Mood:
hungryTopic: people who need help
So I was watching Judge Mathis during lunch again today (as I watch almost every weekday during lunch).
The plaintiff was a woman who was suing her ex-husband/father of her son. The father (now remarried) did not pay child support the first 15 years of his son's life. His excuse was fuzzy: either he was in rehab or didn't have a steady job or something. I couldn't quite figure it out because the guy acted like he was still a little drugged up. Another excuse he tried was, "Well she never filed to get child support." None of the excuses worked on the judge, who further pointed out that a real man would take care of his responsibilities that wouldn't require his ex-wife and mother of his child to take him to court to get child support from him.
Well it just so happened that the son was killed in a drive-by shooting at the age of 22. The reason the mom was taking the dad to court: the check that she received from his wife for $2,000 for the son's funeral had a stop payment placed on it. The reason for the stop payment? The husband didn't like the funeral proceedings. He complained that the reverend was not allowed to speak at the funeral as much as he wanted and the father complained about having to be a pallbearer.
The defendant's wife chuckled at one point when the plaintiff introduced her witness (her sister) and Judge Mathis asked, "What's so funny? The fact that your husband doesn't pay child support or the fact that his son was murdered? What's so funny?" She mumbled something about laughing at the witness and the judge had her escorted out of the courtroom.
The plaintiff and her witness bickered back and forth with the father when Judge Mathis banged his gavel.
With all seriousness and sincerity in his voice he said, "I didn't want to have to say this. I didn't want to have to go here, but I have no choice." He then looked at the defendant. "You wouldn't have to be complaining right now about being a pallbearer if only you had been in your son's life the first 21 years." With that he awarded $2,000 to the plaintiff and banged the gavel again.
I think the plaintiff responded the best when she lowered her head and said out loud, "Amen!"
