Judy Justice (2021) s01e01 Episode Script

1
You hit her with a bottle
and she suffered a heart attack.
I bopped her with it.
She was trying
to get in line ahead of you?
Yes. Like an entitled Karen.
You can't use a dangerous instrument
against another human being, period.
Grow up.
[narrator] This is Judy Justice
[theme music playing]
[narrator] Savannah Bruce is suing
fellow driver Diana Bellefontaine
for lost wages from false police charges.
[Kevin] Court, come to order. All rise.
[Judy] Be seated, please.
Good morning, Judge.
We have case 1083,
Bruce vs. Bellefontaine.
-Thank you.
-You're welcome.
[Judy] Ms. Bruce,
you're a driver for Uber?
Was.
How long were you an Uber driver?
Two years almost.
[Judy] Your complaint states
that you're immunocompromised?
Yeah. I have asthma.
You take medication for it?
I have an inhaler.
-[Judy] And that's it?
-Yeah.
[Judy] This incident
happened on what date?
July 31st, 2020.
[Judy] Briefly and succinctly,
it is your claim that the defendant
filed a false police report against you
which resulted in your losing your job
-as an Uber driver.
-Yes.
[Judy] And you wanna be
compensated to the tune of $10,000?
Yeah. At this point, Your Honor,
I've lost over $10,000
or over $10,000 in wages.
-[Judy] That's possible.
-[Savannah] And I've been blacklisted.
[Judy] Because you
have an arrest for assault,
-is that what you're saying?
-[Savannah] No.
It's a pending battery charge
that they kicked me out the platform for.
Okay.
Is that action still pending?
It's been dismissed,
but Uber will not take my phone calls.
-[Judy] Just a sec.
-Yes.
I just wanna make certain that
that criminal action has been dismissed.
Otherwise, I would not do this case.
Yes, and I have proof.
[Judy]
I'd like to see the document
that dismisses the criminal trial.
[Savannah] Yes.
And then we'll get to the facts.
Oh, my dear. Okay.
I'll get to this in a second.
Okay. So, this is what happened
and it was on July 31st, 2020.
You and the defendant, who did not know
each other prior to this confrontation,
were both standing in line,
according to what I read,
to have your cars washed.
You were driving for Uber at the time,
and according to you,
had been for a couple of years,
and had been doing that
during the height of the global pandemic,
and you claimed that you felt
specifically threatened in this case
because you were immunocompromised.
I asked what the nature
of that illness was,
and you say you had asthma,
for which you take an inhaler. Okay.
It is your claim that there was a dispute
over the defendant
cutting in front of your car, she says,
"Cutting in front of your car,
pushing in where two lanes merged
to pay to get into the car wash."
You'll explain that to me
in a little more depth.
According to you, the defendant
got out of her car in a violent manner,
came up to your car,
you opened the passenger window
My passenger side window was already down.
Fine. She came up to the car, you say,
acting erratically,
she was yelling at you, and
she was yelling at you during COVID,
she was unmasked, you felt threatened.
In order to get her away from the car,
according to you,
you flung at the car window
a Pringles, empty Pringles can.
That's what I believe you say in here,
it was an empty Pringles can.
I may be wrong.
You look as if you want to say something.
-Well, the report came up a little
-[Judy] Just-Just-Just
-I'm looking at what you
-[Savannah] Okay.
said to me in here.
Okay.
Yes. "I panicked and I grabbed
an empty Pringles container
and threw it towards the window,"
that's what you wrote.
You remember writing that?
They wrote that out a little bit wrong,
I bopped her with it.
But yes, a Pringle can.
"I grabbed an empty Pringles can
and threw it towards the window."
So, what you're saying now,
that is not correct, you
and you hit her
with the empty Pringles can?
-Yes, Your Honor.
-[Judy] Okay.
And then she got back into her car
and you decided not to go through
the car wash at that time, and you left?
-Yes, I
-[Judy] So far?
-never got
-So far, is that correct?
You did not go through
the car wash and you left?
Yes, and I never got out of my car.
[Judy]
I didn't say you got out of your car.
-Okay.
-I said you
-[Savannah] Yeah.
-You corrected me and said not to
you didn't throw
this empty Pringles container at her,
you bopped her with it,
which means you hit her with it,
and then did not wait around
to see what happened.
-You left?
-I left.
[Judy]
Subsequently, you discovered
that she had, in fact,
reported this incident to the police,
she alleged that she
was in fact assaulted by you
with an instrument,
and you were in fact arrested,
and you hired a lawyer?
Were you assigned a public defender?
-Yes.
-[Judy] Okay.
And the public defender,
according to this,
had conferences
with the district attorney.
And the district attorney
applied for a dismissal of this case
in the interest of justice.
Do you know what that means?
-Yes.
-[Judy] Okay.
Well, for those people
who may be watching this,
those millions of people,
Lord willing,
-who are watching this program
-[audience laughs]
interest of justice,
so say the court, in this case,
in the People of the State of California
v. Savannah Marie Bruce,
"after reviewing the evidence in this
case, including the victim statements,
defendant statements,
and independent witness statements,
the People conclude that the defendant
committed a battery upon the victim."
That's the way the court starts.
"When the defendant struck the victim
with a metal water bottle,
the defendant had other less violent means
to stop any threat that she felt."
That's the conclusion of the court.
"However, the People
also conclude that the defendant
could have felt threatened
by the victim's aggressive approach
to the defendant's car.
Therefore,
the defendant would likely receive,
if the case went to trial,
a self-defense instruction.
Therefore,
she has a colorable self-defense,
and the people are unlikely
to secure a guilty verdict,"
that's a verdict
beyond a reasonable doubt.
That's not my standard here.
The first thing that I remember
learning as a child was stick and stones
will break my bones,
but names will never hurt me.
You can't pick up an instrument
and use it against another human being.
Period.
End of discussion.
[theme music playing]
[narrator]
Savannah Bruce claims fellow driver,
Dianna Bellefontaine, owes
for lost wages from false police charges.
Dianna is countersuing for attorney fees
and damages from an assault.
Okay. My standard here is much lower.
It's a preponderance of the evidence,
which means more likely than not,
not clear and convincing,
not beyond a reasonable doubt,
preponderance of the evidence.
So, your claim is self-defense,
because according to you,
as a result of this action,
it's on your papers,
and you can't get a job.
I wouldn't actually say
it's being blacklisted.
You were arrested for an assault,
which you were not found not guilty of,
you were not found guilty of.
The court declined to hear the case
in the interest of justice,
probably because you have no record.
I have a clean record, yeah.
[Judy] You have a clean record.
The court said,
"Oh, she looks like a nice girl.
She has no prior record." How old are you?
Twenty-six.
[Judy] So, you're 26 years old.
"We have other more
important things to do."
The defendant,
on the other hand, has a counterclaim.
Defendant says, there was this incident,
she did get out of her car,
she went over to your car
because she was trying
to get back into the lane,
you weren't letting her
get back into the lane
because she thought a lane was open,
it turned out it was closed,
so she was trying
to get back into her lane.
And you were inching up,
not allowing her back into the lane.
She got out of her car,
probably very irritated,
came over to your car,
and probably started to yell at you.
-Would that be fair?
-[Dianna] That's true.
[Judy]
Probably started to yell at you,
because I know
that you say in your answer,
you went over to her
and you tried to explain
what you were doing,
trying to get back into the lane
because the lane that you thought
was open wasn't open.
It's like going to a toll booth,
it's happened
well, it doesn't happen to me,
but it happens to my husband all the time.
We're standing in line,
and all of a sudden,
there's no line next to you,
"Oh, that's a whole new line.
I guess nobody else sees that."
And he goes over
and that toll booth is closed.
And then he has to go
begging somebody in the other lane
to let him back in the lane,
"Can I go in here?
Can I go in here?" I said, "They
they're not crazy about you,
they're not letting you in."
And then he gets mad and more aggressive,
and he pushes the car closer,
and closer, and closer,
so somebody finally lets him in.
Would that be a fair statement, Sarah?
Yes.
[Judy] Okay.
Just as long as I don't take
the whole heat for this.
Oh, God.
So, I know what happened.
She got out, she was angry,
and it wasn't a quiet conversation.
In response to her,
I assume there are statements.
The court concluded
that this was a metal water bottle,
not a empty Pringles can.
And I assume that there are
witness statements to that effect,
which I will see,
that you hit her with a bottle,
she says, causing a split lip,
which clearly is an assault.
It also says that as a result of this,
she had a pre-existing heart condition,
and she suffered a heart attack.
She also says that after
you were arrested and win,
you filed a civil case against her
after this dismissal.
She was forced to get an attorney.
You got a lawyer?
I did not get a lawyer.
-[Judy] You filed it yourself?
-Yes.
[Judy] And you were seeking
what kind of damages from her?
-[Savannah] Loss of wages.
-[Judy] How much?
-Ten thousand dollars.
-[Judy] Uh-hmm.
Did you have any legal advice
when you filed that case?
Not much.
[Judy]
What does that mean, not much?
By not a smart lawyer,
or you didn't talk to the lawyer much,
or what does that mean?
Okay. I didn't have legal advice.
Well, I don't think I believe that.
I have a friend who's a lawyer.
[Judy] Well, that's a lawyer,
that the lawyer happens to be a friend,
the friend is not a stupid lawyer?
-Hopefully not.
-[Judy] Okay.
And so, you know,
this friend who's a lawyer
suggested that
once this criminal case was dismissed
and you couldn't get
a job anymore with Uber,
that you could file a civil case
against her for false arrest?
-Yes.
-[Judy] Would that be right?
-So good to be around here for so long.
-[audience laughs]
Okay. You are seeking damages
in the amount of $10,000 for the assault?
-Uh-hmm. Yes.
-[Judy] Okay. Now
Yes, Your Honor.
[Judy]
so we're gonna start with you
because that's where it starts.
Uh-hmm.
-[Judy] Right?
-Yes.
[Judy]
You're both sitting in your cars,
waiting to get to a single queue
in order to pay for the car wash?
I had pulled
into the car wash long before her,
thirty to 45 seconds before her. I was
-That's not long before.
-[Dianna] Well, it
Thirty to forty-five seconds
is not long before.
[Dianna]
In the way that you summarized it,
you said that she was there
at the same time as me
and I changed my mind.
Well, no, I had been sitting there
when she arrived on, on the scene.
I had already turned my wheels,
waiting for the traffic to advance,
so I could complete the merge
when she pulled up.
I did not see her car
until she cut me off.
There was no one behind me
for 30 to 45 seconds.
And then, out of the corner of my eye,
I could see,
all of a sudden, another car
on the scene and cutting me off.
And I looked over
to try and make eye contact
with this person,
but the windows were all
were completely black,
I couldn't see the driver at all.
And so the traffic advanced again
and I moved up and so did she.
And this happened probably three times
before I said, "That's it."
You know, I-I got to tell her
because I can't
I can't see her through her windows
or this person.
So, I got out, she rolled down her window.
And immediately,
we both started shouting at each other.
And her car is small,
it's low to the ground.
-[Judy] What were you
-And so I had to bend over.
[Judy] Well, just a second,
what were you saying to her
and what was she saying to you?
[Dianna] Well, we were both shouting
Expletives?
Yes.
I'm not proud of that.
-That I can visualize.
-[Dianna] Yes.
Okay. And so, you leaned over into her car
and you were screaming at each other,
which I assume you were.
-Uh-hmm.
-You did see her car
trying to get back into the lane.
Don't say no.
I saw her trying to cut me off and
[Judy] You saw her
trying to either cut you off
or get back into the lane?
Yes.
Were your windows tinted?
-[Savannah] My back windows
-That's a
-[Savannah] are tinted.
-Yes.
And the front passenger seat?
Kind of tinted,
but not as tinted as the back.
-[Judy] Correct.
-Yes.
[Judy] The only one
that's not tinted is the windshield.
-[Savannah] Yes.
-[Judy] Okay.
What kind of car were you driving?
A Subaru WRX.
And what happened next?
[Dianna] And I bent down
and I started to point to the lane closure
because I wasn't able to make eye contact.
So, when I finally got her attention,
I turned my head and I started pointing
that that lane was closed
when she bashed me with a Hydro Flask.
Only, it was a Hydro Flask
that had probably ice in it and water.
It was heavy and it split my lip.
-Do you have photographs of your injury?
-Yes, I do, Your Honor.
[Judy]
I'd like to see them, please.
-Thank you.
-You're welcome.
-[Dianna] They required two stitches.
-[Judy] Just a second.
-Do you have hospital record?
-[Dianna] Yes.
[Judy] May I see them, please?
I'm gonna wait for you, Ms. Bruce,
now to tell me your version
of the events of the 31st of July.
[Savannah] Okay.
I was in line to get my car wash
to continue driving for Uber.
It was way before you pay,
before you merge.
I was over here in the left lane.
Ms. Bellefontaine was in the right lane
about a car ahead of me
and she starts cutting me off,
she crossed two white lines to do it,
and I was
I'm still unsure
why she was trying to cut me off.
Well, she was trying
to get in line ahead of you?
Like an entitled Karen kind of thing.
Just a second, she was trying
to get in line ahead of you?
-Yes. Before
-[Judy] Okay.
you're supposed to.
I would understand if it was time for
[Judy] No, I understand she was
-trying to get in line ahead of you?
-Yes.
And?
[Savannah] So, we were jockeying
for position for about 30 seconds,
she gets out of her car,
and walks up to my passenger side window.
I had my windows down, so it was nice.
I don't like to run my air conditioner
waiting in line that long
and she sticks her head in my window.
Am I allowed to cuss?
No. I understand you were cursing,
she didn't curse
-[Savannah] Okay. Yeah.
-You don't have
"What the doing?"
I didn't exchange any words with her.
I went into fight and flight mode,
picked up a Pringle can
which was the nearest thing
I had next to me,
bopped her with it, it served its purpose.
She got her head out of my car.
I pulled away, I didn't feel
I needed to be there and I got away.
The level of your arrogance to me
in suing her for your lost wages,
the level of your arrogance
is astronomical.
I have a kid to support.
I don't care whether you have
10 kids to support.
[theme music playing]
[narrator] Savannah Bruce has accused
fellow driver Dianna Bellefontaine
of cutting her off at a car wash
and filing a false police report.
Dianna is countersuing,
claiming she was assaulted
during the confrontation with Savannah.
Okay. Do you have a police report?
Does anyone have a police report?
Yes.
Your Honor,
I also have pictures of the car wash
where it says
"Please form two lanes," in the
-I
-[Savannah] Okay.
am taking for granted that she tried,
either tried to get back into lane
or tried to get in front of you.
I believe that.
I don't believe that
that entitles you to pick up
a dangerous instrument
and strike her with it.
Neither did the court
that dismissed your case.
Okay.
You originally lied to the police.
-You.
-What did I say?
This is the police report
of his conversation with you.
"I asked Savannah if she hit Dianna
with any type of a water bottle.
Savannah denied hitting Dianna
and stated there was not
any physical contact."
That's not what you just told me.
That's not what I stated to the police.
I said I did not hit her
with a water bottle.
[Judy]
That's not what it says here.
There was also, in this police report,
a statement of a person.
Neither one of you know the witness, John.
Uh-uh.
I assume not.
This is just the person
who was behind you in the car wash.
Uh-hmm.
[Judy]
That person stated in the police report,
John observed as both drivers
were merging and not backing down.
John watched as Dianna, that's you,
got out of her car
and approached the Subaru,
that would be you.
John observed Dianna get hit
with some type of canteen-style
water bottle,
Dianna went back to her car
and the Subaru made an eight-point turn
and turned around to leave the car wash.
John wrote down
the license plate of the Subaru.
If the witness made that statement
that neither one of you know
and has absolutely no skin
in the game made this report,
and if he was able
to see her get hit in the mouth
with some sort of a water bottle canteen,
then her face was not inside your car
because he wouldn't
have been able to see that
if her face was inside your car,
as you stated it was in your complaint
that you filed for me.
So, Ms. Bruce, there are a couple
of things that I'm going to say to you.
First of all, I can actually understand
how these things get started.
And it's really stupid,
but you don't have the right
to use a dangerous instrument
or something
that is not a dangerous instrument,
but when utilized by you
became a dangerous instrument
causing injury to somebody.
You have no right to do that,
because what had happened
was bad words, angry words.
And the first thing that I remember
learning as a child was sticks and stones
will break my bones,
but names will never hurt me,
which means if she called you
whatever name she wants to call you,
you can't pick up an instrument
and use it as a dangerous instrument
against another human being.
Period.
End of discussion.
Whatever the words are,
the words are not sufficient
for you to injure somebody.
There's another legal inference
and that is when you assault someone,
you take the victim
with all of their history.
In this case,
you hit a victim with a cardiac history.
And she landed not only in the hospital
with a split lip that required suturing,
but she also had a heart attack.
And the level of your arrogance to me
in suing her
after this case was dismissed,
not on the merits
for your lost wages is
the level of your arrogance
is astronomical.
Astronomical.
I have a kid to support.
I don't care who you support.
She's not responsible for that, you are.
I'm not responsible for the heart attack.
[Judy] You are
you are responsible for assaulting her
and causing her a split lip
and a heart attack
because she had had
previous heart condition.
And this incident that you created
by hitting her with that water bottle,
not an empty Pringles can,
that type of water bottle,
so says an independent witness,
and causing her injury.
You're responsible for that.
She's not responsible for you
losing your job, you are.
-You are.
-Can I say something?
And I don't care
whether you have 10 kids to support.
-May I say something?
-Sure.
She was spitting at me, basically,
while she was cussing me out--
[Judy] No, that's not
don't, don't use the word basically
like a 26-year-old,
basically is not what she was doing.
She was yelling at you.
You said she was yelling at you
and spittle was coming out
as she was yelling at you,
so you feel threatened.
Grow up!
You have a kid to support.
That means you have to grow up.
She doesn't owe you a thing.
-So, she was okay
-So, your case Nope.
You asked me
if you could ask me a question.
-[Savannah] Yeah.
-I answered your question.
I don't have to answer
any more of your questions.
You were wrong.
I don't say she was right
in trying to get in front of you.
That's not what I'm here to adjudicate.
I'm here to adjudicate your response.
And your response was to assault her.
And you can't do that.
And if you lost your job
because of it, good.
If that's the kind of temper you have,
good.
And maybe you have to
maybe because you have
an immune-compromised system,
you should find another venue to work
other than being an Uber driver
with a lot of strangers in your car,
maybe.
In any event, your case is dismissed.
You have a counterclaim for $10,000.
That's granted,
judgment on the counterclaim for $10,000.
-We're finished.
-[Kevin] Court is adjourned.
It was definitely self-defense.
The whole thing from the very beginning
is just unbelievable.
I was very frightened
when this lady came to my car.
I thought
she was going to possibly shoot me.
Judge Judy said it perfectly
that the level
of her arrogance is astronomical.
She should know not to be putting herself
in that kind of situation.
I'm not a person to be bullied.
I can't even talk right now.
There's a lesson for her in this,
you know, to grow up.
Have you ever been the victim
of road rage?
Not to this extent, but, you know,
I've gotten a few disgruntled looks
or yelling from the inside of their car.
-[Judy] It's frightening.
-Yeah.
I think that the defendant,
in this case, although
the successful litigant
should have just been smarter,
she's older.
I just don't understand that if you can
avoid that kind of confrontation.
-Just let it go.
-[Judy] Over
It's not urgently important.
So, you'll get to pay
for your car wash 30 seconds later.
Instead, you end up
with a split lip and a heart attack.
So, a couple of lessons to take away,
you stay in your car.
You want to yell at another person
in the car for cutting you off?
You want to give them an expletive
with one of your hands?
But stay in your car.
Don't get out of your car.
Nothing is worth getting
into a physical altercation
with somebody. That, uh
-No need to let it escalate to that level.
-Tragic. Yeah.
[narrator] Have you been cheated?
Go to JudyJustice.tv.
[theme music playing]