03x52 - Tire-Slashing Nuptials

[bunniefuu]

Now you're served
with a restraining order,

-by your mother.
-Yes.

And in retaliation for that,
she slashed your tires.

Right.

She admitted to carrying the knife,
Your Honor.

I can't ask her whether or not
she slashed your tires,

-she's gonna say no. Right?
-Yes.

She's gonna get caught eventually.

Right now, she's been clever.

But she's not that clever.

[narrator] This is Judy Justice.

[theme playing]

[announcer] Jasmine Brantley is suing
her future step-daughter,

Ny'Area Williams,

for defamation
and the cost of three tires.

[Kevin] Court come to order. All rise.

Have a seat, please.

[Kevin] Hello, Judge.

Case number 3084,
Brantley versus Williams.

-Thank you.
-You're welcome.

Ms. Brantley, you are in a relationship
with the defendant's mother.

-That is correct.
-For how long?

Over a year now.

[Judy] I assume that
when you met the defendant's mother,

the defendant was living with her mom.

That is correct, Your Honor.

It is your claim that, at some point,

the defendant and you
developed an acrimonious relationship.

And that, as a result of that,
she was asked to leave the home,

and in retaliation for that
she slashed your tires.

She was never asked to leave the home.

She voluntarily decided
she was gonna leave the home.

Let's say that that's a given,

but it is your claim
that as a result of leaving,

and there's no question,
she left because you were there...

We weren't sure
exactly what the reason was.

She didn't make a reason
as to why she was leaving.

[Judy] She left, and it is your claim
that after she left,

-she slashed three of your tires.
-That is correct, Your Honor.

Ms. Williams says
she did not slash your tires,

but that she still has property
in the house

that she shared with her mother

before the two of you
were in a relationship.

-Do you live together now?
-Yes, ma'am.

When did you move in together?

[Jasmine] I moved into the home,
I wanna say the exact timeframe

was around April of 2023.

And when did you move out, Ms. Williams?

I moved out June 28th of 2023.

-So, a couple of months later?
-Yes.

[Judy] Tell me the circumstances
surrounding your leaving the home.

My mother texts me to say
her girlfriend was feeling uncomfortable,

and she wanted to focus on her
and her relationship,

and I needed to go and focus on myself.

[Judy] You have that email.
I'd like to see it. Kevin.

Okay, so it's right there.

So, you had this discussion
with your mother

and what I'm gathering
is that you and the plaintiff

started to have
some nasty texts back and forth.

There was no back-and-forth, Your Honor.

-She was just texting me nasty texts.
-You have those texts?

-Yes, ma'am.
-I'd like to take a look.

-She also had...
-Your response to your mother is,

"Is that bum paying bills?"

-Yes.
-Okay.

Then your mother tells you, right now,

-time for you to go.
-Yes.

And then, you say, okay,

"I just wanna grab my TV and bear."

I wanna at least grab that for tonight

and then I was to came back
and got the rest...

Just a sec. "I need you to unlock the door
so I can grab my TV and bear."

I assume that's a teddy bear,
not an animal?

-Yeah. No, it's a bear.
-Okay. I'll see the texts.

-[Jasmine] I never responded...
-Shh, shh, shh.

[Jasmine] Thank you so much.

These are just phone messages.
Okay.

Yes, ma'am.
She put my number on social media

and people were texting me
asking for sexual favors.

-[Judy] Just a sec. You'll get there.
-I apologize.

-You'll get there.
-Yes, ma'am.

-[Judy] So, you moved out?
-Yes.

Now tell me about the tires.

She was moving out, had her things,
we know she carries a knife.

She's always showing it and...

She acknowledges she came back
to the house with a knife.

She acknowledges that. Is that correct?

-Yes.
-What kind of knife?

-It's a small pocket knife.
-Show me.

This, I don't understand.
I want you to show me.

-It is this size...
-It's this big.

-So, it's a little bit bigger.
-Just a little bit bigger than that.

Just a small one
that you can fit in your pocket.

-Yes.
-Yeah. Okay. That's a pretty big knife.

Okay, so, you came back to get your things

-and you had the knife with you.
-Yes.

Okay. Go ahead.

We did not confront her.

We looked out the window,
we could see her carry the bags,

she was dragging them down the walkway
past the apartment building.

That was about one in the morning.

We woke up for work,
I'd say maybe around 6:45 timeframe.

We go outside,

the driver side tire
was completely flattened.

And the left side passenger front
and the rear passenger side tire,

they both had tire slashes in them.

And we had to get them all three replaced.

They were unrepairable

due to the puncture in those tires,
Your Honor.

I have pictures and documentation
for that.

The issue is not
whether your tires were punctured,

but whether you have proof
that the defendant did it.

The tires were fine
when you went to sleep.

-Yes, ma'am.
-And then the defendant came

-after midnight.
-Yes, ma'am.

Collected her things in suitcases?

Uh, mostly like bags,
not really suitcases.

How did you get into the house that night?

-Um...
-"Um" is not an answer.

-Did you have a key?
-Yes.

Okay. And nobody had changed the locks.

-They changed it the next day.
-Nobody had changed the locks on you then?

Then? No.

So you were able to come and get things?

Yes.

So now you have to give me proof
that she slashed your tires.

I can imagine that she did,

but what evidence do you have
that she slashed your tires?

Your Honor, no one knows,
um, other than the family,

that I was living with them at the time.

I have no outstanding
confrontational beef.

I don't have any problems...

-With anybody else?
-No, ma'am. No, ma'am.

That's circumstantial,
but insufficient in the law

that she's the only one
that you had a beef with,

the fact that she was there.
It's not enough evidence for any court,

even a court
where the quantum of proof is little,

that she did, in fact, slash your tires.

The evidence that you have is that
you don't have a beef with anybody else.

-Correct?
-I don't have any... I didn't...

You couldn't think of anybody else
who would want to do that

and she was there,
in the vicinity, that night.

Within the timeframe,
yes, ma'am, Your Honor.

She left around one o'clock,

by six in the morning
the tires were slashed.

[Judy] You weren't out at one o'clock.
You went to sleep at what time?

Maybe around two, 2 am, 2:30 am.

-Then you got up at six?
-Yes, ma'am.

But you hadn't been outside.
When did you park the car?

-I'm not sure of the exact time.
-Was it before dinner or after dinner?

-Probably before dinner.
-You have dinner at what time?

More than likely, maybe around 10:45 pm.

-10:45?
-Yes, ma'am.

So your car was parked before ten o'clock,

and the next time you saw it
was six in the morning?

Okay. Well, that's a big window.

I can't ask her
whether or not she slashed your tires.

She's gonna say no. Right?

[theme playing]

I don't actually believe that
you weren't notified to come to court

on three separate occasions.

I think you just decided
to be a smart aleck and not go.

I really didn't know.

When your mother filed a restraining order
against you, did you go to court?

-Um...
-"Um" is not an answer.

[theme playing]

[announcer] Jasmine Brantley is suing
her future step-daughter,

Ny'Area Williams, for defamation
and the cost of three tires.

Ny'Area is countersuing Jasmine
for her belongings and lost wages.

I can't ask her whether or not
she slashed your tires,

she's gonna say no. Right?

Even if you look at the tires,
you can tell, the three,

only one is flattened.
They all got slashed...

I don't care.
I don't care if it's one or three.

-That's not the point.
-I did not.

She told others
that she did admit to it.

-[Ny'area] I did not.
-[Judy] Just a second.

-Who did she admit it to?
-Her co-workers.

-Also friends...
-No, do you have a co-worker here?

-All I need is a witness.
-My witness can confirm.

That she admitted it to them?

To other co-workers as well.
They work at the same location.

Did your witness...

Did she admit to slashing the tires
to your witness?

She's admitted to both me and my witness
that she would do harm to us and to me.

-Is this your witness?
-Yes, ma'am. It's my fiancée.

-Your last name is...
-Williams.

-Ms. Williams, this is your daughter?
-Yes, ma'am.

-You work at the same place?
-Yes, Your Honor.

Okay. Did your daughter admit to you

-anything about the tire incident?
-No.

Okay. Sit down.

-Do you have a police report?
-Yes, ma'am.

-I'd like to see the police report.
-Yes, ma'am.

Did the police interview any witnesses?

No, ma'am. They said I had to file
a domestic violence restraining order.

Which I did.

-Was that granted?
-Yes, ma'am.

I'd like to see that too.

Okay.

You got a temporary restraining order
you got on your own.

She wasn't present when you first got it.

-Did you go back for a final hearing?
-She never appeared.

-So the answer is you went back.
-Three times, Your Honor.

-And she didn't appear?
-She never appeared.

-So it was granted on default?
-Yes, ma'am.

I never received anything
about going to court.

The only paperwork they gave me
was about the tires.

-They never presented me with anything...
-[Judy] What I have to tell you is this,

currently, there is a restraining order,
that's what she says, against you.

If what you're telling me
is you were not properly served,

I would move to vacate that order
because you're at risk if you don't.

I don't actually believe
that you weren't notified

to come to court
on three separate occasions.

I think you just decided
to be a smart aleck and not go.

I really didn't know.

-Really?
-I knew my mother had one against me

'cause the cop did mention that
when he dropped the paper off.

[Judy] When your mother filed
a restraining order against you,

then there was a return date.
Did you go to court?

-Um...
-"Um" is not an answer.

Did you go to court?

Now you're served with a restraining order
by your mother.

And you got a date, you ignored it.

No, they pushed it back.

I didn't get a new court date...

-'Cause I had moved.
-Did you ever go? Just a second.

-Did you go to the first one?
-No.

-No, you didn't. You ignored it.
-I didn't know about them.

You said you knew about the first one...

Then it got moved. I wasn't able...

-You knew about the first one.
-Yes.

Yes. And you didn't go.

-Yes. It got moved.
-Right. No.

Had nothing to do with moving,
if you knew about the first one,

you knew you were supposed to be there.

You didn't go,

and they adjourned it for another day
to give you another opportunity to come.

Then you said you moved.

Then you say
you didn't get the second date.

But you got the first date
and you ignored it.

The date got moved,
that's what I'm saying.

No, courts don't get moved up,

they get pushed ahead, not moved up.

They get pushed ahead
if somebody doesn't appear.

That would've been you,

didn't appear the first time.

Are you trying to confuse me?

-No, I'm...
-Because I'm old?

No, I'd never want to do that.

[Judy] So far there are
two protective orders,

-your mother has one against you too.
-That's what the cop said.

Your mother has one against you also.

-That's what the cop said.
-Do you have a protective order?

[Ny'Area] That's why I don't know
what's going on all the way.

Ms. Williams, did you file
for a protective order

-against your daughter?
-No.

-You never did?
-No.

-Only my fiancée did. I never did.
-Oh.

Okay, fine. Now you can sit down.

So, the answer is, Ms. Williams,

your mother never filed
for a protective order against you.

-Only the plaintiff.
-All right.

Okay. So far we don't have a confession.
Right?

We have the threats that were made.

-To do you harm?
-What she tried to do.

-Okay, Ms. Brantley.
-Yes, ma'am.

It's not sufficient. I'm telling you,

in all probability, Ms. Williams,
who's a bit of a wise guy,

did, in fact, slash your tires
when she came to get her things.

All probability that happened.
But there's no evidence.

-She admitted to carrying the knife.
-I know.

She told me, I saw it.
She took a knife with her.

[softly] It's not enough evidence

to connect her
to doing the damage to your car.

What about the credible threats?
The threats she made towards me?

You have a protective order against her.

Correct?

If she violated that protective order,
you go back to court

and you file a violation
of the order of protection.

And if they find that that's true,
she's gonna go to jail

for contempt of the order.
That's your remedy.

You have a protective order
that lasts until when?

Right now, Your Honor,
we're attempting to locate her.

She's not responding
to the summons officer's calls or texts.

-We don't know her address.
-I have not...

Don't speak. What does that mean?

Do you currently have a protective order?

-It expired temporarily. We couldn't...
-Oh.

-We don't know where she's located.
-Okay.

I went to court four different occasions,
she wouldn't appear.

They could not locate her.

She's aware
that we're trying to serve her.

Okay. You're suing her
for three slashed tires,

which I can't find, in good conscience,
that she did,

even though, probably,
in the back of my mind

I know that she did,
because there's insufficient proof.

And the other cause of action
is for defamation.

-[Jasmine] Correct.
-What's the defamation?

She posted my cell number to social media,
requesting sexual favors.

I was receiving calls and texts

-at all hours...
-Shh. Just a second.

Can I see what it was
that you're alleging someone posted?

-Yes.
-May I see it?

You have the page

that has all the different text messages
coming from the number.

-And all these...
-Shh. Just a second. Just a second.

Oh.

That text message that you're referring to

-came from this phone number on here?
-Yes, ma'am.

If you look at all the messages,
they were all from the Chicago area.

The same area that is her zip code
for her phone.

-My mom...
-Shh. So this is not her phone number

that created this text message?

That is a screen shot that someone sent me
of my number being posted on social media.

-I understand that.
-Yes.

Then you have to connect her with that.

They're all coming from the same area code
as hers, Your Honor.

I don't know anyone else
with an area code in that location.

I'm not from the Chicago area.
If you look at that page of evidence,

I was hit over ten, 15,


all from the Chicago area,
asking for sexual favors.

Again, probably true,
either she or someone at her behest.

But there is no proof
that it came from her number.

That it came from Chicago.

That the numbers were the same area code,
the area code is in Chicago.

Is that what you're telling me?

Chicago area.
That is a very big area, madam.

I've never received any calls or texts
from that area code ever before,

until the incident.

At all hours of the night.
I'm not a sex worker, in all respect.

[theme playing]

-Ms. Williams.
-Yes.

You submitted paperwork to the court
when you came here. Is that correct?

Yes.

Do you have any proof that the plaintiff
ever threatened you?

-Um...
-Uh.

I'm sorry. That's right,
"um" is not an answer. No.

[theme playing]

[announcer] Jasmine Brantley is accusing
her future step-daughter,

Ny'Area Williams,
of defamation and slashing her tires.

Ny'Area is countersuing Jasmine
for her belongings and lost wages.

[Judy] She's gonna get caught eventually.

Right now she's been clever.

-[Jasmine] She needs to be held...
-But she's not that clever.

So, right now, she's gonna get caught.

-Ms. Williams.
-Yes.

You submitted paperwork to the court
when you came here.

-Is that correct?
-Yes.

Do you have any proof
that the plaintiff ever threatened you?

-Um...
-Uh. Proof.

I'm sorry.
That's right, "um" is not an answer.

-No. I couldn't...
-Just a second. So you have no proof

-that the plaintiff ever threatened you?
-Correct.

Other than the fact
that your mother told you

it's time for you to go,

other than that,
did your mother ever threaten you?

That you can prove.

-That's either a yes or a no.
-No.

I want your address. Now.

-Now!
-Okay.

-Where?
-Jacksonville, Florida.

I'm still in Florida.

We will verify that with the clerk
who took her papers

and we're going to give you that address.

-Do you understand?
-Yes, Your Honor.

Now you have her address.

So if you want to file
for a protective order,

-you know where to server her.
-Thank you.

If she's evading service,

you can get substituted service,
what they call "nail and mail".

You mail it to her at her address,
which she's given you,

and you have a marshal
tack it onto her front door

and then she's been served.

-Got it?
-Yes, ma'am. What about the tires?

I explained to you
you don't have sufficient proof

that she slashed your tires.
Probably did, but you have no proof.

The fact that she threatened
to do you harm,

the fact that she was there
within that period

between 10 pm when you had dinner
and 6 am when you saw the car,

is a wide window.

She probably did it,
but you need proof and you don't have it.

And you don't have anybody
to whom she confessed.

You could've brought somebody if you say
she did actually confess to a co-worker,

you could've brought that witness,
but you didn't.

You chose to bring a witness

who really couldn't contribute
to your case.

Do you understand? I'm just telling you.

With a confession, and you had the tires,

and she had the opportunity,
and she had the mechanism,

but you need something other than that.

-The threats weren't a confession?
-No. Okay.

Now, you're counterclaiming
for ill*gal lockout.

Forget it. Your mother told you to leave.

Money owed for belongings taken
without permission.

-What belongings?
-I had two bags of clothes still there.

-Two bags of clothes?
-Yes, I had two...

Just a second. And?

Two big bags of clothes.

I had my shoes there,
my work shoes as well.

Then I had this big mattress
that I left as well.

-It was an air mattress.
-And?

That's about everything.

How did the plaintiff prevent you
from getting that?

-Because when I contacted them...
-Not "them".

How did the plaintiff prevent you
from getting that stuff?

-They changed the locks.
-Not "they". It's not...

Jasmine and Ricca changed the locks
and I could not come and get my clothes.

Not "they".

You have to have proof that the plaintiff,
you see, it works two ways.

-Yes.
-You have to have proof

that the plaintiff did something
to prevent you getting your stuff.

You went there to get stuff.

You went there to get stuff on the night
that her tires were slashed

and you were dragging out bags of stuff.

[Ny'Area] Not bags.
I only had a couple of items.

-[Judy] You had a couple...
-And my teddy bear.

Just a second. That you came back to get
at one o'clock in the morning?

-I needed to get dressed for work.
-Ms. Williams.

Your counterclaim's dismissed.

Okay. Now you have her address.

If you feel as if you still require
a protective order, get it.

If you had proof that she posted this,

I'd give you a lot more
than you were asking for.

But you need proof that she posted that,

other than the fact
that the number comes from Chicago.

I receive at least ten, 15, 20
different attempts to reach out to me

requesting sexual favors
from that area code.

It's a... I said if you can prove
that she posted this,

-I understand...
-My witness can confirm.

She also texted me that night.

I have text messages from her that night

that she slashed the tires.

[Judy] That says what? That was the night
she came by at one o'clock?

-Yeah, she lived there.
-[Judy] Shh. So...

And if that's an acknowledgement
that she slashed your tires,

we're in business.

-[Laricca] All right.
-Let me see.

[Kevin clears throat]

You say to her,

"So you going to flatten her tire?
I hope you know the cops will be called."

How did you know?

[Laricca] Because she had did it.

-She sent me all these text messages...
-No, but nothing...

You don't understand, Ms. Williams.
Nothing in the text messages before

-talk about a tire.
-Right.

-This...
-Nothing in the text messages

talk about a tire
and the last thing that it says here

is quarter to four in the morning,
on June 29th.

"So you going to flatten her tire?
I hope you know the cops will come."

-Did she respond to that?
-She wouldn't...

She didn't respond to it.

-Right. Correct.
-Okay. That's all.

Your counterclaim is dismissed.

You have absolutely no claim against them.

I've given you her address.

If she continues to harass you

and you want to file
for a protective order and serve her,

I've told you how you can do that.

-Yes, Your Honor.
-Thank you very much. We're finished.

[Kevin] This court is adjourned.

[theme playing]

We know she carries weapons
and there was damage done to the vehicle.

You can put the pieces together.

She's a joke,
I figured she was gonna say that.

That's what clowns do.
I'm glad she got to do a circus act.

The word on the street is she did it.

I told her girlfriend
she ain't paying no bills.

I told the bum to get some money
and I guess they didn't like that.

At one point I thought
we could all be a happy family,

but it's clearly not what she wants
and I do feel bad.

You ain't gonna get me
to admit to that one.

Sometimes I wish we had
even lower standards of proof

than we do.

Because to you, to me, to, I'm pretty sure
if we polled the audience,

everybody out there would say

the defendant definitely
slashed those tires.

And probably posted the phone number
of her mother's girlfriend online,

insinuating that she would be open
and willing to engage in sexual favors.

For strangers.

But there is a standard of proof
that they have to meet

and I was just waiting
for the crumb of proof

that we could hang our hat on,
for both issues.

Just opportunity and inclination
doesn't allow a court to,

in good conscience,
find that she committed a crime.

And both, both of those things
would be criminal behavior.

-Just with her attitude, I knew.
-Her attitude.

-Yeah, I would've...
-I just, I wanted, I wanted to prove

and have that right little crumb
to hang the hat on, but unfortunately...

Eventually,
people with that kind of attitude...

Always get caught.

Always either get caught

-or get comeuppance.
-Oh, yeah.

[announcer] Have you been cheated?



[theme playing]