The Castaway Hotel - 7 - 18. Chapter 18 - The Trial Begins

In the morning, everyone dragged down to breakfast very tense and apprehensive about what surprises the day might hold. I tried to get them to eat a decent meal before they left, but most couldn’t eat very much. The four accused boys just picked at the plates I sat in front of them, which only pointed out how badly this was affecting them. As much as it bothered me to see them like this, I could only pray this would soon be behind us and they would be able to go on with their lives.

Brandon’s parents were there too and they both looked tense and extremely worried. Even though Jake and I tried hard to keep our concerns from showing, the O’Haras were both more transparent with their feelings. I hoped the boys wouldn’t notice how they were reacting, because I didn’t want them to be any more anxious than they already were, but I wasn’t about to say anything to the O’Haras. I didn’t want to stress them out any more either and, fortunately, that didn’t happen. Before long, we were heading off to the courthouse.

Mr. Gouldin met us outside the courtroom and informed us the opening remarks would be given first. Then the prosecution would start calling its witnesses. He explained we should be prepared to hear a great deal of information about the past relationship between the boys and David Hubbard and warned us that much of it would be slanted to make him look better. We told him we understood and promised to keep our cool.

Once he’d briefed us, we went in and took our seats. The accused boys at the defense table with Mr. Gouldin and the rest of us sat in the gallery, behind them. A wooden railing was all that separated us, but we were still close enough to show our support.

There were others in the courtroom as well, including Mr. Hubbard, David’s father, a reporter from the local newspaper and a few other curious townsfolk. Most were there to either support my boys or the victim, so the reporter appeared to be the only unbiased person there, or so we hoped.

It wasn’t long before the bailiff requested everyone in the courtroom to rise, as the judge entered. Once the judge told us to be seated, he informed the prosecutor he could begin. The D.A. stepped forward and began his address to the jury.

“This is a simple case and the facts will point out the hostility between the defendants and David Hubbard. Although we don’t have direct or irrefutable proof of the defendants’ involvement in the assault on Mr. Hubbard, which inflicted extensive damage to his person, we shall prove these boys had motive, means and opportunity to commit the crime. Not only that, but they were also seen in the vicinity where the attack occurred, shortly before it happened. You will also hear stories about how their sexual preferences and perversions…”

“Objection, your honor,” Mr. Gouldin interrupted. “The use of that term is not only inflammatory, but inaccurate.”

“Objection sustained,” the judge ruled. “Mr. Osgood, please be careful about the phrases you use when referring to such matters.” The District attorney nodded, regained his composure and began again.

“You will hear how the defendants’ sexual preferences and attractions ignited an initial encounter between these young men. I will also show how this escalated, fueled by the defendants’ father’s support and influence with certain elements within the community.”

The boys immediately turned and looked at me, showing they were stunned that I was being dragged into this as well. Personally unfazed by the accusation, I merely motioned them to turn back around, as the D.A. continued.

“We will also show how these same young men targeted David Hubbard and his family for payback, over something they had initiated in the first place. Although the facts I present will be sufficient to convict, I hope you do not allow your decision to be tainted by the position and reputation their father carries in this community. Once you have been shown the evidence, I see no way you can avoid returning a verdict of guilty, unless you choose to ignore the law.”

Other than claiming I influenced what happened, I saw no surprises in his opening. It was pretty much what I expected, especially after witnessing the way he had questioned the potential jurors yesterday. Now, I waited to see how Mr. Gouldin would try to counter his remarks. With the grace and sophistication of a southern gentleman, our lawyer made his way to the front of the jury box and began his own opening comments.

“What we have here is a case built on circumstantial evidence and outrageous and egregious suppositions. The problem is, those suppositions and the prosecutions own bias has caused the evidence to be misconstrued and misapplied in this case.” Mr. Gouldin glanced over at the prosecution table after saying this, to gauge how his accusation had been received. The D.A. looked annoyed by his statement, but I refocused on our attorney, to see what he had to say next.

“The four defendants are fine young men, who are greatly respected in the community, and other than a previous run in with the complainant, have no history of antisocial or criminal behavior. The prosecution will attempt to use their sexual orientation, or suspected sexual orientation, to paint them as bad people, but they are not. Please don’t let anything said in that regard sway you from judging this case solely on its merits.

“However, on the other side,” Mr. Gouldin continued, “we have a young man who has made many enemies over the years. Even though he was the victim of an assault, which has now left him permanently disabled, he is not a sympathetic victim. Instead, he and his friends are using this opportunity to get even with four young gentlemen who had bested them in the past. I believe if you look at the evidence, as it is presented, you will not be able to conclude, beyond a reasonable doubt, that these four young men,” he now swept his arm in the direction of my sons, “played any part in what happened, let alone were responsible for it.”

Just as gracefully as he had approached, and while maintaining the same dignity that made him stand out in a crowded room of people, Mr. Gouldin made his way back to the defense table and took his seat. As he did so, the judge looked toward the prosecution table and spoke.

“Mr. Osgood, you may call your first witness,” he directed.

The prosecutor nodded and rose to his feet. “The state would like to call David Hubbard to the stand.”

At that moment, the courtroom doors swung open and a member of the sheriff’s department pushed David up to the witness stand. He was sitting in a wheelchair and looked about as pathetic as a hound dog dressed up for Halloween. If anything would elicit sympathy for his claim, seeing him in this condition certainly might.

I prayed the jury would see through his theatrics and he’d lose this advantage, once he opened his mouth. Up to this point, however, he continued to play it quite well, as his wheelchair was placed beside the witness stand. The judge had previously consented to allow him to stay in it while he gave his testimony, so now the bailiff moved in front of him, to swear him in.

“Do you promise the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth in the case now before this court?”

“I do,” he said, very assuredly, and then glanced at the jury, before glaring at the defense table.

“Please state you full name for the record,” Mr. Osgood directed him.

“David Albert Hubbard,” he responded, looking remarkably calm.

“David, for the record,” the prosecutor continued, “I’d like you to tell the court, in your own words, the events of Thursday, July tenth of this year.” David glared at the defense table again, before focusing on the acting D.A. and giving his testimony.

“Well, me and some of my friends went out of town to this place we like to party,” he began. “We had a good time and almost everyone had left, but I was still there with one of my friends. When she took off, I realized the keys to my car must have fallen out of my pocket, so I went looking for them. While I was crawling on the ground trying to find them, someone snuck up behind me and beat me with something. The next thing I remembered, I was waking up in the hospital, with all kind of tubes running out of my body.”

“And what happened to you, as a result of this attack?” the D.A. asked next.

“The doctors have told me I’ll never walk again,” he explained, while trying to look as pathetic as he could for the jury. “Whoever attacked me broke a couple of the vertebrae in my back, and that severed the nerve running to my legs.”

After saying this, he pointed at his legs and his wheelchair, to emphasize the fact he was now permanently paralyzed from the waist down. After giving the jury time to absorb the impact of spending the rest of his life in a wheelchair, the D.A. continued.

“Did you see who did this to you?” the prosecutor followed.

“No, the cowards hit me from behind,” Hubbard replied. “I never heard or saw them coming.”

You could see he was visibly upset as he said this, which I think most people would read as indicating he wanted to get even with those who attacked him. Unfortunately, it could also be interpreted that he was disgusted he hadn’t been injured in a fair fight, but ambushed from behind.

“Do you know the accused?” the prosecutor asked, while pointing toward the defense table.

“Yes, I do,” he responded, spitting the words out like they left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“And how do you know those four individuals?” the D.A. pressed.

“Because of a fight a few years ago,” Hubbard offered, with the same disdain.

“Could you elaborate on that?” the prosecutor asked.

“We, a couple of my buddies and me, were in the parking lot of the high school when the one guy, Shannon, made a pass at one of my friends,” Hubbard explained. “We just tried to ignore him, but he wouldn’t go away. I guess he was horny and wanted some action.”

“Objection, your honor,” Mr. Gouldin interrupted. “He’s testifying as to the defendant’s state of mind at the time.”

“Sustained,” the judge ruled. “The jury will disregard the witness’ last statement and, Mr. Hubbard will you please confine your testimony to what actually happened?”

“Yes. I’m sorry,” he said, while making an expression resembling one a little boy would make after he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. This probably scored him a few more sympathy points with the jury.

“Would you please continue,” Mr. Osgood urged him.

“Well, when he wouldn’t go away, we started pushing him, to get him to leave us alone,” he testified. “That’s when those three, and some of their other brothers, attacked us and we had a big fight. One of them even busted my nose.” He paused for effect.

“And what happened after that?” the lawyer pushed.

“My friends and I ended up getting suspended from school, because of them,” Hubbard stated. He sounded as if he had been humiliated and harmed by the suspension, but he was never a good or cooperative student before that incident.

“So there is a lot of animosity between you and them?” the D.A. asked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hubbard asked, since he didn’t understand his lawyer’s terminology. A couple of the jurors, and some of the crowd, snickered at his ignorance.

“Let me rephrase that,” the D.A. stated, “In other words, is it true you and the four defendants don’t get along and actually despise each other?”

“Yes, sir,” he announced, with an air of pride. “We can’t stand each other.” He gave a little smile after adding that comment.

After this, Mr. Osgood questioned Hubbard about other issues, including how funding had been cut off to his father’s Boy Scout troop and why. He delved, depth, about how our family had lobbied the United Way unsuccessfully and then did all we could to get people to stop donating to the United Way, in order to get back at the Boy Scouts. Hubbard claimed this was all done, “because the Scouts don’t let in fags.”

“That’s all I have for this witness, your honor.” Mr. Osgood stated, after making a face in response to Hubbard’s previous comment. He then turned and went back to his seat, slightly upset that his witness had cost him some of the points he had scored with his previous testimony.

“Mr. Gouldin, do you have any questions for this witness?” the judge asked our attorney.

“Yes, your honor, a few,” Mr. Gouldin confirmed, as he stood up and made his way in front of the witness.

“First of all, Mr. Hubbard, I would like to express my sincere sympathy for what happened to you and the prolonged effects it will have,” he offered. David gave him a slight snarl, to indicate he didn’t believe the comment was sincere.

“Thinking back upon that night,” our lawyer continued, “you stated you didn’t see who attacked you. Is that correct?”

“Yes, I already said that,” Hubbard snapped, obviously upset that he’d been asked to confirm his previous statement.

“Do you have any idea about what time this attack occurred?” Mr. Gouldin continued.

“I’m not sure,” Hubbard admitted. “I guess I was unconscious for part of the time, but I think everyone started to leave around 9:00, cuz we first got there around noon, so probably between 9:00 and 10:00.”

“And you say these times because?” Mr. Gouldin pressed.

“Well, like I said, everyone started to leave around 9:00,” he nearly growled, “and I wasn’t alone there for any longer than an hour before it happened.”

“I see,” Mr. Gouldin acknowledged, “and who discovered you after the attack and when did that occur?”

“My dad called one of my friends when I didn’t get home on time,” Hubbard answered, “and he drove back, to see if I had car trouble. That’s when he found me, so he called 911 and got me help.”

“So you were unconscious from the time of the attack until when?” Mr. Gouldin wanted to know.

“I guess,” Hubbard agreed, “because I don’t remember anything until the next morning, when I woke up in the hospital.”

“Ah, I see,” Mr. Gouldin acknowledged. “Now, you’ve also stated there were many people there with you before the attack occurred, is that correct?”

“Yes, a bunch of my friends were there too,” Hubbard confirmed.

“So one or more of these people could have returned after they left?” Mr. Gouldin asked, which startled Hubbard.

“I guess so,” Hubbard mumbled, unsure of whether he should be admitting this or not.

“How many of your friends would you say were there earlier?” Mr. Gouldin continued.

“I don’t know. Maybe twenty or thirty,” Hubbard answered. His chest seemed to swell with pride after making this statement, as if he was proud to proclaim he had that many friends.

“And it was possible there were also others that had heard about your plans and could have known you would be there too?” our attorney added.

“Yeah, maybe,” Hubbard responded. “I don’t know.”

“So there were many people who either knew or suspected you’d be there and anyone of them could have shown up and carried out the attack upon you. Is that correct?” Mr. Gouldin stated, painting Hubbard into a proverbial corner.

“No, my friends wouldn’t do that to me,” Hubbard insisted, although he now looked worried.

“Really? But what about those who merely heard about your gathering?” Mr. Gouldin continued, without letting up. “Aren’t there others who might have a grudge against you for some reason?”

“Not like them!” Hubbard screamed, to emphasize his accusation, while pointing at my boys.

“Ah, yes. Let’s get back to what happened between you and my clients,” our lawyer suggested. “You stated earlier that Shannon had come on to one of your friends in the school parking lot. Correct?”

“Yeah, I did,” Hubbard repeated.

“And wasn’t that the same claim you made at the school board meeting, when this incident was discussed there?” Mr. Gouldin pressed.

“Yeah,” Hubbard agreed, but he was beginning to look a little uncomfortable and uncertain now.

“And didn’t that prove to be a lie then?” Mr. Gouldin asked.

“No!” Hubbard stated, very loudly and defiantly.

“Excuse me, but I have copies of the board minutes and statements from several people who testified at that meeting,” Mr. Gouldin announced, to the prosecutions chagrin.

“Objection, your honor,” Mr. Osgood protested. “Hearsay.”

“Objection sustained,” the judge ruled. Mr. Gouldin contemplated how he wanted to proceed next, to get around this.

“Isn’t it true that Miss Sara Parker and Miss Jodi Langley both testified in front of the school board that…”

“Objection, your honor,” Mr. Osgood interrupted again. “This is still hearsay.”

“Sidebar, your honor,” Mr. Gouldin countered.

“Approach,” the judge responded, simply.

“Your honor,” Mr. Gouldin began, once both he and Mr. Osgood stood before the bench and out of earshot of everyone else. “Each of these people are available and willing to testify, if I’m forced to call them as rebuttal witnesses. However, I believe it would save us all time and not inconvenience them if the court would allow us to impeach Mr. Hubbard’s testimony using statements these witnesses made to the school board and have sworn to in these affidavits,” he announced, while handing the said documents to the judge.

“Let me look these over,” the judge stated, as Mr. Gouldin released the forms to him. The judge scanned them quickly and then commented. “Mr. Gouldin, you are positive these witnesses are available and willing to testify to the same information?”

“Absolutely,” he agreed. “I think the affidavits signed in support of their testimony before the school board proves that.” The judge thought for a moment and then spoke.

“Both of you step back please.” He waited for the attorneys to step away from the bench and then ruled. “Objection overruled,” he announced, so our attorney moved into position to ask his next question.

“As I was saying, isn’t it true that Miss Sara
Parker and Miss Jodi Langley both testified in front of the school board that they overheard you making plans to attack Shannon McCarthy earlier in the day? They even went as far as to state they knew you were planning to offer him a ride home, so you could get him alone and beat him up? Isn’t that correct?”

David was turning beet red now. “Well, isn’t it?” Mr. Gouldin persisted.

“That’s what those two said,” Hubbard reluctantly admitted.

“And didn’t they also say that you and your friends went directly up to Shannon McCarthy and started pushing him around and calling him names, before he even saw or spoke to you?” our lawyer continued. The veins in Hubbard’s neck were beginning to stick out now.

“Yeah, but they were lying,” he screamed, hostilely.

“And that you threw the first punch?” Mr. Gouldin pressed, but David didn’t respond.

“And that your nose got broken after one of the boys blocked your punch and threw one of his own,” our attorney went on. “Isn’t that how your nose got broken, when one of the boys tried to defend himself?”

“It wasn’t one of the fags who broke my nose,” Hubbard spat out, defiantly. “It was one of their straight brothers. No queer could take me in a fight.”

Hubbard’s father groaned after he heard his son say this and lowered his head. He knew David had just lost most, if not all, of the sympathy points he had earned earlier with the jury.

“Ah, so it’s not these boys who hate or are out to get you,” our attorney insisted, “but you who hate and despise them, because you suspect some of them are either gay or bi-sexual?” There was no response.

“Maybe you didn’t hear or understand my question?” Mr. Gouldin continued. “I will rephrase it then. Isn’t it true that you are the only one who carried this grudge forward, because you suspect some of these boys are either gay or bi-sexual?” Again there was no response.

“Your Honor, will you please direct the witness to answer my question,” Mr. Gouldin pleaded.

“Young man, will you please answer the defense attorney’s question.”

“Yeah, I don’t like them,” he finally admitted.

“And that would be primarily because of their suspected sexual orientation?” Mr. Gouldin persisted.

“Okay, I don’t like fags and fudge packers, especially when they come on to me!” Hubbard exclaimed and Mr. Gouldin looked pleased by his response. On the other hand, Hubbard’s father winced, upset by his son’s seeming inability to hide his bigoted nature.

“Very colorfully put,” Mr. Gouldin commented. “However, isn’t it true that you’ve had run-ins with others and these boys and their brothers are not the only ones you’ve had fights or disputes with?”

“Maybe,” Hubbard replied, softly.

“Would that be a ‘yes’ response?” Mr. Gouldin pushed.

“I guess so,” Hubbard stated,

“So there are others out there who have just as big or bigger motives to get even with you for other incidents?”

“I dunno. I guess,” he replied.

“Yes, I bet you do and I think that’s what you, the police and the acting D.A. did here,” Mr. Gouldin suggested, “guessed that my clients did the attacking.”

“Objection, your honor,” Mr. Osgood said, forcefully, while jumping to his feet.

“Sustained,” the judge agreed.

“I have no further questions for this witness, your honor,” Mr. Gouldin quickly announced, pleased that he had allowed the jury to see the victim’s true nature.

David now began to move his wheelchair by himself, ineptly directing it away from where he sat next to the witness stand. Slowly, he was making his way toward the rear of the courtroom, but hadn’t gone very far before his father came forward to assist him. As he pushed his son past the defense table, they both glared at the four boys and then took seats at the rear of the chamber.

“I think this would be a good point to break for lunch,” the judge announced. “We’ll resume in one hour.” He then rapped his gavel and everyone began to get up and leave.