See, he picks up the brick there.
He punched me in my face.
He's refusing to leave.
Just a second, he was leaving.
He's telling me, "Come
at me, bro, come at me."
Oh, that's ridiculous.
You both behaved badly.
You're lucky it wasn't worse.
[narrator] This is Judy Justice.
[theme music]
Danny Martinez and his fiancée,
Alexandra Sanchez-Mar
are suing Brandon Alvarez
for trespassing and an as*ault.
[Kevin] Court, come to order,
all rise.
-Have a seat please.
-Good morning, judge.
We have case 1033, Martinez,
Sanchez-Mar versus Alvarez.
-Thank you.
-You're welcome.
[Judy] Your last
name is Sanchez?
-Mine.
-My fiancée.
-And you're his fiancée?
-Yes.
Why don't you have
a seat for a moment?
Because this case is really
about you, Mr. Martinez,
your fiancée was
witness to these events
and may have been, according
to you, traumatized by them,
but this really
involves the two of you.
-That'd be a fair statement?
-Correct.
Let me see if I understand,
-you have in your home a music studio?
-Yes.
Is it in the basement
or on the main level?
It's in my son's room.
-How old is he?
-He's four.
-And that's where you do--
-That's where I record.
That's where you record.
-You had a friend?
-Correct.
You and your friend were
doing music together?
That's correct, Your Honor.
And at some point you
became acquainted,
because you were
acquainted
-with this friend
-With the artist, uh-huh.
and you decided that
you and your friend
would like to use
his son's room,
that doubles as a
recording studio
to work with him and
record some music?
-Correct.
-So you started to work together
and then you and your
friend had a falling-out?
-Correct.
-Prior to you having a falling-out,
according to your
answer and counterclaim,
-you purchased a microphone--
-That's correct.
to use in recording.
You acknowledge that he
purchased a microphone
that he brought to your
son's room-slash-playroom.
After you and your friend
decided after this falling-out,
and you were aware that
there was a falling-out?
-Yes.
-You stopped going to the studio?
-That's correct.
-Your Honor, if I may,
I've only-- I had been to the studio
about two or three times.
It's just, I work a lot,
I work 12-hour shifts.
No, no, no, listen to me,
don't give me a lot
of editorializing.
If anything that I said is wrong,
tell me. Don't enhance it.
I don't need
enhancing right now,
I'm trying to set the stage
of what this case is about.
-Correct.
-Okay?
Correct.
So you and your friend split up
and you decided
that you weren't going
back to the studio anymore,
or you decided that you
would continue working
with this friend. Let's--
'cause I feel peculiar about it,
let's call your friend Steve.
-Correct, well, sure.
-[Whitney stifles laughter]
Now I feel more comfortable.
-So you continue to work with Steve?
-Yes.
At some point, you wanted
your microphone back.
That's correct.
And you communicated
that fact to Mr. Martinez?
That is correct.
Mr. Martinez said he sort
of felt uncomfortable,
'cause he's still
working with Steve.
So he says he gave
the microphone
-to Steve to give back to you?
-Yes.
-Your Honor, that--
-[banging bench]
I'm just telling
you what's in here.
-Okay.
-According to you,
Mr. Alvarez, this is your claim,
trespassed on your property
in order to get
his microphone back,
and in the process
assaulted you seriously
in front of your fiancée,
which is why she was
standing up next to you,
and your four-year-old son?
-[Danny] Yes.
-Traumatizing them.
Yes.
Mr. Alvarez has a
cross complaint.
He says he did in fact
come to your house,
because you stopped
returning his calls,
to retrieve his
expensive microphone
and you, in fact, assaulted him
and he's got a counterclaim
for that as*ault.
That's what this case is about.
That's correct.
-Alright.
-That is correct.
[claps] So we have a claim
of as*ault, a claim of as*ault
and also you want
your microphone back,
-and--
-Uh-huh.
And you have a
claim of trespass?
Did you get your microphone
back, by the way?
I received my mic, but not
my other piece of equipment.
I don't care about other
piece of equipment.
From whom did you
get the microphone?
Well, the person
that you claimed,
that I'm not friends
with anymore, Steve,
-I'm still friends with Steve.
-Steve, that's it. [claps]
-Mm-hm.
-You got it back from Steve?
Yes.
Did you get it back from
Steve before or after
this altercation
between the two of you?
After the altercation.
Okay, so after the altercation,
how much after the
altercation, a day, two?
It was a week, it was a week.
It was a week.
A week, so now we're just
talking about as*ault.
So on what day, sir, do you
allege this as*ault took place?
May 15th, 2021.
-What time of the day?
-One p.m.
-At your home?
-At my home.
Fiancée and son were there?
-Yes.
-I'm listening.
Okay, so they ended up,
Steve and Brandon ended,
oh, May 15th?
-Get to May 15th.
-May 15th, I--
-I just laid out the case.
-At 1:00 p.m.--
Just a second,
was it clear to you?
Pretty clear.
-Was it clear to you?
-Very clear.
Got it, I just want to know,
because you're my ears
to the tens of millions
of people who are
All I want is what happened,
you had the microphone,
you gave it to Steve,
you shouldn't have given it to Steve,
should've given it directly
back to him, it was a mistake.
-You cut him off.
-Yes.
You didn't return his calls.
Now he comes to your house
May 15th, 1:00 p.m.
[claps]
Pick it up from there.
May 15th at 1:00 p.m., he
Me and my fiancée are in
the yard, we're hanging out.
We noticed Brandon
pulling up to the gate,
right off the bat saying,
"Yo, rebel, what's my mic at?"
Pulled up to what gate? Is there a--?
It's a side gate that
leads to our home,
-we live in a side home.
-Okay.
Pulled up to the gate,
was anybody with him?
He had a driver with him.
Somebody was driving the car?
-Yeah.
-Okay.
So he immediately
lets himself in.
[Judy] You mean opened the gate?
Yeah, he opens the gate,
immediately lets himself in,
immediately started
asking for his equipment.
I respond by telling him,
"I don't have your stuff,
you know, Steve has your stuff,
you need to leave,
'cause, you know,
no one let you in."
As I'm walking towards him,
I'm telling him.
As you're walking towards him?
As I'm walking towards him,
he's continuing
to refuse to leave.
No, no, tell me as you're
walking towards him,
what he said to you
and what you said to him.
I'm telling him,
"Get outta here."
He's saying,
"No, give me my stuff."
At that point, you know.
Now at that point?
I'm trying to shove him out.
Okay, so we're going frame by frame.
-Yes.
-He's in your yard.
He's let himself in,
he wants his stuff.
-You say, "Get out of here."
-Yes. Yes.
-You start shoving him out.
-Yes.
Is that what you said?
Yes.
[Judy] How did you
start shoving him out?
I just put one hand
on him and tell him,
"Hey man, get out of here,
you need to leave."
Okay, well, first you
picked up two hands,
did you pick up two hands,
that's what you picked up first?
It was one hand.
[Judy] One hand, you
put your hands on him?
-Yes.
-And say,
-"Hey, man, get out of here?"
-Yes.
And then what happened?
And then he's refusing to leave,
he's still refusing to leave.
Just a second,
what happened next?
I try to keep shoving him again.
Okay, just a second,
so you're shoving him now
with one hand or two?
I believe with two hands.
Okay, so now you're shoving
him back towards the fence?
Towards the fence.
-Telling him to leave?
-Yes.
-What's next?
-At that point,
he gets very aggressive.
No, just a second, just
tell me what happened.
You're shoving him now with two
hands back towards the fence
and probably exchanging
words, he wants his stuff,
"Get outta here," lots of--
probably lots of bad language.
You're shoving him out.
What happened next?
He punches me in my face.
Okay, so he punched you
and then what happened?
At that point, I'm stunned.
I'm like, "What's that for?
What was that for?"
And then he's still saying,
"You have my mic,
give me my mic."
So at that point,
my wife grabs a brick,
because she feels in danger.
Just-- Just-- don't-- don't,
I don't care what she feels.
-Your wife picks up a brick?
-Yes.
And what does she do
when she picks up the brick?
She's verbally telling him,
"Get outta here."
She picks up a brick
and she's saying to him,
-"Get out of here?"
-"Get out of here."
She's pointing at him, leave.
Pointing at him,
"Get out of here."
-Mm-hm.
-And how far from the gate was he?
-When he was backing up?
-Yes.
So when he started backing up,
when he noticed my wife
picked up the brick,
he was still at the gate,
he was still, like,
in between the gate, so
-So he's still--
-Yeah,
-he's still at the gate.
-Just a sec.
So when you were pushing
him, was he at the gate?
No, he was in my property.
How many feet was he
in the yard?
Ten feet, 10 feet
inside the yard.
10 feet, so he was backing up
as you were pushing him,
because now you say
he's at the gate,
when your wife
picks up the brick,
-that's what you just said?
-Yes.
Yeah, I pushed him
initially so he can leave,
but then he got
aggressive, punched me.
-Well, I want to know where.
-Yeah.
Where was he when
he punched you?
-In my yard, 10 feet in.
-No.
-10 feet in?
-Yeah.
But at some point,
he got to the gate,
because you said your
wife picked up a brick
and at that point, he
was just inside the gate.
-Yeah.
-Not 10 feet in,
so he had backed up
and I want to know
if he backed up because
of your shoving him
or if he walked back
backwards towards the gate.
He's walking back
towards the gate.
Is that because of momentum,
because you're shoving him
or is he walking himself back?
He's gonna have a
whole different story,
but I'm paying careful
attention to your story.
Yeah. Yes, he-- he starts backing up,
because he notices my
wife pick up a brick.
I'm still telling him,
"You need to leave,"
as he's backing up
towards the gate.
I'm not shoving him
anymore at this point,
I'm still telling him, still
giving him a chance to leave.
Okay, so now he's--
now he's at the gate.
-Mm-hm.
-And you and your wife
are 10 feet away,
'cause he's already punched you,
according to you,
he's already punched you
and he's backing up,
not because you're shoving him,
but because what you said
was he saw your wife,
he saw your wife
pick up the brick,
so he was walking himself,
'cause you stopped shoving him?
That's what you just told me.
[quietly] Is that--?
-[quietly] Think so.
-[Judy chuckles softly]
-See why Whitney is so important?
-[Danny] Yeah.
He said, "When he noticed
my wife picked up the brick,
he was still at the gate,
he was still in between the gate."
-[Danny] Yes.
-So now he's between the gate?
-Yes.
-Now tell me what happens next.
Now he's at the gate.
He's at the gate,
I'm still pointing to leave,
-I'm still giving him a chance.
-Just a second. How--
Just a second.
How far were you from him
when you were pointing to him?
We're damn near
next to each other.
Well, but you were 10 feet away
when he started to back up.
No, he was 10 feet,
we were 10 feet into my yard.
-Into your yard?
-Into my yard.
Just a second,
you're 10 feet into your yard?
[Danny] Yes. Yes.
And he starts to back up,
because he sees your wife
pick up a brick, because
he's punched you.
He, according to you,
was backed up, so now he's 10 feet in.
Mm-hm.
He moves back the 10 feet,
'cause he's in between the gate,
so you are following him,
telling him to leave?
[Danny] Yeah.
Is that what you're telling me,
and you're two feet away?
Yeah, yes,
he's still in my yard,
-he's still in the driveway.
-[Judy] Just a second-- [laughs]
And so yes,
we followed him, because--
But he's moving backwards
to get away from your wife
and the brick and he was
10 feet away from you?
Yeah.
-[Judy] So why were you following him?
-He was refusing to leave.
He was walking backwards to
the gate, he was 10 feet away,
-that's what you said.
-No.
He was only walking backwards
when he noticed my wife.
-Just a second, that's exactly correct.
-Because of the brick.
Why were you close to him?
Why didn't you just stay
back there with your fiancée?
Because we were in fear
that he was gonna come back in.
Oh, that's ridiculous, alright,
I'm getting your picture.
So what happened next?
So now you're--
now you're this close to him again,
because you walk forward
as he's walking backward, and?
He's saying, "Come at me, bro."
He's telling me, when we're
at the gate, he's telling me,
"Come at me, bro, come at me."
-She had a brick in her hand.
-And, shh, what's next?
So I start defending myself,
I start--
-So you, let me understand this.
-[Danny] Yeah. Yes.
He's punched you,
you shoved him, one hand once,
and then shoved him
with both hands.
He's backing up after your
fiancée picks up a brick.
You follow him to the gate,
because he's backing up,
and he says to you,
"Come at me, bro, come at me, bro."
-Mm-hm.
-So then you punched him?
No, I didn't punch him at all.
Well, you said, "I'm defending myself."
What does that mean?
It just means that I have my
hands up ready for him to,
if he strikes at me,
I'm ready to defend myself.
Well, no, you didn't
use the words,
I'm ready to defend myself,
you said, "I defended myself."
-Yeah, I defended myself.
-That's what you said.
-So, is that what he said?
-That's what he said.
Yeah, so my question to you is--
It's not easy.
What do you mean,
you defended yourself?
There's no question
he was injured.
There's no question
you were injured.
So I want to know what you mean
when you say,
"I defended myself."
I'm gonna give him the same
grilling, not to worry.
Why didn't you just go back
in and close the gate?
Because he's refusing to leave.
He was leaving.
No, leaving is when you
have your back turned
and you're walking
towards your car.
-She had a brick in her hand.
-Would I turn my back
towards somebody with a brick?
-No, Your Honor.
-[Judy laughing]
[theme music]
[narrator] Danny
Martinez and his fiancée,
Alexandra Sanchez-Mar
claim Brandon Alvarez
assaulted Danny after he
trespassed on their property.
Brandon is countersuing
for sound equipment
and claims he was
the one assaulted.
Now you're at the gate,
we're going at this
frame by frame.
Yeah, he says, "Come at me."
-"Come at me."
-Yeah.
-And you do?
-Yeah.
'Cause you're
walking towards him?
Yeah.
[Judy] And what happens
when you get to him?
-Um
-"Um" is not an answer.
I noticed my wife right
next to me with the brick.
So she's-- you know, she's still
with me in the driveway.
We're leading
towards the sidewalk,
'cause he's just backing up.
Just-- Just a second. He's backing up,
now he's on the sidewalk?
-He's leaving towards the sidewalk.
-He's--
-Where, in the driveway?
-Yes.
-He's in the driveway?
-He's still in the driveway.
The driveway is beyond the gate
or it's still inside the gate?
It's beyond the gate.
So he backed out beyond the gate?
-[Danny] Yes.
-So now he's beyond the gate,
the gate that he opened
to come into your yard?
-Mm-hm.
-"Uh-huh" is not an answer.
Yes, Your Honor.
Okay, and you and
fiancée with the brick
are following him and
he's now in the driveway?
[Danny] Yes.
-And you're in the driveway?
-Yes.
Well, why didn't you just go back
in and close the gate?
Because he's refusing to leave.
Just a second, he was leaving.
No, leaving is when you
have your back turned
and you're walking
towards your car.
-You have a brick in your hand.
-Would I turn my back
towards somebody with a brick?
-No, Your Honor.
-[laughs]
-No, Your Honor.
-Alright. Let me hear about--
Let me hear about the fight.
So far you shoved him,
he punched you
and she picked up a
dangerous instrument,
-so that's so far?
-Yes.
Okay, what happened next?
So we lead towards the end
of the driveway,
I put my hands on my wife,
letting her know that it's okay.
[Judy] Fiancée?
My fiancée, I put her my hands on her
letting her know that it's okay,
he's already at the
sidewalk at this point.
But instead he strikes
me again in my face
and at this point
I'm like, "Okay,
this guy, he's not leaving,"
so I grab the brick from
my wife and I toss it at him.
I miss. At this point, he
tackles me towards my car
and I'm trying to hold him down,
we ended up on the ground
and he, you know,
somehow overpowers me
and slams my face to the cement
and when we're getting up,
he knees me in my collarbone.
Your version?
Your Honor, I don't
have no reason to lie.
Just a second.
Everybody has a reason to lie.
Whether you lie or not
is something
that I unfortunately am
gonna have to determine.
May 15th, 2021,
one o'clock, who was driving?
My cousin was driving.
Had you tried to call
Mr. Martinez before?
I don't have his number.
I can't get a hold of him that way.
My only form of communication
with him was through Instagram
and he blocked me
when he read my message.
Okay, on what date
did he block you?
May 5th, the same day
that I messaged him.
-Do you have that message?
-That's correct, I do.
[Judy] I'd like to see it.
Okay, I'm looking for this
date, that's Wednesday.
May 5th, 2021.
May 5th, okay, and this
happened 10 days later?
-Correct.
-And you said, "What's up, G,
I'll stop by your house
tomorrow around 2:00
-to pick up my mic. So you know."
-Correct.
[Judy] Did you get
a response from him?
No response at all.
And you didn't go
over the next day?
No, well, I passed by
and his car wasn't there
at that time. I knew
that he wasn't home,
so I didn't bother to
get off or anything.
Okay, and did you at some point
block him from
communicating with you?
-At some point, I did.
-Just a second.
At what point on what day?
May 8th.
[Judy] And tell me why you
blocked him on May 8th.
I was texting and calling Steve,
Steve had let me know that
he was gonna reach out to him.
I had let Steve know,
keep me out of this.
[Judy] Well, you hadn't
had a fight with him?
No.
So why wouldn't you just
give him back his mic?
What were you dealing
with Steve for?
I was dealing with Steve,
because I asked him
for some advice.
Steve was already
letting me know that--
Just a second.
-But this is what I don't understand.
-Yeah.
Clearly Steve knew
that it was his mic.
Yes.
Because he gave it back
to him at some point,
so he knew that it was his mic.
-You knew that it was his mic.
-Yes.
So why didn't you just--
And you hadn't had an argument
with him, Mr. Martinez?
[Danny] Yes.
So I'm not figuring out why
you asked Steve for advice,
instead of just on May 5th,
saying, "You know what,
we're not gonna be
home on May 5th,
I'll leave your
mic on the porch,
I'll leave it in the backyard."
There's a piece
missing here for me.
Yeah, it's 'cause Steve was
telling me to ignore him.
-He was telling me--
-Oh, well, wait just a second.
Steve was telling
you to ignore him?
[Danny] Yes.
I'm just curious as to why
you would listen to that?
Because I trusted Steve, I trusted him
-and that's where I made a mistake.
-Just-- Just--
-[Judy] Well, then, it's your mistake.
-Yeah.
Because I'm not hearing anything
that would suggest
that what he was asking
for was unreasonable.
He left a piece of valuable
equipment at your house,
you knew it belonged to him, he said,
"I'll come by and pick it up,"
nothing bad about it.
You don't respond to him,
you block him from your Instagram.
I mean, the smart thing to do,
Mr. Alvarez,
-is to take him to court.
-Correct, Your Honor.
You know, that's the
smart thing to do.
To go over to his house is
not the smart thing to do,
'cause you know he's
acted like a dummy
by blocking you from Instagram.
Your Honor,
I didn't think there was any,
I mean, there was,
like I said, me and him,
I've met his wife before,
I've met his children,
I mean, there was never any--
Any bad, yeah, he was acting--
Never any bad,
I didn't think anything of it.
I was just trying
to pick up my equipment,
and it was my equipment,
he knew it was my equipment,
he even suggested for me
to buy that equipment.
Just a sec, I get it,
so now I want you to
tell me what happened,
'cause I'm not understanding
this whole business here.
By the way, a brick is
a dangerous instrument
and if you followed him
out into a public street
with a dangerous instrument,
that's a no-no,
-do you understand?
-Yes, ma'am.
It's not a dangerous instrument
if you build a building with it,
but if you threaten somebody
or if you throw it at them,
it's a dangerous instrument,
do you understand?
Yes.
Now I want you to tell me
your version of what he,
so you went there,
he had blocked you from Instagram,
so that you know that
for some ungodly reason,
he's blocked you,
he's cut you off,
you never had any
problem with him before.
So you go to his house
with a driver.
Correct.
One o'clock in the
afternoon unannounced.
That's correct, Your Honor.
And you go into the backyard?
Well, no, first I'm walking,
right, like he said,
I'm walking to the side gate
and his parents live separately,
they live on one
side of the house
and he lives on the other
side of the house, right?
You have to get in
through the gate to knock,
but as I'm walking, I smell weed,
because they were both smoking outside
and his son wasn't outside
like he says,
so it's just a little strange to me.
Okay, so you smelled marijuana?
[Brandon] Yes, I smell marijuana.
-From the back?
-Yes.
Well, from his front of the yard,
-it's his front of the yard.
-Okay. Okay, keep going.
Like I said, I'm walking
to the front gate.
I told him, "Hey, what's up?
Where's my mic at?
You blocked me on Instagram.
What's that all about?"
And I'm stepping inside,
I'm not 10 feet inside.
-Just tell, don't--
-Okay.
You're stepping inside the gate?
I'm stepping inside and as
soon as I step into his gate,
still open, he approached me
with one hand
and he grabbed my neck,
he doesn't shove me,
he grabbed my neck and I have, if I may,
I have evidence here, where it showed
that he clearly grabbed
my neck, not shoving me.
I mean, you're not gonna
have any mark from shoving.
May I see?
Can I see what he's got?
There's a timestamp
on there as well.
[Judy] Who took this photograph?
[Brandon] I did myself.
[Judy] Go ahead.
As I said, he grabbed my neck
and so like anyone would,
I reacted and I punched him,
so he would let go of me.
I was not 10 feet inside, I was--
my back was towards the gate
and as I reacted
and I punched him--
-What was being said?
-What was said?
He was telling me to
"Get the out of here,"
excuse my language, he said,
"Get the outta here.
I don't have your equipment,"
and I was just telling him,
"You have my equipment, and
I haven't gotten my equipment back.
And at this point, him and his
wife both picked up a brick,
not just his wife,
he picks it up as well
and that's why he
said I was walking
with my back towards the street,
I didn't wanna turn around,
I was in fear that I was
gonna get hit with a brick
by both of them and so as
I'm walking out the gate,
I close the gate and
he still opens the gate
and he follows me and this
is when he approaches me
and he tried to hit me with a brick,
he swings on me with a brick
and I reacted
and I hit him again.
This time he falls to the floor,
picks up the brick again
and I'm still walking,
like he says,
I'm already towards the sidewalk.
You know, I'm trying to leave,
but he throws it at me
and he comes and he
tackled me to the floor
and that's how you've seen
the pictures I have,
the abrasions and the marks
on my side and like he said,
he was trying to hold
me down on the floor
and I picked him up and
I threw him off of me.
I didn't knee him, I'm still
trying to get away from him,
-because they both have--
-Did the person
who was in the car
get out of the car?
No, they never got out
at any point.
You have a lot of paperwork.
[Danny] Yeah, Your Honor, a video.
-I'd like to see it.
-Okay.
I have multiple angles.
So this is the angle where he--
-Just a second, I couldn't see it.
-[Danny] Okay.
Could we see the video please?
[theme music]
Steve was supposed to reach out to him.
So if he reached out to him-
I don't answer questions,
I'm telling you.
-Yeah.
-It's irrelevant,
-unless you have some evidence.
-I wanted--
-Yes, I have evidence that--
-No, no.
-[banging on bench]
-I wanted to.
Listen!
[theme music]
[narrator] Danny Martinez
and his fiancée
Alexandra Sanchez-Mar are
accusing Brandon Alvarez
of trespassing and as*ault.
Okay, could we see the video please?
[Brandon] See right there.
[Judy] Well, I see you
both picked up bricks.
-[Danny] No, I don't have a brick.
-[Judy] Yeah.
[Danny] I just dropped
my phone on the ground.
-I'm pointing at him right now.
-[Brandon] He dropped the brick.
He had the brick in his right hand.
[Danny] Right here, you'll see
I don't have a brick.
I'm right-- He's saying, "Come at me."
I don't have a brick in my hand.
There's no brick in my hand,
it's just my wife.
He strikes at me here.
This is when I got fed up.
[Judy] Why are you
What?
I don't understand, sir,
why you followed him
out into the street.
'Cause he's saying,
"Come at me."
He's saying he's
not gonna leave.
-He's leaving.
-No, he's not.
So when you went on
the side of the gate,
you can clearly see me
telling him to leave,
I'm still pointing to leave,
he swipes my hand down,
he's knocking my hand down
saying, "No."
I would not come at somebody,
who's already gonna leave.
I'm only gonna come after
somebody that trespass.
Just a second. Don't tell me
what you're gonna do.
-[Danny] Yeah, okay.
-And if you tell me that you think
-that you acted appropriately--
-Yes.
You may have taken
bad advice from Steve
and that may have
been your problem,
and maybe smoking a little weed
and taking bad advice from
Steve all got it together.
But this wasn't a little shove,
that you gave him
and he wasn't somebody
who had done anything to you,
except that you took some
bad advice from Steve.
Your Honor, he trespassed.
He was told to leave multiple
times by my wife as well.
You don't have a wife.
All you had to do was give
him back his equipment.
No, Your Honor.
I'm not excusing coming
to your house unannounced.
What I'm saying is
that you were high,
you had taken bad advice,
you took his property
and gave it to a third person.
He came to get his property,
which he probably shouldn't
have done unannounced,
'cause he knew that
there would be trouble,
but you don't see any
complicity on your part?
Yes, I understand
that I messed up on--
-On a lot of things.
-On ignoring his message.
On a lot of things,
on a lot of things,
-you put your hands--
-But I have proof.
-I have proof here.
-I'd like to see that.
[Danny] That was
gonna reach out to him.
-[Judy] That who?
-Steve.
Let me explain something to you.
The fact that Steve was
going to reach out to him
is not relevant to this case.
He wouldn't have
come to your house
if Steve had reached out to him
before the 15th of May.
-Correct.
-He wouldn't have. That's your fault.
He reached out to you on May 5th.
From May 5th to May 15th, in my head,
I thought Steve already reached out.
I don't care what's going on
in your head, sir.
Clearly when he came to
your house, at that point,
you knew that he hadn't
gotten his stuff back
and instead of saying to him,
"Listen, I don't have it.
I gave it to Steve,
I'm sorry, I gave it to Steve,"
you shoved him out of your yard.
He doesn't think that
there's anything wrong
in being in your yard, sir.
It's not as if you had had
bad words with him before,
the only word you had with
him was on the 5th of May,
when he said,
"I'm coming to pick up my mic,"
and you weren't home,
and then you blocked him from Instagram.
You had not had a bad word with him,
he was in your house,
as far as I can tell,
with Steve, playing music
with a mic that he brought to your house
and some of your equipment,
and whether Steve was
supposed to reach out to him,
that is totally irrelevant,
it didn't happen.
And that's why--
[Judy] That's not-- If that's
the proof that you have.
-Yes.
-Well, that's not relevant to this case,
that Steve was supposed
to reach out to him,
that's not relevant.
So if he reached
out to him prior?
I don't answer questions,
I'm telling you.
-Yeah.
-It's irrelevant,
unless you have some evidence.
-Yes, I have evidence that--
-No, no.
-[banging on bench]
-I wanted to.
-Listen!
-Yeah.
Unless you have evidence
that prior to May 15th,
evidence that Steve
returned his mic to him.
-I have--
-No.
Unless you have evidence
that Steve returned his mic to him.
I have evidence that Steve
picked up the microphone.
-From your house?
-From my house.
I know that.
I said that 20 minutes ago.
He and Steve had a falling-out,
you remained friendly with Steve.
You knew that he
had a microphone
that he brought to your house.
He messaged you for the
microphone on May 5th.
Instead of responding
to him like a-- like a person,
you call Steve for advice, this genius,
you call him for advice, he says,
"Just ignore him." [laughs]
And you, Mr. Brilliant,
decided to just ignore him
and block him from Instagram.
That's what happened.
-Am I reading this right?
-Yeah.
-Am I reading it right?
-Yeah.
Your case is dismissed.
Now let's get to your counterclaim.
There was an altercation here.
It was a nasty fight.
One person got more injured
than the other perhaps.
You didn't spend any time
in a hospital, did you, sir?
I had spent time
in my house, sick time.
I don't care if you
spent time in your house.
My question was a simple one:
Did you spend any
time in a hospital?
-No.
-Did you, Mr. Alvarez?
-Yes, I did, Your Honor.
-When?
[Brandon] If I may,
I have evidence right here.
I'd like to see it.
Okay, so you said you
had a visit with a doctor
over the Internet, right?
Correct, over the phone.
Over the phone, and you
said you had a backache,
because of a confrontation
that you had and it hurt
and he told you to take
pain pills for muscle pain.
-That was it?
-Mm-hm. That was it.
Right, well, you shouldn't
have gone to his house.
You had a fight,
you both behaved badly.
You're lucky it wasn't worse.
-Of course.
-Of course.
You had a fight
because of your stupidity,
not his, yours, yours.
How can you blame me
for his actions--
Just a second.
I don't answer questions.
-I'm making a statement.
-Yeah.
You took advice from Steve
that turned out to be wrong.
As I said before,
your case is dismissed.
So is your counterclaim.
You got your mic back?
I got my mic, I'm missing
another piece that he still has.
-Okay, you got your mic back?
-Correct.
Okay, we're done here, thank you.
-[Kevin] Court is adjourned.
-[theme music]
This man came to
my home thinking
he had every right to think
that I stole his stuff.
I do feel he was trying
to steal my microphone.
He didn't respond to me.
Due to me trusting someone,
this is what happens.
I didn't want to get
hit with a brick,
I mean, no one wants
to get hit with a brick.
No more bringing business
to family locations at all.
It's just time to part ways.
Watching that video
was very interesting,
because you can
see the defendant
clearly trying to back away,
while both plaintiffs
or one of the plaintiffs
has a dangerous instrument
and had they struck him with that,
that could have really
led to some bad charges,
some felony charges for as*ault
with a dangerous instrument.
Yeah, I think that, you know,
you're allowed to defend
yourself and your property
with the degree of force
that is being used--
-Against you.
-Against you, clearly,
I mean, he knew why he was there.
I didn't see the defendant,
-when he first came in, being aggressive.
-No.
I actually saw in the video
the plaintiff getting up
and being aggressive
and telling him to get out.
Anyway, what could have
been a very tragic situation
just ended with a couple
of lumps and bumps.
-Keep your hands to yourself.
-Keep you--
Right, right, and if
you have to resolve it
and retrieve property
and you're having a problem,
that's what courts are for.
[Sarah] Exactly.
[theme music]
[narrator] Are you a
victim of an as*ault?
Go to JudyJustice.tv.
[theme music]
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01x05 - Backyard Fist Fight
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American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin.
American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin.