The Castaway Hotel - 7 - 20. Chapter 20 - The Verdicts

As I moved toward Mr. Gouldin, the judge addressed him. “Mr. Gouldin, would you please call your next witness.”

“May I please have a moment, your honor?” he asked.

“Make it brief,” the judge responded and Mr. Gouldin turned back to speak to me.

“I think we should rest here,” he explained. “We’ve just destroyed their connection between the boys and where the incident took place, and even though we can prove where some of the boys were during the nine to ten time span, it still puts them out of the house at the time. I think it would be best if we just rested now. I believe this new evidence will give the jury enough to think about and supply them with sufficient doubt to find your sons not guilty.”

“Are you sure about that?” I wanted to know. Even though I though Mark had destroyed Wood’s testimony, we hadn’t done very much to defend the boys.

“It’s a close call, but I want this information fresh in the jury’s mind when they deliberate,” Mr. Gouldin explained. “No other witness we call will be unable to add more damaging testimony than Mark did, so I think it would be to our advantage to rest now.”

I looked at the boys, who were listening in on our discussion, and could tell by the expressions on their faces that they were concerned about this suggestion. I wish I could take a few minutes to talk this over with Brandon’s parents and Jake, but at that moment the judge interrupted our deliberations.

“Mr. Gouldin, are you about ready to proceed,” he asked.

Hearing the judge, I finally gave Mr. Gouldin my answer. “If you think that’s best,” I advised him, “then do it. You know much more about criminal defense than any of us and that’s why we hired you in the first place.”

“Then I say we end this now,” he confirmed. I merely nodded and he turned to face the judge.

“Your honor, the defense rests,” he announced.

There was an audible and collective gasp from the others in the courtroom. The prosecutor merely looked over at the defense table and stared, as if he were trying to size them up. However, there was nothing for him to see.

“In that case,” the judge responded, “we shall take another recess, so you can prepare your closing arguments and I can prepare my charge to the jury. Court will reconvene in one hour.”

With that said, the judge slammed down his gavel, stood up and went back to his chambers. However, most of the people in the courtroom stayed where they were, except for the jurors. They were led back to the jury room, where they would wait until the judge returned.

We sat and talked among ourselves. We attempted to weigh the information as it had been presented and then speculated about whether there was sufficient for the jury to find the boys guilty. While we were talking, Mr. Gouldin and the District Attorney left the courtroom, to prepare their closing remarks.

After the judge and the lawyers left, the courtroom finally began to clear, so we decided to take a walk. We felt it would be best if we got away from there, even if it were only for a few minutes. Of course, the fact that the Hubbards and Tim Wood were glaring at us from the rear of the chamber helped to motivate our decision.

We wandered around the Courthouse Park for about a half hour, just enjoying the temperate day. It did help us relax more than if we’d stayed put, but thinking the hour was almost up, we wandered back to take our seats. We were still talking about how we thought the jury would decide when the judge reentered. Quickly, the chamber grew quiet again.

Once the jury had returned as well, the judge spoke. “Mr. Osgood, would you please make your closing remarks.”

“Yes, your honor,” he began, while standing up. Then, he strode over and stood in front of the jury box.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,” he began. “This case is fairly simple. It has been shown there was a past history of animosity between these boys, because of an incident at school, and when the four defendants finally got their opportunity for revenge, they took it. They were seen in the area just before the attack occurred, have no alibis for that time period and have plenty of motive for wanting to hurt the victim. If you agree with these facts, you have to return a verdict of guilty.”

Having finished his brief remarks, the D.A. returned to his table and took his seat. I thought his closing was more than a little weak, probably because his star witness had been discredited and his victim showed he was a liar and a bigot, but now we all watched Mr. Gouldin, as he made his address to the jurors.

“For one of the few times during this trial,” he stated, while holding his body very erect and looking very professional, “I agree with the District Attorney. This case is very simple. The biggest piece of evidence the prosecutor had to tie my clients to this crime was an eyewitness, who claimed he passed their car after dark, while both vehicles were doing approximately 55 m.p.h. However, after he testified, we discovered he could not have seen what he claimed, since the vehicle he said he saw wasn’t even in town at the time. If that’s not reasonable doubt, then I don’t know what is. You have no choice but to come back and return a verdict of not guilty.”

Mr. Gouldin gave the jury one final scan, to read their expressions, and then moved back to his seat. There was a brief lull in the proceedings, while the murmuring in the courtroom died down, and then the judge turned to face the jury, so he could give them his charge.

“Members of the jury, there are two charges involved with this crime,” he began, “however before we delve into those, I must remind you that you must find the evidence sufficient to place the defendants at the scene of the crime when it was committed. You must also find, beyond a reasonable doubt, they in fact perpetrated this crime.

“Now, concerning the specific charges,” he went on. “If you find beyond a reasonable doubt the defendants attempted to intentionally, knowingly or recklessly cause injury to David Hubbard, or that they negligently caused bodily injury to David Hubbard with a deadly weapon, then you must find them guilty of simple assault.

“If you find beyond a reasonable doubt the defendants attempted to cause serious bodily injury to David Hubbard,” the judge continued, “or caused such injury intentionally, knowingly or recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, then you must find them guilty of aggravated assault. Do any of you have questions concerning my directions?” None of the jury members responded, so the judge continued.

“Bailiff, will you please take the members of the jury to the jury room and sequester them, until they reach a verdict,” he ordered.

The bailiff did as he was directed and led the jury out. As they were leaving, I turned to look at my accused sons and still noted some very concerned looks on their faces. They were aware their continued freedom and a possible criminal record rested solely with the twelve men and women who just left and that was not a reassuring thought for them.

Once the jury was gone, we met with Mr. Gouldin. He told us we did what we had to do to exonerate the boys and felt confident the verdicts should come back not guilty. I told him I hoped he was right, as we prepared to exit out of the back of the courtroom. We planned to wait in the hallway until the verdicts were announced, but before we left, Mr. Gouldin told us he believed it wouldn’t take the jury long to reach a decision. This was due to the fact the trial turned out to be much shorter trial than anticipated and very little evidence was presented that the jury would have to wade through. Therefore, we took up our vigil in the wide corridor outside the courtroom.

As I looked around, I could see Mr. Hubbard, his son, David, and Tim Wood sitting at the opposite end of the corridor. They looked just as worried about what the jury would decide as we were. Every few minutes, they would turn in our direction and give us their patented glare, so it was obvious their animosity toward us only grew with time.

I became involved with one of these eye-to-eye stare downs with David and his father and was determined to outlast them. However, our little contest ended prematurely, when the bailiff came into the hall and announced the jury was back. We reentered the courtroom curious about what they had decided.

Even though Mr. Gouldin had told us the verdict would be probably be reached quickly, we thought it might take a little longer than this. I even glanced at my watch, to calculate how long it had taken, and was shocked to discover the jury had only been out for twenty minutes or less. This made me wonder if it weighed in our favor or against us.

On the way back in, I asked Mr. Gouldin what he thought. Although he said he felt confident the jury had seen through the lies and would find them not guilty, I think he still feared it could go either way. We walked in, took our seats and nervously awaited the outcome. Shortly thereafter, the judge entered and took his place, so we had to stand again. Once he called the court back into session, the jury was led into the jury box, and I noticed they didn’t look at either the prosecution or defense tables on the way in. Instead, the members of the jury seemed to prefer to look toward the floor or study their hands, for the most part. Once they were seated, the judge addressed them.

“Madam foreperson, has the jury reached its verdicts?” he asked.

“Yes, your honor,” the matronly looking woman replied. “We have.”

“For the defendant Daniel Currie, on the most serious charge of aggravated assault, how do you find?” I think we all held our breath at this point.

“Not guilty,” came the reply. We were somewhat relieved, but dared not cheer just yet.

“For the same defendant, on the lesser charge of simple assault, how do you find?” the judge asked.

“Not guilty, your honor.” I think some of the weight began to lift and I glanced quickly at the rear of the courtroom, where I saw David, his father and Tim Wood all looking as if they had just swallowed a whole lemon. It was quite obvious they were not happy with the verdicts and didn’t consider the matter closed, at least not yet.

We sat in controlled silence, while the same verdicts were read for Pat, Brandon and Shannon, and then the judge thanked the jury and told the boys they were free to leave.

I kept everyone with me in the courtroom for a few more minutes, since I wished to give the Hubbards and their friends time to leave first. I wanted to avoid any possible confrontations in the hallway or parking lot, which could lead to more charges. The boys were eager to get away from there, but I made them wait about fifteen minutes before we left, and I also made sure to warn them to stay together until we reached home.

As I suspected, the Hubbards and their supporters were still in the parking lot when we got there. I think they might have been planning to do something to our vehicles, but had to wait until everyone else cleared out first. Once they felt they had their opportunity, we showed up and ruined things, before they had the chance to carry out their plan. When they saw us, and how many there were, they all turned, got into their own vehicles and left.

Once they were gone, we did the same and drove home. Once we were away from the courthouse, a series of excited comments and cheers began to break the silence, as my relieved crew felt they could finally begin to celebrate their vindication.

When we got to the house, the euphoria continued, however the discussion now changed. Instead of talking excitedly about how everything worked out to clear them, they began to wonder what would have happened if Mark’s car hadn’t refused to start on the Sunday before he left for his conference. In fact, I think we all found that a very scary thought.

“You know,” Danny stated simply, “I can’t wait to thank Mark when he gets home from work, for helping us out of that mess, but maybe we should be thanking his car for breaking down instead.” There were a few scattered chuckles from some of the younger boys, because they didn’t immediately get his implication. Once this brief moment of giggles ended, the room became somber again.

“I really hate to think what might have happened if his car hadn’t broken down,” Brandon agreed. “We could have been convicted just because of what Wood said. I’m sure glad Mark had those receipts to prove he had the Grand Am at the conference during that week.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Jake countered. “I’m sure we would have come up with other things to clear you.”

“Possibly, but we can’t really say that for sure,” I added, not quite as confident. “I’m really glad someone caught on to the fact about the car, because it hadn’t registered with me at all.”

“Yeah, even we didn’t catch it,” Pat added. “We were focusing on how Wood said he had seen us and didn’t catch his mistake about the car.”

“By the way, who DID catch that?” Shannon asked.

“It was Cole,” Dion boasted, while patting Cole on the back.

“How did you pick up on that?” Ricky asked, while looking more than a bit impressed at his brother. Cole, for the most part, had always just seemed to blend into the background, but now he stood out.

“Yeah, what made you think of that?” Sammy asked Cole.

“Well, it’s because I always like to take the Grand Am when I need to go somewhere,” Cole began, “and that week I couldn’t do it. I guess it just made me remember it had been gone all week.” He looked slightly embarrassed by all the attention, but you could tell he was pleased he had been the one to help the most.

“Cole,” Brandon began, “I think I can speak for the others too, when I say thank you for catching Wood’s mistake about the car.” This time, Cole was blushing.

“We all owe you big time,” Brandon continued, “so if you ever need anything – anything at all, just ask. And I mean that.”

Cole was still blushing and it took him a few seconds before he was able to respond, but it wasn’t until the other three had concurred with Brandon’s statement.

“If I hadn’t picked up on it, someone else would have figured it out eventually,” Cole suggested, although I wasn’t sure anyone else agreed with him. “Maybe not then, but once we got home and started talking about it, someone would have remembered.”

“Possibly, someone else might have figured it out” Jake told him, “but it might have been too late for it to be used in court. By catching it so quickly, the lawyer was able to make it his whole defense and I really believe that’s what made the difference here.”

“He’s right,” I added, supporting Jake’s position. “If you hadn’t caught it when you did, the lawyer would have called a bunch of you to the stand to testify as to what you were doing before we left for vacation. By the time one of us had caught the mistake about the car, the jury may have been too confused, having to wade through all the other information, so they wouldn’t see that fact as clearly. Whether you are willing to admit it or not, Cole, it was your observation that helped the others to be found not guilty.

“And Brandon’s right,” Pat added. “We owe you big time. Whatever you want or need, just ask. I don’t think any of us could refuse you anything, since you kept us from going to prison.”

“No, you guys don’t owe me a thing,” Cole insisted. “I just did it to help my brothers. Besides, you’ve always been there for me too. You and Dad, that is.”

The boys told him they still wanted to repay him in some way, but for now settled on giving him a hug, slap on the back or some other gesture to show him how they felt. Each of the four boys who had been accused of the crime also made sure to thank Cole personally for his astuteness, although Cole still seemed embarrassed by the attention.

No matter how he acted, I think Cole was proud of himself too, and this was a feeling he seldom got to enjoy. Due to his early life, learning difficulties and problems in school, Cole had seldom enjoyed opportunities to feel good about himself. That was one of the reasons I gave in to him about the old car he wanted to fix up, hoping he could take some pride in the fact he was refurbishing it entirely by himself, both the body and the engine. Now, I just sat back reveling in the realization that his current recognition for was for something other than his automotive prowess.

During the rest of the evening, things began to quiet down and get back to normal, and by morning, the boys were beginning to talk about other things, besides the trial. We let the four college boys stay home for the rest of the week however, just to unwind and put what they’d been through behind them. I did this for their mental well-being, but it wasn’t a vacation. I also insisted they keep up with their studies while they were here, and although they mildly objected to my demand, they did as I asked.

Brandon’s parents stayed until Saturday, when they caught their flight home. There was a tearful parting between them and their son, yet it was also filled with relief. There was no doubt we were all happy this was behind us. The O’Haras promised they would come back to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with us too, which pleased Brandon immensely. It meant he wouldn’t have to fly there for either of those holidays, but would still celebrate both occasions with his parents. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to go to Texas to see them, but he didn’t want to miss being with the other boys either. This way, he could be with everyone at the same time.

After we saw the O’Haras off, Jake and I took the college boys back to their campuses, to resume their normal life, as students. I think by that point they were all eager to return to school and we parted with hardly any emotional displays when we dropped them off. Jake and I arrived home late Sunday afternoon and talked about how we had managed to dodge a bullet. We also wondered how many other scary incidents like this we might still have to face.