"Webb v Forrest" feature a two-year child custody dispute between Amanda Forrest and Travis Webb. Amanda had separated from her husband James and temporarily hooked up with Travis. Their relationship eventually ended after the Forrests reconciled and when Travis went into a coma and got placed on life support. (Don't ask...)
Travis eventually came out of his coma and discovered that his ex-girlfriend was pregnant and that he could possibly be the baby's father. The problem was that Amanda became fearful that she would lose her husband is Travis ended up being Baby Alayna's father. So she did everything she could to disrupt their relationship.
She canceled visits while he was mid-transit to their community. She frequently changed her phone number. She blocked him on social media. She pitted her husband against him. Basically, she spent over two years preventing Travis from meeting Alayna or interacting with her in any way.
She argued that he insisted on having her drive out of her way to do visits at her mom's home. And then when he insisted that he tried meeting Alayna in their area, she agreed but expressed fear that he would run off with her. So he finally brought her to "Paternity Court" so that he could finally settle this question and move forward with formal visitation and custody rights if he ended up being the girl's father.
The testimony was contradictory enough that Judge Lauren Lake offered some wisdom to Amanda:
I sit in the same seat countless times and I see men that say, "I don't know if it's my child, Your Honor, so I'm not showing up in the hospital. I'm not coming by to see this baby. I don't even want to hold the baby. I don't even want to buy the baby a bottle. Because I don't know if it's mine!" And quite frankly, I have to say that a part of me has to honor what they're thinking, and their opinion, and the way they feel because they don't have certainty. In this case, I see a man that wants to do just the opposite. "I know it's just a possibility but I still want to see her, know her, until I can figure out if she's mine because I don't want to miss the time. And ultimately I don't want her to miss out."And then James began showing off video of him splashing water with Alayna and noting that he'd bonded with the girl. "We bond together. Do you do that??"
Which was the wrong thing to ask around Judge Lake:
Well, how can he do that if she won't let her see him?... How can he bond with her like that when you admit that your wife will not allow him to see her?The Forrests were oblivious, so Judge Lake transitioned to the results of Alayna's paternity testing. Big surprise: Travis Webb was the little girl's father -- much to the pleasure of the court gallery!!
Judge Lake then dropped some truth bombs at the feet of Amanda and James Forrest:
Judge Lake: Be clear. You did not just cheat him. You cheated her. You knew it could be a possibility!Travis ended up getting to meet his daughter after the program. Judge Lauren Lake didn't give the Forrests any other option!
Amanda Forrest: And I'm afraid I'm gonna lose my husband and my family over this.
Judge Lake: Well, this is my point. You think about yourself!... You're thinking about yourself.
Amanda Forrest: He won't see my daughter.
*Court Gallery Booing*
Judge Lake: I think you need to step outside of yourself and your own selfishness and allow him to see his daughter in the chambers for the first time. So that maybe for the first time her mother can stop thinking about herself.
I absolutely love Judge Lauren Lake and "Paternity Court." She will put you in your place when you need it and you will know when you have crossed a line. But you can tell that she loves her job and she loves the children whose lineages are established in her courtroom. She isn't judgy like Judge Judy or Judge Millian against low-income or disabled individuals who receive some amount of public assistance. And she's willing to assist single moms explore their next options on those occasions when it turns out that the prospective father isn't actually the father.
I appreciate that she had Travis' back in this episode and how she called Amanda on the various contradictory ways that she sabotaged her daughter's relationship with her father. Bravo!
You can watch "Webb v Forrest"here.