he's still hanging out with his ex?
With my heart, I do believe he's still going wrong,
because, occasionally, I still see stuff on Facebook.
Like, if he's sleeping, I get his phone.
And I just browse through Messenger,
baby, he got maybe 300 females
with the waving, and the "How you doing?",
and the missed calls thing on the app thing.
So, yeah, I'm still gonna think that.
So, Mr. White, do you admit that you're flirting?
I'm not flirting.
(JOHNSON SCOFFS)
JUDGE KEITH: Okay, you're sending waves to extraneous women on social media...
I mean, I'm not sending no waves...
Look, thing's already right there. I'm not sending nothing...
JUDGE KEITH: You're just clicking?
I'm just looking through it. I'm not even on Facebook anymore.
He's still on Messenger.
JUDGE KEITH: Okay. All right...
Mr. White, let's just cut to the chase here.
Have you had sex with anyone, any other woman
since you've been married to Ms. Johnson.
No, Your Honor, I haven't.
All right. This marriage is on the line.
I know it's on the line...
She's told you from the beginning...
Yes, Your Honor.
...if you're cheating, she's gone. So this is your chance to come clean.
I mean, I haven't.
Something gotta be wrong, 'cause we ain't doing it.
AUDIENCE: Oh...
JUDGE DANA: Oh...
All right, Ms. Johnson.
We're not having sex.
Please explain that to the Court.
Ever since that incident,
I just don't feel that.
Because I feel like if you still doin' something with somebody else,
you're not gonna do nothin' with me,
'cause there's too much stuff going on out there.
It's been over a year.
The last time you were intimate with your husband
has been more than a year?
Yes, Your Honor.
Do you all sleep in the same bed?
Yes, Your Honor.
Wow. How do you feel about that?
I feel bad about it.
So this is a marriage on the line.
JOHNSON: It's on the line.
Whatever happens today is gonna determine
whether he leave here still married
or he leave here single.
AUDIENCE: Oh!
And if this test and information comes back
that he has, in fact, not maintained your marital vows,
you're done?
I'm done.
But if we confirm that he has been faithful,
y'all gonna walk out of here together.
Then I'm not gonna look back, I'm not gonna accuse him of nothing else.
I will leave the past in the past.
All right. All right.
Because I do love my husband.
Well, there it is.
WHITE: I wanna prove to her that I'm not doing anything,
that I love her, I love her and my kids. And I been with her...
We've been together through thick and thin, me and this woman have.
JUDGE KEITH: All right, to get to the bottom of this,
the Court has retained the services of
licensed Private Investigator Mark Henry.
Would you please escort Mr. Henry into the courtroom?
Yes, Your Honor.
How are you, Mr. Henry? It's good to see you.
Good day, Your Honors.
JUDGE KEITH: Good to see you.
This court also ordered a polygraph test.
And we have those results.
JOHNSON: Mmm.
Mr. White was asked,
"During your two-year marriage,
"have you had sexual contact with your ex?"
What was his response?
His response was, "No."
What did the lie detector determine?
The lie detector determined that, uh,
he was being deceptive.
AUDIENCE: Ooh...
You lying, no good...
You just no...
(GAVEL POUNDING)
Not in this courtroom.
We are not going to disrespect the Court.
We understand your anger. We understand you're upset.
This is a place of decorum, okay?
JUDGE KEITH: Mr. White...
Mmm-hmm.
The lie detector indicated that you were being deceptive
when asked about having sex with your ex.
I mean, I don't see how. I haven't.
You still maintain that you have not had sex...
I haven't had sex with that woman. I haven't had sex with nobody.
In over a year?
Over a year, Your Honor. I haven't.
I'm being honest. I don't know why it's just saying that. I haven't.
All I do is come, go to work, and go home. I haven't did nothing.
And Ms. Johnson, you don't believe that?
No, Your Honor.
I can't believe this. I know I haven't did nothing.
Guess he's single then.
You look absolutely heartbroken.
JOHNSON: If I only knew
the beginning to the end to understand.
I picked up my children
and relocated and moved to a whole 'nother state
to be with this, and this is what I get?
I moved away from my parents, my family,
to go to a whole state where I don't know nobody, and this is what I get?
You need to tell him.
This is what I get, really?
You know I ain't did nothing.
JUDGE DANA: Tell him exactly how you feel right now.
This is really what I get?
Baby, I haven't did...
All that I've done for you,
this is what I get?
I haven't did nothing.
(SCOFFS) Really?
I mean, I don't know why. I haven't did nothing.
Your Honor, before we came here, I gave him all opportunity to be honest.
And you brought me here and made me look like a fool, anyway.
You brought me here.
Well, Ms. Johnson, you came here for answers.
You have a decision to make.
It's made, and I'm leaving here single.
JUDGE DANA: You've made your decision?
I know you said you don't want any counseling.
But I would recommend if you're going forward,
that you get counseling on how to do that in a productive way.
You deserve to be loved, respected, honored,
because you clearly know how to love. You know how to embrace a man.
Yes, I do.
And you need to have a man who embraces you back.
There's no reason whatsoever
for you to look like you're looking right now.
Everyone in this court deserves a happy, healthy relationship,
and if you don't have it, go get one.
Court is adjourned.
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