02x09 - Sword-Wielding Tenant

[bunniefuu]

He was becoming an annoying tenant?

Yes. All the sexual acts taking place.

[laughs]

So, you heard what was going
on behind his closed doors?

Right. Day and night.

-Okay.
-Like there was no tomorrow.

Maybe, you know... maybe jealous?

[announcer]
This is Judy Justice.

♪♪

Ryan Davis is suing
his former landlord Alexander

for a false arrest and bail money.

[Bailiff]
Court come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

[Bailiff] Hello, Judge.

Case number 2027
Davis versus Zaidi.

Thank you.

Mr. Davis, a couple of years ago,
you were a tenant of the defendant.

Correct, Your Honor.

-You rented a room from him?
-Correct, Your Honor.

In his house. For how long?

[Ryan]
For about a year, a little over.

-From when to when?
-2020.

Uh, I want to say the
beginning of the year till about the end.

Do you remember
the dates that he was a tenant?

Uh, yes.
They're incorrect what he's saying.

It was from
May of 2020 to November 2020.

Does that sound right, Mr. Davis?

Mm, something like that, yeah.

May, June, July,
August, September, October.

And when in November did he leave?

I believe it was by the 10th.

This is what your case is about?

Briefly, it is your claim
that you and Mr. Zaidi

-had some sort of an argument.
-[Ryan] Correct.

Which you'll tell me about,
and Mr. Zaidi called the police.

-You were taken from the premises.
-Mm-hmm.

[Judy] You were arrested,
spent the night in jail,

-Mm-hmm.
-[Judy] Bailed yourself out,

and this happened in 2020?

Correct.

[Judy]
In November of 2020.

Your lawsuit is for false arrest
and actual damages.

You had to post bail,
and for filing a false police report.

The reason that you have delayed

for two years in bringing this case

against him is because you
say you had another action pending.

Correct, Your Honor.

What was the nature of the
other action that you had pending?

It was a speeding issue with the police.

Well, it's not a
speeding issue with the police.

Were you stopped for speeding?

-It was a 28...
-[Judy] Were you arrested for speeding?

Yes, I was, Your Honor.

You were arrested for speeding?

Yeah.
And they called it a...a 2800 VC.

If my memory serves me correct.

-Well, I don't know what that is.
-It's, uh, I guess, evading.

I'll look into it.

In what city and state do you live?

Uh, Irvine, California.

Let me understand this.

Very few people are arrested for speeding.

You remember what you were
arrested for, sir?

Sir, you weren't arrested for speeding.

They called it...
they called it evading an officer,

because I didn't pull over right away.

[Judy]
So you were evading an officer.

Let's try that, Sarah.

Evading a police officer in a vehicle.
It's Vehicle Code 2800-1.

-Yeah, there it...
-[Judy] Okay. What does it say?

Prohibits evading an officer in a vehicle,
which means willfully fleeing

from a police officer when the officer

is pursuing the person
in a car or on a bike.

The offense is a misdemeanor
punishable by up to one year in jail.

-Okay, so you had a misdemeanor pending.
-Mm-hmm.

-Right. Anything else?
-Correct.

-No, that was it.
-Anything else historically?

Yes, I did have historical priors

and, uh, cases and stuff from my past.
Yes I did.

Recent past or distant past?

-[Ryan] Distant past.
-[Judy] How distant?

Years. I want to say 2004.

-Okay.
-[Ryan] Yeah.

I don't have to go into 2004.

So you had this case pending
and you felt that it was inappropriate

to bring a civil case against him?

Yeah, because I didn't want
the cases to intertwine, Your Honor.

[Judy]
They weren't going to intertwine.

The case that he brought
against you was eventually dismissed.

Correct.

In what month and year was it dismissed?

It was dismissed the same month,

-about two weeks after that.
-Is that right?

I believe so.

Okay, so let me understand this.

He alleged that you assaulted him
or threatened him,

-Mm-hmm.
-[Judy] you were taken into custody,

the DA examined the
case and decided not to prosecute it.

[Ryan] Correct.

-[Judy] And that was two years ago.
-Correct.

Well, I don't know
who gave you advice, sir,

or whether you did this on your own,

but bringing a civil case
against someone for something

has no impact whatsoever
on a pending criminal case,

be it a felony or a misdemeanor.

You know, if you were driving in a car

and someone hit you
in the rear in November of 2020

and you waited two years to bring that

because you had this
evading a police officer action

and you thought that
that was a valid reason,

your case would be dismissed
for the hit in the rear

and whatever injuries you had

because you're supposed to
bring these things in a timely fashion.

-I understand.
-[Judy] Two years is not a timely fashion.

Now that I've suggested that to you,
I would like to hear

what you say transpired in November 2020

to the best of your recollection.

On November the 9th, uh, 2020,
uh, me and my former landlord,

Alexander, over here,
we had an argument

about a guest that I had over.

Okay. You had an argument
over the phone or in person?

Over the phone.

Tell me how that phone call was initiated.

He texted me some things
and I called him because I wanted to...

Okay, he texted you.
Do you have a copy of that text?

-No, I don't have the text.
-Do you recall what that text said?

-Yes, I do.
-[Judy] Tell me what it said.

I...I told him that he has to get his
girlfriend out of the house

because she's been coming in every day,
day and night, staying there.

[Judy]
Okay, so you said, in effect,

"I rented you this room,
not your girlfriend."

-[Alex] Correct.
-You got to get her out of the house.

-Yes. I had already talked to him...
-Okay, do you remember her name?

Just a second.
Do you remember her name?

-Not...
-[Judy] What was her name?

-Tuana.
-[Judy] Now...

-When you rented the room in May...
-The one I was in the room...

Just a second.
When you rented the room in May...

-[Ryan] Mm-hmm.
-[Judy] ...and you moved in,

did Tujana move in with you?

She did not move in with me.

So when you rented
the room for yourself in May,

you rented the room as a single person?

-Correct, Your Honor.
-Okay.

And when did you bring
Tuana into the room?

-It would be once in a while, uh...
-No. What month, sir?

-I don't recall the exact month.
-What month, sir?

It started happening, like,
back in, uh, August. Every day.

It started one day,
then every other day,

and then it became constant day and night.

For how long?

[Alex] For a long, long time,
till, uh, towards the November

when it just went out of proportion.

The argument
was about having his girlfriend,

according to you,
practically living there.

-[Alex] Right.
-And you didn't want her there.

No.

Okay, because you
rented a room to a single man

who, until the girlfriend
started to come in,

I assume you didn't have trouble with.

Right.

So that's what your text
message said to him in November.

And as a result of that text message,
you called him on the phone.

Mm-hmm.

[Judy]
I'm just trying to lay out the story.

-Okay.
-So you called him on the phone

and you said what to
him and he said what to you?

I don't recall exactly what I said to him,

but I remember he told me to tell her,

"Tell her, get the... out.

Get the... out my, uh, house.
Get the... out right now.

Your girlfriend is a..."

He was saying a bunch of
derogatory things

over the phone
to me and then hung up in my face.

I'm working at the time,
so when I came back...

[Judy]
Did you call your girlfriend?

-No, I didn't call her.
-Did you text her?

Uh, we speak regularly.
We were talking all the time.

No, then.

Yes. She knew about it.
She did.

Don't tell me what she knew.

I just asked her
if you texted her or called her.

-Yeah, I did.
-You did?

And when you texted or called her,
was she in the house?

-Was she in your room?
-No, she was gone already at this time.

-When we were arguing, she...
-Just a second.

Is that because he told her to leave?

No, she was leaving already.

She had work to go to.
She wasn't living there.

She had her own place and job
in Lakewood, California.

And I would tell him that all the time,
but he would always insinuate

that, oh, no, she's living there.

I'm like, "No, she's not.
She pays $2,000 rent."

-He lives in the house with you.
-[Ryan] Right.

[Judy] Now, before Tuana,
have you had any difficulty with him?

-No.
-[Judy] Moved in in May.

-May, did you have any difficulty? No.
-[Ryan] No.

-June, did you have any difficulty?
-No.

-July, did you have any difficulty?
-No.

No. You didn't have difficulty
until Tuana came.

-Mm-hmm.
-Well, that was the difficulty.

-Mm-hmm.
-So he told you in a very rude way,

if I accept that,
to get Tuana out of his house.

-Correct, Your Honor.
-[Judy] Then you came home from work.

-Mm-hmm.
-What time did you get home from work?

-About nine-ish.
-And Tuana was gone?

-Yeah, she was gone.
-[Judy] Had she taken her things?

There was nothing for her to take.

She didn't... she didn't
bring stuff over there.

She wasn't living there.

No. But she... mean she came over
there and stayed a few days a week

And never had any stuff.
-[Ryan] Yeah, yeah, overnight bag.

-[Judy] Okay. That...
-That's it.

-But she took it with her when she left?
-Yeah. Correct.

-[Judy] Okay.
-Yeah.

So you got home
about 9 o'clock and what happened?

I got home at nine and I said,
"Don't disrespect me and my...my woman.

You know, that's the woman I love."

Okay. When you got home,
you walked in the front door.

-Where was he?
-Uh, he was in the kitchen.

And he had a female guest there, too.

-That was there for weeks...
-He's allowed to have a female guest,

-it's his house.
-[Ryan] Yeah, right.

The...the pot calling
the kettle black, basically.

-No, Mr. Davis.
-[Ryan] Hypocrisy.

-[Ryan laughs]
-[Judy] Mr. Davis...

-If you rent a room to a single guy...
-[Ryan] Mm-hmm.

Did you have a lease agreement with him?

-Yeah, I did have a lease agreement.
-Did you have a written lease?

[Ryan] Yes, I did.

[Judy]
Did your written lease provide that

-you were going to live there?
-Yes, it did.

-Just you?
-[Ryan] Yes.

Well, you bring in another person,
that's in violation of the lease.

That's not in violation of the lease,
because there was nothing

in the lease that said
I couldn't have guests.

He actually said that I could have guests.
-[Judy] No. Guests is one thing.

A guest is somebody that
doesn't come with an overnight bag.

-Regularly. One day, Two days,
-No, he said I could have overnight guests

-three days, four days.
-[Ryan] Mm-hmm.

That's more than an occasional guest.

That's somebody that comes
and goes even when you're not there.

Because according to you,
you contacted Tuana while

you were at work and she was at the house.

That's false.

Well, I thought you contacted
her and then you said she left.

She took a few things with her.
"Probably just an overnight bag."

No, she was not going there
when I wasn't there. That's false.

Are you saying that she was
not in your room when you were not home?

When I was not there?

-[Judy] Yeah.
-No, she would not be there.

-[Judy] That true?
-No. He had made a key to her.

She would... she would come as she pleased.

-[Judy] Did you make her a key?
-That's false.

That's absolutely false.

Did you make her a key?

-Is my question.
-No, that's absolutely false.

-No, I didn't make her a key.
-Do you still speak to Tuana?

Uh, no, I don't.
We kinda fell out of touch.

If I were to call Tuana and
ask her whether or not you made a key,

would she tell me she did or she didn't?

-She would say that I didn't.
-[Judy] "Didn't."

-Yeah.
-Great. Phone number?

Uh...

[Alex] I have a master.

I don't have her number saved here.

Mm-hmm. I'm not exactly
buying the fact that Tuana

-did not have access to the home...
-Mm-hmm.

[Judy] even when you weren't there.
-Mm-hmm.

Even if it was just a half hour
before you came home from work, sir.

You work until 9:00 every night?

Your Honor, I...I had this to say,
um, about the whole key situation.

I gave her my key when I was locked
up in jail from his false police report.

I gave her my property
and she had my key then

to help me get the stuff out of his,
uh, out of his home.

But I never went and made her a key.
A copy of a key anywhere.

Did she ever use your key
other than when you were incarcerated?

-No.
-He says she did.

♪♪

I said, uh, "You're a b*tch."
I called him a b*tch. I did.

He's a guy. Why would call him a b*tch?

It's gender-neutral at this point.

You think that that's gender neutral?

Yeah, at this point.

Okay, well, there you go.
That's why I have you here.

[laughter]

♪♪

[announcer] Ryan Davis claims
his former landlord Alex Zaidi

owes for bail money after
Alex had him falsely arrested.

Okay, so now you're having
this discussion. He's in the kitchen.

You come home from work at 09:00,

and you went into the kitchen
to look for him.

-Correct.
-And when you found him,

tell me what happened.

We had just a brief, maybe two minute, uh,

conversation or argument discourse.

About what the things that he said.

And I said, you know, "Don't be
disrespectful to my woman and me."

And I said, uh, you know,
"You... you're a b*tch."

I called him a b*tch. I did.
But I never threatened him.

[Judy]
No, you said you're... what?

-That's it.
-What does that mean?

That's a half a sentence.

Well...

He was calling him a b*tch.

"You are a b*tch"

Oh, you were calling him...?

Yes, because he
said these things over the phone.

He's a guy. He's a guy.

-Why would you call him a b*tch?
-Yeah.

Because he...he says all
these things over the phone,

and he gets real loud, and...

[Sarah]
It's gender-neutral at this point.

And he's a completely different
person when he's on the phone...

-[Judy] Just a second.
-than when I'm in his...

You think that that's gender-neutral?

At... Yeah. At this point.

Well, there you go.
That's why I have you here.

-[chuckles]
-Okey dokey.

-[Ryan] So...
-[Judy] Okay,

so you were go... "Don't call me that,"
you called him a name,

and then things got heated,
and then what happened?

No, things didn't get heated.

After that, he said,
"Oh, that's how you want to do it?"

And then I said,
"If you want to get me evicted,

you have to go through it
the right way and do it legally

-and give me a 30-day eviction."
-Just a second.

No. He must have said to you,
"I want you out of here,

-because you called me a name."
-It wasn't about...

You said, "If you want me evicted,"

then he had to of something
about getting you out.

He didn't really say...
I don't remember him mentioning anything

about me getting out.

I just remember the fact that
he called the police to get...

[Judy]
No, before he called the police.

-You're in... still in the kitchen.
-[Ryan] Mm-hmm.

Did you ever leave the kitchen?

-Yes, I did.
-[Judy] Where did you go?

-I went to my room.
-[Judy] Okay.

Before you went to your room,

did you hear him
on the phone with the police?

-I did.
-[Judy] Before you went to your room?

-[Alex] Yes.
-Yes.

Okay. And?

And... I didn't sit there
and listen to his phone call.

I took a video and I started recording

because I didn't want to be made
out to look like the guilty party.

And I had it pretty much
live-streaming the whole time,

-which was an Instagram video, to prove...
-[Judy] Can I see it?

[Ryan] No, I don't have the video.
The police deleted it.

Well, then it doesn't exist.
If you don't have it,

-it doesn't exist for my purposes.
-Yeah, I understand.

Understood. Understood.

-[Judy] But you had it then.
-[Ryan] Yeah, I did have it then.

-And the police came?
-Yes.

And I assume if the police came,
you showed them the video.

Yeah, I was showing it to him.

And despite showing them the video,
they took you into custody.

Despite showing them the video,

-they took me into custody.
-[Judy] Just a second.

-Despite looking at the video?
-Yes.

Which I haven't seen.

They didn't look at the video.
They refused to look at it.

Well, let's go one step further.

You see, Mr. Davis,

-this is why you bring actions right away,
-Mm-hmm.

[Judy] so that not only everybody's
memory is fresh,

-but if I wanted to call a police officer
-I get what you're talking about.

[Judy]
who responded or whatever,

that's why you bring an action right away.

Yeah, I get what you're saying.

So now you're taken into
custody and you have a video

that is totally,
according to you, exculpatory.

-I don't know the definition...
-"Exculpatory" means

it says that you were not
guilty of anything.

-Okay.
-And you appear in court?

No, I didn't appear in court.

-[Judy] Never?
-No, never.

-Well, what happened to the case?
-[Ryan] The case was thrown out.

It was a DA reject because there was

insufficient evidence
that I did anything to him.

And you never showed
the district attorney your video?

I didn't get a chance to because
the video was deleted by the police.

-The police department deleted your video?
-Yeah, they did.

You are a terrible victim
of circumstance, Mr. Davis.

Did you ever make a complaint that
the police department deleted your video,

that would be exculpatory?

-No.
-[Judy] Why not? I would if I had...

-Maybe ignorance of the law, I guess.
-What?

I said maybe
ignorance of the law, I guess.

-Not knowing, when you know better...
-Mm...

No. No, Mr. Davis, actually,

I mean, sometimes
you really don't know what the law is.

But you were smart enough,
you said, to tell me,

because you knew I would say,
"Why wait two years?"

That you didn't want this
action to conflict with another action.

Well, that's a two-process thinker.

[Ryan] I've had something like that
happen to me before where I had

a criminal case and a civil case pending,

and the dates were kind of
intertwining and messing,

and they're about to
get in the way of my civil case,

so I didn't want to make that
same mistake with this case, Your Honor.

[Judy] Mm-hmm. Okay.

So you want to tell me what
your version of the events were

of November 9th of 2020?

Yes, Your Honor. I had gone to Mexico
for a business trip meeting,

and I had my friend who was
visiting from Mexico staying at my place.

And at the same time,
I had another roommate

who was renting the room
next to Ryan Davis' room.

His name was Dave. I received
a call from Dave on November 9,

that... is constant sex going on.

Okay, so you received a
call from the other person

living in your house
who you were renting a room to.

-Right.
-[Judy] Okay. And then?

Don't tell me what he said.

Don't tell me, that's all hearsay.

Well, I've heard prior to all
the sexual acts taking place...

-Listen to me. You personally?
-Yes.

-When you were home?
-[Alex] Yes.

Okay, so you heard what was
going on behind his closed doors?

-Right. Day and night.
-[Judy] Okay.

-Like there's no tomorrow.
-[Judy] Fine.

Okay, well, maybe, you know,
maybe jealous?

[chuckling]

-Disrespectful.
-[Ryan] He said he was jealous of me.

Shh!

Okay, so he was becoming
an annoying tenant.

-Yes.
-[Judy] For whatever reason.

-Yes.
-Keep going. You sent him a text.

He called you.

You had heated words.
He comes home from work.

-You're in the kitchen.
-Yes.

[Judy]
He comes into the kitchen. And?

And I told him, "Ryan,
we've gone through this many times before.

I've addressed this to you about
your girlfriend coming here all the time,

day and night,
and now she's here every day."

What he was doing was
sneaking her in late at night.

And th-that's how I will know
that she snuck back in.

There were times I came home from work,

and she was already there
when Ryan wasn't even there.

So she had the key, obviously.

Okay, now, let's go to November 9th.

November 9, I confronted him.
I said that this is just way too much,

that my other roommate wants to leave.
He cannot take it anymore.

And?

And then he said,
"Well, she isn't here." And my...

Okay. He said "She wasn't here."
Keep going.

Then he cursed at my friend
who was from... visiting from Mexico.

He said, uh,
"Get this b*tch out of here."

-That's not true.
-Shh. Don't interrupt.

-And, uh...
-Okay.

[Alex] So, you know, he can't talk...
-[Judy] Okay, let's go.

Right. Then he went into his room.

He came back.
He brought a Samurai sword with him,

and he flashed at me,

"I'm going to
slice you in half like a butter..."

[chuckling]

-[Judy] Okay.
-What?

-[Alex] And I'm, like,
-Shh!

shocked at that time.
Don't know what's going on with him

because he's just changing character.

I'm scared of my life.
I'm fear of my guest.

Okay, and then what happened?
So he came out with...

[Alex] I said, "You need to
get out of here. You need to move."

[Judy] And then he went back...
he didn't do anything with the sword?

Yeah. No, he...he didn't.

He went back in the room with the sword.
He put it there.

Then he came back,
and he pushed me against the wall.

As he was pushing me,

I tried to block him by
putting my two, uh, hands up.

And when he pushed me, I bruise...

I had a cut on my wrist,
but there was a bruise.

-[Judy] Okay, now at what point...
-And I end up... I called the police.

Okay, so you called the police

when he came back out of his room
the second time,

-this time without the sword.
-Yes.

-[Judy] And the police took a report?
-Yes.

-[Judy] Do you have that report?
-Yes. Right here, Your...

[Judy] I'd like to see it.

Mr. Davis,
do you have a copy of the police report

-or any follow up report?
-I have it right here, too, Your Honor.

[Judy]
I'd like to see that, too.

Mm-hmm.

Mr. Davis, where did
you get the sword from?

-[Ryan] My girlfriend at the time.
-Which girlfriend?

-[Ryan] Tuana.
-When did she get it for you?

Uh, she got it during my birthday.
For a birthday gift.

-[Judy] When's your birthday?
-October 31st.

-And this happened on November 9th?
-[Ryan] Correct.

Between October 31st and November 9th,
did you have occasion to show

-Mr. Zaidi prior to November 9th?
-Never, Your Honor.

So between 31st and the 8th,
did you show Mr. Zaidi the sword?

-Never, Your Honor. He's a liar.
-Just a second. Just answer my question.

He was there or not there?
According to you.

-He was there.
-He was there.

-[Ryan] Correct.
-Okay, good.

His guest was also there
for about two weeks.

Just who cares about his guest?
He owns the house.

♪♪

♪♪

[announcer] Ryan Davis has
accused his former landlord,

Alex Zaidi, of causing a false arrest.

Alex says Ryan threatened him
with a Samurai sword.

Okay, October 31st to November 8th,

did you ever show
Mr. Zaidi the sword?

-No, Your Honor. No.
-No. Okay.

So unless he went into your room,

He went in to my room.

[Judy] He... Unless he went
into your room prior to November 9th,

there was no way
he would have seen the sword.

-Correct.
-[Judy] Okay.

And when did you
go away on this business trip, sir?

On the 9th.

-That day?
-[Alex] Yes, in the morning.

And on what day did you
first see this sword that was in his room?

-On the evening of November 9th?
-[Judy] That was the first time.

-Not his birthday,
-[Alex] First time.

not the second day,
not the third day. Okay.

Does his room have a lock on it,
by the way?

-From inside.
-[Judy] From inside.

Mr. Davis, were you on
probation at the time

of this incident for
something in Riverside

-Yes, Your Honor.
-[Judy] that involved a fraud?

Yes, Your Honor.

Okay, and that wasn't a
fraud dating back to 2004?

-It was dating back...
-[Judy] No, it wasn't an incident...

for 2000 and I believe 15.

Okay, so when you told me before,

and I'm not even going to have
Whitney read it back,

you said the last time we had
this speeding little problem

-Mm-hmm.
-[Judy] and evading police,

-Mm-hmm.
-[Judy] I said, well before that,

and you said,
"Yeah, I did before that in 2004."

-[Ryan] Correct.
-But that was a lie.

-Which was like...
-Just a second. That was a lie.

You had another case involving a fraud

-in 2015.
-[Ryan] It was...

On which you were on probation,

which means that you were
either found guilty or took a plea.

-Correct.
-Okay.

And when the police officer,
Mr. Davis, took down your statement,

you said that while you acknowledge
that you had a Samurai sword in your room,

you said you
had never shown it to Mr. Zaidi.

Correct, your Honor.

[Judy]
You had never showed it at any time.

-Never, at any time.
-[Judy] Well then how would he know

that you had a Samurai sword, sir,

in your room when he called the police?

Because he was
going in my room, I believe,

when I was not there,
going through my stuff.

-[Judy] Okay.
-[Ryan] That's the only other way

-I could... that I can know that he would...

Okay, I'm not finished reading this... Yes.

-[Ryan] Okay, that's fine.
-That's like the 2015 case.

-Mm-hmm.
-[Judy] Let me just read it...

Do you have any other police reports
that you'd like me to see, Mr. Davis?

Not a police report, but I have
the bail bonds receipt that I paid and...

I'm not interested
in your bail bonds receipt.

I have the, uh, DA reject.

[Judy]
I'd like to see it.

[Alex]
Yeah, they rejected the case right here.

-Yeah, I'd like to see it.
-They refused to file charges.

Your Honor,
there's a conflicting story where he said

he was... left on the 9th because

he was there two weeks
with his guest prior to that.

So how could he leave on the 9th if his
guest was there two weeks prior to that?

[Judy]
I asked him when he left for hi...

Sir, you didn't understand
the reason for my question.

-Mm-hmm.
-[Judy] I wanted to know

if he had been gone from October 31st,

which was your birthday, to the 8th.

That's why I asked him when he left
on his business trip.

-Correct.
-And he said he didn't leave

until the date of this incident.

-You want to say he left before?
-He did leave before.

-[Judy] That would be interesting.
-He did leave before.

-He did.
-[Ryan] Yes.

On what date did he leave?

I don't know the exact date,
but I know his...

A week before? Five days before?

It was maybe about
a few weeks before, uh,

-[Judy] November 9th?
-[Ryan] Yeah, a few weeks.

Then he wouldn't have been able
to see your sword

because he wouldn't have been
coming in and out of your room.

He was there from the 9th.

[Judy]
Well, this happens on the 9th.

-From the 31st to the 9th, he was there.
-[chuckles]

Well, you just
told me he left two weeks before.

I'm saying he was gone before that day.
And then, on the 31st...

Between the 31st and the 9th,
he was there, at the place.

Okay, well, that's what he says.
He said he was there.

The business was only one day.

He left on the 9th,
and he came home on the 9th.

You said no, he was there
for two weeks before.

Well, if he was there
for two weeks before

and you didn't get the sword
until the 31st of October,

he could not have seen it
by going in and out of your room.

So you have to sort of
get your story straight, sir.

So he was there or not there?

-According to you.
-He was there.

-[Judy] He was there.
-Correct.

[Judy] Okay, good.

His guest was also there
for about two weeks.

Just who cares about his guest?
He owns the house.

-Okay.
-[Judy] Okay.

It was a misdemeanor case,
and they declined to prosecute it.

[Alex] Correct.

Your case is dismissed,
Mr. Davis, for several reasons.

It's dismissed because it was
brought in an untimely fashion.

It was bought two years
after the fact for no valid reason.

-Your Honor, it was...
-It's dismissed for a second reason,

because I find some of
your testimony, sir, incredible.

And one of the reasons I say that
is because you were not forthcoming

with a legitimate answer to
me with regard to your prior history...

which isn't always dispositive.

But if you had something pending

for evading the police
and you had something pending

for evading the police
while you were on probation for a crime

for which you were convicted,
either after trial or after hearing.

Do you understand?
You would remember that.

Are you still on probation?

-Yes, Your Honor.
-Okay. Your case is dismissed. We're done.

-[Bailiff] This court is adjourned.
-You're making a mistake, Your Honor.

You have guests
over two to three weeks at a time,

but I have a girl over for three days,

and now it's World w*r III?

He was only allowed to
stay there by himself,

not with his girlfriend.

I never went at him with a Samurai sword.

It was pretty scary.

He basically just used the system
against me because I'm a person of color

and I have a record already,
so I fit the bill.

He had a criminal record
when I rented the room to him.

He was asking for a second chance.

It's easier for them to, uh,

lock somebody up
who's already been to jail.

Nobody was renting him the room,

and he was saying
he's trying to start a new life.

I'm 6' 1", 200 pounds,

I wouldn't even need a weapon
if I was gonna as*ault him,

but I never did.

Thank you, Judge Judy.

♪♪

[Judy] You know, there are so many lessons
from this case, I think, Sarah.

One of them is
there's a reason that the law

tells you to bring an action
in a timely fashion. Right?

-Many reasons.
-[Judy] Many reasons.

One is because
it's not like an afterthought.

You know, and sometimes
there are reasons for delays.

You are in hospital,
you were going into the armed forces.

But here there was no
really legitimate reason for him

not bringing this kind
of case in a timely fashion.

And the other one,
that's always a good thing to me,

what did you think about his credibility?

Yeah. I think it's hard for a fact-finder

to believe the totality of your testimony

if one of the first questions,

just about a simple question
of your prior history,

your prior history with law enforcement,
if you have any pending charges,

I think that's a very simple question.

If you aren't fully truthful
with the fact-finder on that question,

it makes it really difficult.

And the rest of
your testimony is now suspect.

That's true. That's a good lesson,
because sometimes you think,

"Well, it's sort of an innocuous question.

I don't have to give it,"
but if I... sitting as a juror

-Mm-hmm.
-in a case,

see that somebody is fabricating

-a fact...
-Yup.

-And they want you to believe them.
-Mm-hmm.

You know, they're saying is,
"I want you to believe

my last law enforcement
issue was in 2004...

"A long time ago. No run ins..."

-Nowhere, nothing else on the speeding...
-It sets the tone.

-[Judy] And a speeding...
-Yeah.

-It sets the tone in a negative way
-Right.

and it makes it difficult for
the fact-finder to find in your favor.

That's... I'm glad.
So you agreed with that?

-100%.
-Good.

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