Please be seated. Good morning, Your Honor. Good morning.
This is the case of <i> Whalon v. LeBlanc. </i> Thank you, Ron.
Good day, everyone. AUDIENCE: Good day. Miss Whalon, you admit you've been in a sexual relationship with Mr LeBlanc, a married man, and claim he is the father of your two-year-old son Vincent Whalon.
Mr LeBlanc. You are determined to prove that you are not the father of Miss Whalon's son in hopes of saving your marriage. Yes, Your Honor.
Mr. LeBlanc, you are at your breaking point and say if the DNA proves your husband is the father, your marriage is over. Yes, Your Honor.
So, Miss Whalon, how did you get yourself in this situation? Well, it started back when I was pregnant. He was staying in my house, um.
. . It was one night, I was telling him that I might be pregnant 'cause I hadn't started my menstruation, so he went out and got some pregnancy tests, asked me to take 'em.
. . He sat on the side of my bed, holding his head.
When I took the first one, I gave it to him and it showed that I was pregnant. He asked me to take another one 'cause he was in disbelief about the first one, so I took another one and he still sat there and said, "Oh, man, this can't be true. "This can't be true.
You can't be pregnant. " And it was only because he did not know how he was gonna go back and tell his wife that I was pregnant. Well, he was only there for a while, though.
So, you told him you were pregnant, you proved that you took the test, and he said. . .
Oh, my goodness. JUDGE LAKE: So, hold on. .
. . sleep with.
Do this. I. .
. You do that. Do this.
Because, it's like, you sending him. . .
Do this. . .
. to sleep with her. .
. Ladies. Ladies.
Ladies. Ladies. RON: Ladies.
Ron, just stand between the two podiums. Yes, ma'am. We can't ever get to start of the case and you all are goin' on.
Let's try to figure out what is really going on here. SHARON: A baby. Now, listen.
Mr LeBlanc, when she told you she was pregnant, what were you thinking? I was in disbelief. I didn't want to believe it.
Were you worried about how you going to be able to tell your wife? I was. Yes, Your Honor, I was.
. . I was worried and that was the thing.
That's why I didn't want her to be pregnant because I didn't know how to. . .
Unfortunately, you should have thought about that desire before you acted on the other desires you had. Before you. .
. Before you thought with that body part. Yes, because at that point you really can't reverse it just by thinking.
Uh, Miss LeBlanc, how did you find out about this? I found out about Vincent though a text message. Um, through my husband.
He sent you a text? A text. No phone call.
. . No phone call, no.
. . A phone call's not even good enough for that.
No, "I need to "see you face to face. "Can I speak with you face to face? " None of that.
It was through a text message. What did the text say? The text message stated, um.
. . "I can't believe I did this to you again.
" (AUDIENCE GASP) Again, again. "I can't believe I did this to you again. " Wait.
. . I the word I'm hearing is "Again.
" Right. "Again. " Like, over.
. . So, wait a minute!
There was another time? Yes, ma'am, prior to Vincent, um, there was Jayden. (AUDIENCE GASP) KIMBERLY: Mmm-hmm.
Who's the mother of that child? I am. That's my three-year-old.
Mr LeBlanc, really? Unfortunately, yes. Yes, Your Honor.
We all make mistakes in life, some more serious than others, but to make the exact same mistake again. . .
And that's, Your Honor, why I didn't want, at that time, when she was telling me about Vincent, her being pregnant with Vincent. . .
It was happening all over again and that's why I just really couldn't. . .
I didn't know how to bring that up. I mean, but then again I look at it like this. .
. My wife was steady, putting me out, I really had nowhere to go. He knew that, that was easy.
. . It was easy access.
He knew it was, you know. . .
Well, it wasn't really easy. He knew when he went out there it was whatever. He could do what he wanted to do.
You know. . .
You know, how you feel, welcome mat? And you could walk over it. (AUDIENCE GASP) DERICK: But.
. . He knew he could do that over there.
DERICK: But let me explain it to you. He kept getting put out over here 'cause he couldn't do what he wanted. Let me explain.
Over there he knew he could do what he wanted to do. SHARON: You keep taking him back. You keep taking him back.
That's my husband. That's called love. Feelings you can put in your pocket and throw away.
Feelings you can put in your pocket you can throw 'em on the ground, step on 'em. . .
Love, I love my mother. (BANGS GAVEL) Ladies! Ladies!
RON: Ladies! Calm down. 'Cause I know you all think it's cute 'cause you go on back and forth.
But all y'all look crazy. 'Cause you still out there arguing back and forth. .
. (APPLAUSE) I think. .
. . .
. and he doing nothing but running back and forth. So, it's not even solving anything.
It doesn't look cute. Mmm-mmm. You not getting under one another's skin.
None of you all gonna come out looking any better than the other one. It's a mess. They're a mess.
And it's babies comin' into the world and a daddy going back and forth between houses. I'm just trying to. .
. I'm, like, watching a tennis match. (KIMBERLY CHUCKLES) KEISHA: Soap opera.
I'm, like, "Okay, now he over here. "Okay, now he back over here. Okay, now he back over here.
" I got a married man bouncing back and forth between his mistress and his wife. You all lettin' him. Then you all want to come into court and downgrade one another.
Come on, man! I don't have time for this. I'm trying to understand how these children got into the world <i> and now Vincent's in the world.
. . </i> <i> I don't know about this one.
</i> So I'm trying to understand what makes this child different. Why is his paternity in question? DERICK: There was rumors, Your Honor, going around that, uh, Miss Whalon had slept with a neighbor.
I was confronted at one time by a guy who put up on me in a pickup truck. He was like, "Oh, you know who I am? " I was like, "No, who are you?
" What? Did you get any information that she was sleeping with somebody? There was rumors going around that she had slept with this guy.
Okay, so let's get to the point. Him riding up on you and saying, "I don't have nothing to do with Vincent's paternity. " (AUDIENCE CHUCKLE) We're here to offer proof that is relevant.
Do you believe Vincent is your husband's child? KEISHA: No, Your Honor, I do not. Why?
KEISHA: Her promiscuity. Promiscuous. Very Promiscuous.
Like I said. . .
The mailman, the milkman, um. . .
Not only that, she's sleeping with a married man. You know. .
. JUDGE LAKE: So, hold on. Why not?
Why not? You ain't gonna sleep with a married man if he come to you. Why not be promiscuous?
You. . .
He came to you 'cause you were easy. Hold on. Miss LeBlanc.
. . He couldn't do what he wanted to do.
So you're saying, if Vincent is your husband's biological child, you're saying that this marriage is over? You're finally done? Yeah.
I'm finally. . .
I'm at my breaking point. This is it. <i> Michael Jackson: This Is It.
</i> Mmm-hmm. So you say you're at your breaking point. Why, ma'am?
I'm just. . .
I'm at the breaking point. I mean, it's. .
. It's just. .
. It's getting overwhelming. You all have children together as well, am I correct?
Yes, Your Honor. How many children do you have? Two.
So you say you are at the point now that you would break your family up because you just had enough? Yes, Your Honor. I just had enough.
And you understand that, Mr LeBlanc? Yes, Your Honor. I do.
Is that why you're not acknowledging and claiming the paternity of Vincent the way you did Jayden because you're afraid your wife is gonna leave? No, ma'am. It has nothing to do with that.
It has nothing to do with my wife leaving. It comes about. .
. Okay. .
. Look at the name "Vincent. " Who is Vincent?
Where did she get the name "Vincent" from? WOMAN: What? (CHUCKLES) You know what?
I'm gonna need you to use a little bit more logic in these proofs you're presenting. (ALL LAUGH, APPLAUD) Okay, so, Miss Whalon, I want to ask you respectfully. .
. Are you truly convinced that Mr LeBlanc is Vincent's father? Do.
. . Or is there a question?
Is there a possible. . .
It might be. I might have had a moment. AUDIENCE: Oh!
Okay. I mean, I wasn't committed to this man nor was I married to this man, so, yeah, I might have had a moment. Well, go ahead and tell the truth then, 'cause that's why where're here.
So now we have the truth. That there potentially could be another father and so your doubts or your concerns have been validated. Miss Whalon, did you ever tell anybody else that they're potentially the father?
No, Your Honor. I have not. All right.
I want to hear from your witness, Miss Whalon. Please stand, ma'am. Podium.
I'd like to hear from you. Miss Byrd, please stand at the podium, ma'am. (SHARON CHUCKLES) Miss Byrd, you are Miss Whalon's.
. . Grandmother.
Grandmother. All right. What is it that you have to add?
Do you believe Mr LeBlanc is Vincent's biological father? Yes, ma'am. Why is that, ma'am?
Well, for one thing, I know he was living with her at the time. Uh, he came to me and a family member and told us why he was staying there. "All Kim want to do is fuss, "fight and F.
" The three F's. And every time that come about. .
. "Here come a little ugly baby. "There come Vincent.
" KIMBERLY: My baby ain't ugly. SHARON: Ugly. JUDGE LAKE: All the babies are beautiful.
Let's just say, that children are beautiful. (KIMBERLY LAUGHS) But let's move on. Okay.
So, there. . .
After that here. . .
She was pregnant, and I said, "Okay. . .
" Then he back with Kei, Miss LeBlanc and I said, "You know. . .
" I told her she was stupid. There's no way in the world I'm going to have babies by a man and he leave me with them little ugly babies and go on back where he come from, and I started to think. .
. I said, "Okay, well, "maybe she's sending him to sleep with Kim, "so she can get a little taste of it, "instead of just going over there doing a threesome. " Oh, no, God.
JUDGE LAKE: You say you believe that Mr LeBlanc is Vincent's biological father. SHARON: Yes, Your Honor, I do. But your granddaughter has testified in court today that she might have had another sexual encounter.
Yes, Your Honor, I heard that. Did you know that already? No.
I did not. You heard it in court for the first time? Yes.
And now that you've heard that, does that change how you feel about the situation? Well, if she come out and he's not, Mr LeBlanc's not the father, then I just know my granddaughter was a sneaky little ho. .
. (GASP) . .
. that bypassed me and I didn't catch that. But I honestly don't believe that.
See, whores sleep around. Whores leave their husband and go sleep with other men and let him go sleep with other women and they want to get back. KEISHA: No.
That's what whores. . .
JUDGE LAKE: Hold on. No, whore right here. Hold on.
I never stepped outside of my marriage. SHARON: Yeah, you have. No, I never stepped outside of my marriage.
JUDGE LAKE: Hold on! Never. Mr LeBlanc, you standing there.
DERICK: Yes, ma'am. You've said the least today. (CHUCKLES) But done the most.
(AUDIENCE LAUGH) Um. . .
I sure it's still going on. KIMBERLY: Mmm-mmm. Oh, yeah.
Another baby will come out later. JUDGE LAKE: I'm with grandma. I'm with grandma on that.
Oh, yeah. Not from this one over here. That's what love do for you.
So. . .
KIMBERLY: Not from this one over here. Listen. Listen.
And. . .
The women, you all have a part to play, too, 'cause y'all just lettin' him. SHARON: Mmm. Yeah, I did.
JUDGE LAKE: Miss Whalon, I don't know how long you gonna stand around here being good-time girl. Oh, I'm not. JUDGE LAKE: I don't know.
I don't know. I know you weren't sitting on the porch as a little girl playing with your dolls talking about. .
. "And when I grow up, "I want to be this married man's good-time girl, "so whenever his wife takes him, kicks him out of the house, "he can come over my house and we can make babies "and then he can question the paternity. " That was not your dream for your life.
No. You will never convince me of that. But that's the reality of your life right now.
Yes, it is. And you gotta do something different to get something different. Amen.
Cannot give yourself away to these men for free 'cause you see what they do, and the same thing they do to you they do to your children. I can see the tears in your eyes and honestly, I know why. You are not in an easy position.
Please tell Mr LeBlanc how this makes you feel. KIMBERLY: I mean, it hurts, but then it doesn't. Because at the end I'm gonna take care of my kids, regardless.
But they didn't ask to be brought here. And, look. .
. We all have our defense mechanisms. We all have the ways that we project.
. . Things we project out to make people.
. . (SNIFFLES) .
. . feel like we're strong even when we don't feel strong.
I could see when you came into this courtroom and all this arguing back and forth and tit for tat. . .
But there ain't no way in this world you're gonna convince me that when that man comes over to your house that you don't somewhere in your back of your mind think, "Maybe he gonna stay this time. " No, I don't. I think you do.
Mr LeBlanc. Who do you really want to be with? I love my wife, Your Honor.
I wanna be with my wife. But at the same time, my wife. .
. It's a struggle because. .
. It's hard to try to be with my wife knowing there is possibility that these other kids are mine and my wife, trying to have a move forward in our marriage. .
. It's hard for her to accept me. .
. You know, bringing other kids into the household, outside our marriage. Exactly.
That's why you had no business doing it, and today she says she is done. If Vincent is your biological child, she say she just hit her breaking point, and that is a keyword to me because that word she chose, it wasn't just incidental, and you gotta understand as a man when a woman starts talking about, "You put me at my breaking point. .
. " 'Cause women are strong. We do a lot more than y'all.
I hate to tell you. (CHUCKLES) (APPLAUSE) But when you. .
. When a women looks at you and say, "You pushing me to my breaking point. .
. " That means you really are messing with her mind, her heart, her spirit. I want to give you all these results, so we can see where do we go from here.
Ron, can I have the envelope, please? Yes, ma'am. Here you go, Your Honor.
Ron, I know this is emotional so, please, can you stand between the podiums? I want you all to please contain yourselves no matter what the results are. These results were prepared by DNA Diagnostics and they read as follows.
In the case of <i> Whalon v. LeBlanc/LeBlanc,</i> when it comes to 23-month-old Vincent Whalon, it has been determined by this court, Mr LeBlanc, you. .
. . .
. are the father. Miss LeBlanc, I know that's not what you wanted to hear today.
No, not at all. Not at all, Your Honor. Tell your husband.
. . I've tried to just articulate it for you because I know even as you argue back and forth with him, that's just the way that you're trying to hold onto your strength.
. . Right.
. . .
and what you have left of your dignity, your self-respect, but tell him how this makes you feel. I mean, it's over. That's how it makes me feel.
It's over with. JUDGE LAKE: And it's sad because. .
. This is where life is so complicated, unnecessarily. Because at the end of the day, no matter what transpires between you and these two women, you are the father of their children.
They are brothers and sisters. They old enough. Y'all gotta explain this.
We have the counseling to help you figure out how to begin. I wish you all the very best of luck. Court is adjourned.
